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Shots and words by M. Scott Smith

Destroying an iPod nano (for science) 🔗

Ars Technica has posted a review of the new iPod nano, and as with many Ars Technica articles, it's thorough and thoughtful. But the best part is the stress testing that Ars Technica put the iPod nano through.

The iPod nano is "impossibly small," as Apple says, but how robust is it?

In the name of science (and as a precursor to a planned autopsy), Ars Technica sat on the iPod nano; dropped the nano onto concrete while jogging; tossed the nano out of a car window while traveling at speeds from 8 to 50 miles per hour; and dropped the nano 9 feet onto concrete. The first few tests resulted in minor cosmetic damage; only by the 9-foot drop did the nano's screen begin to glitz out, but the music played on and the scroll wheel continued to function. The final nail in the coffin was a toss 40 feet into the air, with a freefall to concrete. That finally did the nano in.

So it seems the iPod nano is fairly rugged. But with Apple touting the whole "1,000 songs in your pocket" theme and encouraging folks to place the iPod in the coin pocket of their jeans, here's what I want to know: will the nano survive a spin cycle in the ol' washing machine?

I like science, but I'm not going to put my black iPod nano (what, you thought I didn't have one already??) through the wash -- at least not intentionally.

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