Our new iPod nano review reveals we weren’t exactly blown away by its multitouch support but the folks at iFixit have gone even further. In a blog post to accompany one of its trademark iPod teardowns, iFixit CEO, Kyle Wiens says: “Apple is seriously reaching by calling the nano ‘multi-touch’.” He says Apple sources have whispered to him that the new iPod nano has multitouch skills that haven’t been activated…
Wiens criticises Apple claims that the new iPod touch is truly a multitouch device. He days: “3M defines multi-touch as the ‘ability to simultaneously detect and resolve a minimum of 3+ touch points.” The new iPod nano has one gesture that uses two touch points – rotation.
But Wiens says sources close to Apple have told him that the new iPod nano could include support for pinch to zoom. He says internal documentation listed the feature and wonders: “Was this feature cut at the last minute? Could it be added back in with a software update?” Apple added new multitouch gestures to Macbooks and Macbook Pros when the Magic Trackpad was launched, so there’s definitely precedent.
However, as the iFixit new iPod touch teardown wisely notes, the device has a 1.54in LCD screen so trying to cram multiple fingers into that space for gestures would be tricky anyway. It also highlights that the new iPod nano has the highest pixel density of an Apple device besides the iPhone 4/new iPod touch. At 220 PPI, that’s double the density packed by the iPad.
Have you nabbed a new iPod nano yet? Let us know what you make of it.
Out now | From £129 | Apple (via iFixit)
