With a new polished and colorful paint job (you can choose from nine hues), the new nano is one good-looking device. At 3.6 by 1.5 by 0.2 inches (HWD) and a mere 1.3 ounces, it's truly identical in size to the previous (4th-generation) nano. The screen, however, is significantly larger—2.2 inches as opposed to 2 (it may not sound like a lot, but on such a tiny player, that 0.2 inch makes a big difference), and its 376-by-240-pixel resolution is a bit higher too—the display on 4th-gen nano is 320-by-240.

The big news here is the inclusion of a video camera, a mic, and a built-in speaker on the back panel. At the bottom left on the back of the player, the orientation of the camera is slightly awkward. Since the player is so small, it can be tricky to start recording without a digit slipping into the frame. It's nothing practice can't fix, but my first few videos were full of fingers. The proprietary connector (now on the left) and the earphone jack (on the right) on the bottom panel of the player are reversed, but the scroll wheel remains the same size and is in the same spot below the display as on the previous nano. The included (and terribly underwhelming-sounding) earbuds act as an antenna for the new FM radio, and the device also ships with a proprietary cable for computer syncing, a plastic dock adapter, and, of course, two Apple logo stickers.

File support on the nano is standard for Apple. You can play AAC (both old Apple DRM and unprotected files), MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV files. There's still no FLAC or OGG support. Video is limited to H.264 (this is also the format the video camera shoots in), and MPEG-4. For photos, JPEG and most other common photo formats are supported.

One note: While the new iTunes LP feature, which includes video, song lyrics, and liner notes with album purchases is very cool, you can only experience those extras in iTunes, not on the nano (same goes for the touch, classic, and iPhone too).

The menus haven't changed much in appearance—a small space below the main menu displays a visual for whatever menu option is currently highlighted—scrolling album covers if you're on Music, or the last radio station you heard if you're on Radio, for instance. Cover Flow still pops up when you select music and turn the player sideways to landscape view, but since there's no touch screen, like on the iPod touch or the iPhone, you can only scroll through your albums using the wheel, which dulls the experience a bit, but it's still the best user interface you'll find among comparably priced players. —next: Video Capture and More!

Video Capture and More!

Adding a video recorder to the nano without increasing the size of the device is an impressive feat. And the recorder makes good use of the nano's accelerometer; you can switch between landscape and portrait mode while filming. There's no question that a built-in videocam makes the slim iPod nano a far more attractive option than a (relatively) bulky, single-purpose, standard-definition handheld video camera, such as the $140 Pure Digital Flip Mino or the $100 Creative Vado. You're not going to get HD, but despite its low resolution (VGA, 640 by 480 at 30fps), video captured with the nano is crisp and vibrant and rivals footage from the Mino or the Vado. And it looks and sounds better than video from the iPhone 3GS. As I mentioned earlier, the placement of the lens makes it a bit too easy for your fingers to get in the way of your recordings. Figuring out how to hold the device so that you can operate the touch wheel's center control button (to start and stop recording) can be a bit tricky at first.

There are also some pretty cool effects you can use while filming—including Sepia, Film Grain, Black and White, and even zanier ones like Thermal (which looks like the hunting scenes from Predator) and X-Ray (which doesn't get under clothes, but plays with negative images in a fun way). All 15 effects are accessible in a menu that will show you how they look in real-time; just hold down the center button for a few seconds when you're in Video mode.

The built-in mic doesn't provide stellar audio, but high-quality audio and video aren't the point; you just want to be able to quickly capture a moment and store it without carrying an extra device. The nano does this quite well, organizing your videos by date on a scrollable list under the Video menu. Once imported using iPhoto, sharing your video via Facebook or uploading it to YouTube is a snap. The biggest disappointment: Inexplicably, the camera can't capture still images. Even so, the fact that no other portable media player offers a built-in video camera negates many of its shortcomings.

A huge surprise: After all these years, this is the first iPod to feature an FM tuner. Using your earbuds as an antenna, the nano tunes in FM stations and displays radio call letters whenever possible. Like the Zune HD, the iPod nano lets you tag songs from the radio that you can purchase later via iTunes. The tuner's graphics are simple and clean, but not as spiffy as on the Zune HD. Live Pause allows you to pause the radio and record up to 15 minutes of content, which can be played back later. But these recordings are not meant to live anywhere other than the device, so you can't import recordings into iTunes.

This is the first nano model to include VoiceOver, a feature that made its debut on the last iPod shuffle iteration. Simply press the Center button from the Now Playing screen, and the player announces the title and artist of your current song selection in a mildly entertaining robotic voice. The built-in mic means the nano can act as a voice recorder using the Voice Memo function—another new feature. And a built-in speaker means that you can listen to your videos right after you record them, and if you play your tunes sans earbuds, you'll hear them through the speaker in all its tinny, lo-fi glory. (You need the earbuds to act as an antenna for the FM tuner, however.) As with every iPod to date, the earbuds sound lousy, and as always, I recommend upgrading. The good news is any earphones will work as antennae for the FM tuner, so you are not tethered to this pair. For a better listening experience, try the affordable $50 Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170.

The general music experience on the iPod nano doesn't change much with this iteration. Most notably, Genius Mix builds on the existing Genius feature, and organizes "mixes" of your music library according to genre. It might lump together all of your Folk music, or all of your Jazz, for example, and has the ability to become more granular over time.

The pedometer works intuitively—enter your weight, and start walking. The device will tell you how many steps you've taken and how many calories you've burned once you press the center button. And you can sync this information to the Nike+ online app for a more in-depth workout analysis.

Apple rates the battery life for the nano at 24 hours for audio and 5 hours for video—respectable, if not mind-blowing, numbers. We were able to eke out close to 30 hours (29:51) of audio from our test unit—a strong showing.

While the iPod touch has seen many challengers, most notably the forthcoming Zune HD, the nano doesn't have a serious enemy in sight since nothing else in this price range comes close to its ease-of-use and graceful design. The video camera is merely a bonus. Sure, I wish it captured still images, and that the earbuds sounded better, and that you could do more with radio recordings, but these are minor gripes. Apple has once again improved on a fantastic product. Simply put, you won't find another player with a video camera, and even if you take that variable out of the equation, given its other features, the iPod nano would remain our Editors' Choice for portable media players in the $100-200 price range.

Compare the MP3 players mentioned above side by side.

More MP3 Player Reviews: