By JESSICA PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

Apple’s signature MP3 player, the iPod, has made big waves among Tech students.

Students can be seen all over campus strutting to their own personal soundtrack with the help of their iPods.

“iPods are just the cutest little things,” Amanda Lashley, a sophomore art education major, said.

Not only does the aesthetic lure Lashley in, the well-designed, portable player is what sells the iPod to her, she said.

“They’re just so functional and light-weight,” Lashley said.

“You don’t have to carry CDs around anywhere; all the music you could want is already there.”

And, the portability of the iPod just got even easier for listeners.

With the release of the iPod nano, Apple’s iPod keeps getting smaller and more user-friendly.

“iPods are so popular here,” Tammy Jackson, a sales associate at Best Buy in Shreveport, said.

“We regularly sell about 30 a week.”

Jackson said the popularity of the iPod nano has brought customers in droves wanting to know more about them.

Best Buy offers the iPod nano in two gigabytes, which holds 500 songs, and four gigabytes, which holds 1,000 songs.

They are available in crisp white or sleek black and are priced at $199.99 to $249.99 at Best Buy, Jackson said.

The iPod nano is roughly smaller in length than a credit card, about as thick as a packet of Trident gum and weighs about 1.5 ounces.

The nano’s battery lasts for up to 14 hours, Jackson said.

“The four gig black nanos are so popular,” Jackson said.

“As soon as we get a shipment in, it seems like they’re out of the store.”

However, some customers are still looking for the iPod mini, the smallest iPod to rock Apple’s world before the nano, Jackson said.

“People are still looking for the iPod mini, but when they learn about the nano, they accept it,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the iPod nano is a huge improvement to the mini.

“The iPod minis had a hard drive, which often skips when you’re working out or moving a lot,” Jackson said.

“However, the nanos use flash [drive] and don’t skip.”

The iPod nano is just what Stefan Pichon, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, is looking for.

“iPods are so useful, and they’re awesome for working out,” Pichon said. “They’re so small you don’t even know it’s there.”

Students are already preparing to include the nano on their Christmas wish lists.

“I’m asking for a nano for Christmas this year,” Lashley said. “They’re just so cute, and the smaller, the better.”