The Nano measures a petite 2.75 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 0.25 inch thick--a significant shift from its once long and skinny shape, though it is essentially the same thickness. Matte, anodized aluminum graces the faceplate, as with the previous generation of Nanos and now the iPod Classic as well. The back and sides of the Nano, however, mimic the Video iPod's rounded, glossy, smudge-prone chrome enclosure. On the bottom edge of the Nano, you'll find the iPod's proprietary USB port, along with the headphone jack and the hold switch, which prevents you from accidentally triggering the player's buttons. Nano keeps Apple's ubiquitous Click Wheel design, although the Nano's new Click Wheel is smaller in diameter--it's only 1 inch--than the previous Nano's 1.25 inches. The much skinnier touch strip may frustrate users accustomed to the 1.5-inch wheel of the Video iPod and the iPod Classic.

At just 3.2 ounces, the surprisingly light headset was comfortable throughout mostly sedentary, multihour listening sessions and didn't dislodge once during a 40-minute jog. However, you should note that the headband is not adjustable, so the 'phones won't fit everyone as well as they fit us. Although you wouldn't want to regularly run while holding the bulky iPod, the wireless capability lets you stash it in a treadmill's accessory holder or even leave it in a nearby gym bag during your workout. The headset is appropriately easy to operate without requiring you to look at its controls. The outside of the right earpiece hosts four keys (volume up, volume down, next track, and previous track) that are intuitively arrayed around a large, circular play/pause button, and the volume controls have slight indents so that you can distinguish them by feel from the track-skip keys.

Just when you thought Apple's standard iPod was overly saturating the public consciousness, Steve Jobs and company pull another beauty from the company's bushel. The Apple iPod Nano sets new standards for gadget design and stretches the boundaries of technology. It's the world's first 4GB flash player, yet it's also one of the thinnest. Plus, it boasts a bright color screen that takes advantage of the bigger iPod's photo capabilities, though be aware that the Nano's screen scratches easily. Throw in some ancillary improvements, and you have not only the latest MP3 player phenom but a glance into the future. The flash-based Nano (the name is curiously similar to the Creative Zen Nano Plus's) comes in classic white or black and three capacities: 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB at $149, $199 and $249, respectively. It also replaces the current popular iPod Mini line.

Just about a year after Steve Jobs first wowed the tech press (and much of the general public) with the ultrathin sleekness of the first iPod Nano, Apple has unleashed Nano number two into the world. Aside from a drastically different, iPod Mini-like casing and much-improved battery life, the new Nano isn't much altered from its predecessor. Apple has done away with the 1GB version in favor of a $249 8GB model and adjusted the pricing on the 2GB and 4GB capacities down to $149 and $199, respectively. With prices like these, SanDisk--maker of the video-playing, 8GB e280 ($250)--had better watch its back.

The Nano's most dramatic design change is, of course, its larger, brighter screen. The 2-inch color screen packs a dense, crisp 320x240 video resolution that looks richer and brighter than that of any iPod to date. It's not often that we deem a screen smaller than 2.5 inches worthy of video playback, but with a tightly packed 204 pixels per inch, the Nano looks incredibly sharp. Unlike the Apple iPhone or the iPod Touch, however, the Nano's screen is covered with a scratch-prone plastic that will quickly show wear.

Cosmetically, the iPod Classic's improvements over its predecessors are minor. An anodized-aluminum faceplate now replaces the glossy, all-plastic facade found on the previous generation. Overall thickness has also improved, with the 80GB iPod Classic now measuring 2.4x4.1x.41 inches--just a fraction of an inch thinner than the 30GB Video iPod we had in our lab. The screen, however, is still made from scratch-prone plastic (unlike the iPhone's and iPod Touch's), and the chrome found on the back cover still begs for smudges.

The following review was originally written for the second-generation Apple iPod Shuffle. The latest series of the Shuffle is functionally identical to the second-generation series, although the color options have changed.

Those who have been lustfully eyeballing Bose's SoundDock or Altec Lansing's iM7 boom box will no doubt be pleased with Logitech's latest iPod speaker offering. The mm50 Portable Speakers for iPod ($150) offer sleek style and decent sound at half the price of the SoundDock and for a hundred bucks less than the iM7.

Pay close attention to the new Apple iPod when you get one in your hands. Most of you will notice a design that's thinner, lighter, and sexier than its predecessor's, as well as a new screen that dwarfs the Click Wheel. A few of you will notice subtler differences, such as the absence of the smart headphone jack, a smaller Click Wheel, and the iPod's superflat face. Experienced iPod users may complain that essentials such as a power adapter and A/V cables aren't bundled with the device. But despite the fact that it is an audio player first and foremost--and that the term is overused--all of you will remember the fifth-generation iPod as the video iPod.

The iPod Classic is the latest revamping of Apple's iconic hard drive MP3 player, formerly known as the Video iPod or fifth-generation iPod. As Apple's only remaining high-capacity MP3 player, the iPod Classic comes in both 80GB ($249) and 160GB versions ($349), available in black or silver.