By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 02:40 PM EST

Presenting on Wednesday to analysts and the media in San Francisco, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the iPod nano, a new full-featured iPod that holds 1,000 songs yet is thinner than a standard #2 pencil and less than half the size of competitive players.

The iPod nano features an ultra-portable, lightweight design with a color screen, Apple’s patent pending Click Wheel and the ability to hold 1,000 songs or 25,000 photos.

The player is available immediately in a 4GB model priced at $249 and a 2GB model priced at $199, with both models available in white or black designs.

“iPod nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod nano is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and it’s going to change the rules for the entire portable music market.”

Thinner than a standard #2 pencil and weighing only 1.5 ounces, iPod nano can hold up to 1,000 songs in its 4GB model and 500 songs in the configuration. It features optional accessories including lanyard headphones, which integrate the headphone cables into the lanyard, so users can wear their iPod nano around their neck without dangling headphone cables. 

For users looking to personalize their iPod nano with colors, an optional set of iPod nano Tubes in pink, purple, blue, green and clear offers fashionable protection in a sheer casing while enabling full operation of all functions including the player's Click Wheel. Meanwhile, optional armbands available in gray, pink, blue, red and green allow users to wear their iPod nano as the ultimate fashion and sports accessory.

iPod nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, allowing it to work effortlessly with a wide range of over 1,000 accessories developed for iPod, including home stereo speakers and iPod car adapters.



Sporting integration with the iTunes Music Store and the iTunes digital music jukebox, iPod nano includes Apple’s Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads a user’s digital music collection, photos or Podcasts onto iPod nano and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod nano is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0.

The nano's high-resolution color screen allows users to display album art while playing music, view photo slideshows or play games in full color. The iPod nano features up to 14 hours battery life and completely skip-free playback, as well as new stopwatch, world clock and screen lock applications.

Pricing & Availability

The 4GB and 2GB white and black models of iPod nano for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $249 (US) and $199 (US) respectively, through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable and a CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows computers.