Tim Murtaugh

I’ve owned three iPods so far — the first generation model (with the mechanical wheel and buttons), the 3rd gen model (with the touch-sensitive buttons) and the shuffle.

I loved the first, but the original 4gig drive started to cramp my style. Plus the wheel kept falling off.

So: Upgrade. 15gig drive, non-mechanical wheel. But the buttons were also non-mechanical and were a bit too twitchy. Plus the battery life sucked — I got one of the problem cases.

Anyhow, I realized that even though I was carrying the vast majority of my collection with me, I still listened to the same stuff over and over. The solution? Take away the ability to choose and switch to the shuffle. Half a gig of random songs was just what the doctor ordered.

But, now, I am out-growing the shuffle. I have broken my habit of listening to the same stuff all the time, and have learned to branch out. While I absolutely love the form factor, the lack of a screen (while liberating in some ways) is starting to chafe.

Enter the nano. I have not ordered one yet, but it is only a matter of time. The smallness of the form is amazing, the 2 (or 4) gig flash drive is a goodly amount of music without providing all the music all the time (meaning I can rotate the library and hear more music). Plus, the screen, oh the screen. I have coveted the iPod photo since it came out, but couldn’t justify the expense. But now all screened iPods have color, and I can have my cake and eat it too.

(I think there are some who don’t see the point in the photo capabilities, but, for me, it would be nice to be able to whip out some fun photos to share on a whim.)

Anyway, the point of the title of this post is, yes, I will buy one eventually, and the job of every manufacturer with an “iPod killer” just got that much harder.

The only question left is: White or black?

I just don’t know.