Why buy an MP3 player at all?
My daily routine involves a hellish 2½ hour commute each way. 5 hours everyday, 6 days a week crammed like cattle in Mumbai’s notorious rush hour local trains. Add to this atleast 10 hours a day on-the-job time. Plus, early morning / late night flights thrice a month. That leaves barely enough time for sleep, food and bodily ablutions. Sundays are quality time with family. I was clearly missing out on things that are important to me – reading and music, the fitness part being taken care of by the exertions of the commute.
Walkmans are fine but cassettes are not ‘dense’ media. I need to carry a dozen cassettes to last me 5 hours. I tried FM Radio on the Nokia but the signal dies out inside the trains. I got on to the MP3 bandwagon early, at a time when MP3 was only geek-speak. 4 years back when Philips launched the Expanium MP3 CD Player internationally, I got mine within weeks.
The Expanium, though a creditable early effort was a heavy, bug-ridden, battery sapping device if there ever was one. The sound quality was good, but other flaws meant it was not a practical addition to my commuting rucksack. I went back to playing Solitaire on my Nokia and listening to white noise on the FM radio after the train went past Kurla.
Having burnt my fingers (and pocket) with the Expanium, I decided to wait for the technology to mature before getting myself another MP3 player. For years I pored over the specs of Yepps, Rios, Zens and other non-descript players without ever feeling ‘Eureka’. Even the early Apple iPods did not light my fire, being too expensive and the missus threatening divorce if I bought yet another expensive gadget that I would not use.
Then came the iPod Shuffle and I knew that the 1GB model was ‘it’! Months of deliberation and gentle persuasion of the missus (a marketing man’s wife is most difficult to convince) later I reached the point where I could order one. The order was conveyed to my ‘procurer of good things’ in the US and I sat counting the days to sensory consummation. And the very next day they went and launched the iPod Nano. A flurry of e-mails later the order was changed to a 2GB, Nano Black. And then it arrived. . .
Knowing the Nano?
I had read a lot about the iPod. But nothing had prepared me for the experience that followed. Right from the über chic packaging in a small black square box crafted out of silky card to the gizmo itself. Every touch-point is a sensory delight. No amount of online reviews prepares you for the Nano in flesh. Stick two railway platform weighing machine tickets back to back; the Nano is few mm larger than that. The face of my Nano is black, dominated by a large & bright colour LCD with a shiny mirror finished rear casing.
Loaded up the drivers & iTunes onto my laptop, connected the whole shebang to USB and it was ready. I am the kind who carefully studies user manuals (Did you know that you had to de-crumb bread toasters? Gotcha, now go read manuals), but the Nano was so intuitive, I did not have to bother even with the well-written Quick Start Guide.
My Nano stores 2GB of songs, Podcasts, pictures, the Outlook Calendar and also has a few games in case I get tired of Snake on the Nokia. The Colour LCD is bright, high contrast and stands out even in high ambient light (unlike the screen of my Nokia 6610, which is a washout). The clicker wheel is a pleasure to use. Easy to use as a USB ‘Pen Drive’ too.
I listen to an eclectic mix of Indian & International music. Most of the time I am happy with classic Bollywood from the 50’s to the 70’s. Sound quality is good, not quite upto the high end Harmann Kardon at home (now you know why the Missus threatens divorce), but goooood. Like a long drag on an unexpected Cuban cigar for one who has given up smoking through steel-will.
The voice of a young Lata is molten silk. ‘Rasme ulfat’ plays on the trademark iPod stick headphones and the overpowering stench of human excrement that is Dadar Station fades away. I am packed like a sardine-in-a-can within the train, standing on one leg, hanging on by one hand to the overhead rail. If animals were transported in this manner, PETA would protest. The mellifluous voice of Rafi croons ‘Hum aur tum aur yeh samaa. . .’ I am transported to a nobler, simpler age. Truly, music is what separates humans from beasts.
The Nano offers a plethora of equalizer settings but Loudness & Spoken Word are the only ones that I ever use. The shuffle mode is the default mode to play in – let the l’il thing decide what it wants you to listen!
Music, Yes but what else?
Sample the wide range of Podcasts on Yahoo – I am hooked to the weekly round up of American news from Newsweek, audio documentaries by BBC and Businessweek, LonelyPlanet Travelcast and a motley collection of tech podcasts. Sadly, I have failed to unearth any classily executed India specific content (an NDTV news podcast would be so right) or anything for auto enthusiasts. If my readers can suggest any, I’d be eternally grateful.
I download free TXT files of books from Project Gutenberg (Wodehouse & Christie, my favs) and convert them into audio books with a freeware called Ultra Hal. Initially it feels a little odd listening to a computer voice, but like most things in life you get used to it.
The downside
Biggest gripe - The little gizmo gets easily scratched and the black ones are especially prone to this. Having been in the auto trade for nearly 2 decades, my outlook to life is half Bawa, half Sardar with a dash of cranky Goan Catholic garage mechanic thrown in for good measure.
The Bawa in me howls in protest at the scratches the thing has acquired. I keep it in a little plastic Ziplock pouch that they give the cutlery in airline meals – a bit like putting Jassi’s thick black glasses onto Ash’s eyes. Missus suggested wrapping it in kitchen cling film as an alternative. The click wheel operates accurately despite the plastic pouch.
I’d love a lanyard (or a leash) like the Shuffle to hang it round my neck. The Nano would be an expensive thing to lose. The little slider switch that locks all controls is a bit fidgety to operate.
I need to keep the volume cranked at 80% all the time. Is it because of the high ambient noise in Indian public spaces, am I growing hard of hearing or is it the Nano? The bud type earphones are painful to use on long hauls. I will switch to ‘Etymotic’ in-ear type earphones that sit like a tampon in the ear canal (sorry, most apt simile I could find, but hey, we are all grown-ups here aren’t we?) if I can find them at a reasonable price. Any one knows if Heera Panna stocks them? I have dropped the thing a few times and it is none the worse for the wear.
In conclusion
Very few gadgets qualify for the moniker ‘life altering’. The iPod Nano is one such. I am tickled pink with the Nano but my friend Rahul Shah, the stereotype Gujju thinks I am raving mad spending 9 big Gandhis on this little piece of plastic. Entertainment on a local train? Switch to the 2nd Class and join a Bhajan Mandali. Music & spiritual enlightenment plus big savings on the Quarterly Pass, he quips! To each his own, I say. . .