By Jasmine Osada

The fans have spoken, and this time, their requests were answered. Apple's newest iPod nano might be almost similar to its predecessor in terms of looks, but packs a whole new lot of surprises.

Perhaps the most visible of these is the bite-sized media player's new camera - the iPod nano now shoots videos.

While the VGA quality probably won't give you something worthy of a high-def cinema screen, I found it sufficient for the casual videos that it is meant to take - like parties, gatherings and trips.

The nano's video software also performed beyond my expectations, automatically adapting the video camera's settings different light environments and so on without the user having to worry about making any tweaks.

Videos can be shot in both portrait and landscape mode, something that feels easier with the nano due to its size and shape, and effects such as Film Grain and X-Ray add to the fun. However, I did notice that people with bigger hands might have a little problem with keeping their fingers out of the way of the nano's camera while holding the device horizontally.

Shooting videos with your iPod nano might feel radically new, but the new feature that users are perhaps going to be post attached to is the nano's FM radio. Long sough-after since the release of the first iPod, Apple fans no longer need to purchase third-party accessories should they want to tune in.

I also liked the nano's live pause function. This neat feature allows users to pause live broadcasts and then resume listening from where they left off, great for those who find themselves interrupted a few times too many throughout the day.

Apple has also included a voice recorder and a pedometer into the package. The voice recorder is easy to operate and recordings are clear, though a little more isolation of the background noise would have been nice. Those who require voice recordings for work or school will likely find this feature a big plus and one more reason to get a new nano.

The Verdict

It seems that Apple has decided not to make changes to what is a pretty good design for the iPod nano. While it is great to not fix anything that isn't broken, this seems to dampen the overall newness and excitement of the new media player a little.

But with it's promising new features and functions, the iPod nano is still likely too please both new adopters and longtime fans looking for an upgrade.