Hi Justin,
Justin wrote:
Hi all
I went to the apple store yesterday to ask the people at the apple
store in SF if they would show me the new nano text-to-speech, and
they actually didn't really know what I was talking about until they
had gone to one of their top managers who sort of knew, but didn't
know how to use it.
That said, apple may not be that great at noticing its accessibility
features but the tech geeks seem to be. Here is a review article on
it that gives some mention to the access features of the nano.
http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/apple-ipod-nano-fourth/4505-6490_7-33246772.html?sr=hotnews
Thanks for the link to the review. I'm surprised that CNet thought
the sound quality only average.
Here's a section of ilounge's 4G Nano review dealing with sound:
<begin quote>
The single biggest audio change to the iPod nano isn’t one that’s
glaringly apparent, or even touted by Apple, but it’s there: the sound
chip has changed. Months ago, long-time iPod audio chip supplier
Wolfson Micro made clear—with minimal discretion—that its chips were
not going to be included in either the upcoming iPod nano or iPod
touch refreshes, which were then unknown. Lo and behold, the new
devices arrived, and they sound like the 2007 iPod classic—they’re
cleaner, with a nearly non-existent static noise floor that’s as well-
suited to audiophile-grade earphones as free pack-ins. That’s really
good news for those who hope to use their nanos with better
headphones; the fourth-generation model is definitely the best-
sounding iPod nano yet.
<end quote>
I will say that the sound quality for music is noticeably better than
on the 2G Nano, and while it isn't the very best I've heard in an MP3
player, it's on a par with the 2007 iPod Classic.
Incidentally, the ilounge reviews didn't touch on the accessibility
features either, but here's another 4G nano feature that may be of
interest: the ability to make audio recordings through an attached
compatible recording accessory (not new) and to insert Chapter markers
midway in your recording by pressing the click wheel (new to the 4G
Nano and not a feature that the new 2G Classic has). The new
accessories will be available next month.
<begin quote>
Originally added to the iPod nano in the second-generation model, a
feature called Voice Memos continues to allow users to record audio
when a compatible recording accessory is attached. But there’s been a
big change this year: now Voice Memos on both the new iPod nano and
the second-generation iPod classic works with both Dock Connector
recording accessories and headphone port-based microphones such as the
one included with the iPhone and iPhone 3G. Apple will sell a new pair
of recording-capable headphones shortly for $29, but the current
iPhone headphones do work for this purpose.
Though this feature works generally as expected, there are a couple of
unpleasant surprises. First, Apple has removed your ability to choose
quality settings for the iPod nano’s headphone or Dock microphone
recordings, and second, the nano now creates files in Apple Lossless
format rather than WAV. Sample recordings we made with a headphone
port-connecting microphone were automatically created in monaural
mode, while a Dock Connector recorder automatically recorded in stereo
mode, both at 44.1kHz. The benefit is that stereo recordings are
likely to be smaller than they would have been before, but the
consequence is that you may not be able to modify the Apple Lossless
files in your editing software of choice. Another new feature lets you
press the nano’s center button to insert chapter markers mid-way
through your recording.
It’s worth noting that the second-generation iPod classic has not
gained the chapter-marking feature, nor has it lost the ability to
choose recording modes. As a consequence, if you have a need for more
control over your audio recordings, the classic—or a past nano—may be
a better pick than the new nano.
On a separate note, we have for years tracked the speeds at which
various iPods synchronize with iTunes under real-world conditions, and
have performed tests on both the new iPod nano and the new iPod touch
to see how quickly they can be filled with data. In our test
environment, it took 1 minute and 29 seconds to put 1GB of mixed video
and audio files onto the new nano, versus exactly 2 minutes for the
same 1GB of files onto the new iPod touch. You can expect that
completely filling the 7.4GB of usable space on an 8GB iPod nano would
take nearly 11 minutes, and roughly double that for a 16GB model.
<end quote>
The ilounge pages aren't the easiest to navigate, but here's the main
review URL:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/apple-ipod-nano-fourth-generation-8gb-16gb/
Use links chooser to find "Apple iPod nano Fourth-Generation (8GB/
16GB)" heading level 3 and VO-down through the article. When you
reach the end of each section (where it says "Click Below to Read the
Rest of This Review: ") interact with the popup button to change it
from "Page 1 - Introducting the iPod nano (4th Generation)" to go on
to each of the next 8 pages in succession.
Anybody have any idea when this update will come to the other ipods?
I sure would like some text-to-speech except I have about 35 gb of
music to store which wouldn't work that great on the nano.
For various reasons that have been discussed earlier on this list,
it's not clear when (or whether) this update will percolate to other
iPod models. There are other commercial solutions available or coming
out for older model iPods that have been mentioned on this list
before. These include the i-Tell from Cobolt systems:
http://www.cobolt.co.uk/
and products like the DirectVoxx Muso and Accenda Voice Control for
iPod:
http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40macvisionaries.com/msg38544.html
(Re: OT Ipods and accessibility) -- old list post with links to all
these products
In answer to David P's question about why the 4G nano and not the 2G
iTouch (both flash-based new iPod releases) should get this feature,
I'd only point out that Apple had to completely re-design the 4G nano
video handling system anyway, for this release, while the 2G iTouch
operation is basically the same. It's much easier to add in new
functionality if you are redesigning the basic operating architecture
to include this, rather than modify and tack something on to an
existing structure. Apple has also been trying to keep up parallel
functionality in both Windows and Mac versions of their products, and
if you don't think that's a challenge for the older iPods, well . . .
<smile>
This is an interim solution, and it's similar to the tack that Rockbox
has taken to put speech onto other players (including older iPods). It
means that you can't get dynamically updating information because
your'e not using a full text-to-speech engine for your voice controls
(something that drives up the price of the i-Tell, Muso, and Accenda
products, but gives additional flexibility). While there are other
reasons people use Rockbox (increased customization, ability to play
games, support of other music formats, etc.), you can't play DRM'ed
content from either Audible.com or the iTunes Store on such a player,
you don't get a full range of smart playlist support, and you usually
take a performance hit in the battery lifetime and other response, at
least in the first few generation iterations for an MP3 player model's
software.
Incidentally, according to the ilounge review, the actual battery
lifetime of the 4G nano for audio content is close to 31 hours
(compared to Apple's stated performance spec of 24 hours).
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
