ipod nano or shuffle for gym?? Difference?

Now that the Nano has come out though its a tough one. Which would you prefer and why?

Let me toss a question back at you: what kind of exersize? For example, the Nano comes with a "lap" timer, so if you like to check your speed on runs or laps on a bike, the Nano's going to be more useful to you there. Likewise if you like to change playlists a lot to match what you're doing--one for weight lifting, one for the stationary bike, etc. The Nano will make it easier for you to match playlist to exersize. Not that you can't do it with a shuffle--but you have to arrange things ahead of time, put the weight-lifting playlist on the shuffle--you can't just, on a whim, say, "Naw, changed my mind, don't want that playlist, I want this other one for for weightlifting today...."

If, however, like me, you usually listen to just one playlist (or shuffled music) while working out...well, the shuffle will do you just fine. For that, you don't need a screen, don't need more music choices, don't need any extras at all. The shuffle is very minimalist and is really an excellent choice if your needs are equally modest.

That said, I'd go for the Nano; yes, it's overkill for the gym, but I'm betting that once you have one, you'll use it elsewhere. I think, for example, that it's perfect for waiting in line and airline travel--especially with the headphone/lanyard so you can hang it about your neck, leaving your hands free to haul and manage those bags.

Remember that it can hold photos, has a clock, calendar, and contacts list. So you can use it to check the time, appointments, find phone numbers, etc. All the shuffle does is play music. That's certainly enough for an hour at the gym two or three times a week--and if that's ALL you're going to use it for, save your money. But is that all you're going to use it for? That's the $100 dollar question (as that's how much more the Nano's going to cost you).

If you do go for the Nano, keep in mind that you may not be able to get certain accessories right away--like the armband or lanyard. It may take up to 4 weeks for all such accessories to be avalible. So you'll need to slip the Nano into some sort of pocket or temporary holder if you get it right away and start taking it to the gym.

"Can you use 'Autofill' on the nano like you can with the shuffle?"

Yes.

Hey Matthew, I'm curious bout this. I found no mention of Autofill for the nano on the Apple pages and someone answered no to this question in another thread.

I got one in my hand but I could not get the Autofill section to come up on iTunes. I am running iTunes 5.0 on a Mac.

Gary,

Steve Jobs mentioned it in his presentation.

http://stream.apple.akadns.net/

Matt

I just got off the phone with tech support and the official position is NO autofill a la shuffle. I kinda got around it by creating a smart playlist that fills randomly and then have the ipod nano auto sync to that playlist. Autofill would've been much better.

I had the same question come to my mind. I have an iPod photo I use in the office, car and such, but wanted something for the gym. The photo gets in the way. I liked the shuffle too but liked the nano when I seen it. I am glad I waited until this week to decide to buy something for the gym because after seeing the nano in person I got it.

Why?

here are my reasons.

1. Smaller
2. has a screen
3. looks more elegant (for thos who care)
4. has more features and can hold more
5. I am a designer and photographer and somtimes carrying an iPod is not an option for me but a nano I can slip in my pocket and you can not even notice it is there. Then take it out and present a slide show.
6. It just looked so good next to my black razor

You know.

It may have been the iTunes phone that has the autofill, not the nano.

Sorry to have misled.

Matt

I don't know how useful a lap timer would be. For about 2 seconds I thought "oh neat", but don't most cycling computers and HRM's already have this feature? I'd much rather have my lap timer attached to my handlebars or wrist than my fore arm or in a pocket.

Although I could imagine it would be nice if you forgot your HRM or decided at the last minute to take off for a jog at lunch.

ah, gave up on the mobiblu and resorted to personally attacking me. good work. keep it up.

I had a Mini, but when i sold it, i bought a 4Gb Nano for everyday use, and a 1Gb shuffle for GYM use as there is no screen or anything that can get broken. Plus it hangs from your neck and off you go, nothing to way down your pockets.

I have both a Nano and Shuffle. I love the Shuffle for the gym and other active environments. It's less delicate. It's light and comes with that handy lanyard. The sturdy buttons on the Shuffle are great for using at the gym with sweaty hands. They're more tactile than the click wheel and work better for me. So, I would definitely go with the Shuffle.

Love the Nano for everything else...

I have both a nano and a shuffle. The shuffle is perfect for me for working out EXCEPT
1) you can't change playlists on the fly
2) you can't rank songs on the fly
(well you really can't do much but play, change volume and advance music)

Otherwise, good sound and performance. Lanyard access is great for instant access to controls (being able to pause the music quickly if somemone asks me a question is key)

I will try my nano on an armband to keep it as sweat-free as possible. I'd like to use the lanyard headphones, but most of my sweat lands on my chest and eventually onto any lanyard device. Apple's sportcase for shuffle is great, it would be sweet if Apple (or 3rd party) could make a lanyard enabled sweat-proof sportcase for nano.

I have been using a shuffle for the gym as well. I then bought a nano and I just tried it the first time at the gym a couple days ago. With the shuffle, I used the lanyard to hang it around my neck. With the nano, I used the Apple arm band. After this, I think it's a bit of a toss up. For myself, I'll probably still use both for the gym. For normal day-to-day gym activity, I like the shuffle a bit better for some of the same reasons others here mentioned. That is, there is no screen to worry about, I find I don't worry about scratching the shuffle, it has a lanyard which makes it a bit easier to operate then the nano in an arm band. But, one thing I kept wishing I could do with my shuffle was to make it easy for me to listen to podcasts in the gym. Since there is no screen, it was hard for me to find the podcast I wanted to listen to. The only option was to keep scanning until I found it. For this, the nano is much better since it has a screen.

I don't know if that helps much. But, if I had to choose one or the other for my gym activities, I'd have to go with the nano as it provides more functionality that I'd sometimes miss with the shuffle. But, if you really just want to use it to listen to music, I'd go with the shuffle as it is a bit easier to use in a gym environment and is a bit more durable. And, it is less expensive just in case you do manage to break it.

So - to recap what everybody has posted thus far -

For music to use while working out (without the need for set playists, or solitare) the shuffle is the better choice?

That seems to be my conclusion. I, too, am deciding between a shuffle and nano for running. Even the smallest Shuffle will provide sufficient capacity for hours of running. It is more durable in terms of casing and in terms of screen (because there isn't one). Further, it is much more inexpensive.

Is this a good synopsis? I, too, really am interested in the Nano. I have a 20 gig 3G iPod for 'everyday' use, but it is too bulky (and not-flash based) for running. So, while the nano is sweet - due to the scratch concerns, etc. I think a shuffle will do the trick.

ShadowX: I too have a shuffle and will have a nano very soon (on order). I also was using my shuffle to listen to podcasts but had trouble trying to scan back and forth b/c of lack of screen. I will probably continue using both the shuffle (with the sport case and lanyard) and the nano (with armband). I don't do the gym but I walk my dog every day and mostly listen to podcasts.