Know what my first thought was when I saw Steve Jobs announce the new version of the iPod Nano? “Holy mackerel, that looks like a Zune!” That, and giving mental props to the PhotoShop hacks who came darned close to the real look. Nice going, guys.

Long-time readers with fantastic memories will recall that I bought a 3G Nano when it came out and just love the little guy. It didn’t start that way — I was really hesitant about the form factor and actually walked into the Apple Store planning to get a Classic. Then I picked up the Nano. The way it sat in my palm, it felt like it was made for my hand: perfectly proportioned to hold and use the clickwheel, nicely thin but with enough heft to not feel fragile, and a great fit in either an armband or my jeans pocket. If you ask me, the 3G Nano should be a model case study in design classes.

I did have a point there, and it’s that practically everyone hated on the “fatty” 3G Nano until they actually held one in their own hands. I wasn’t exactly enthused by the looks of the 4G Nano, but the least I could do was to get some hands-on time with it, right? JAMM’s review muscle doesn’t quite extend to getting brand-new iPods, so it was back to the Apple Store. Enough rambling, what’s the verdict?

Yes, it’s very small. Yes, the widescreen is lovely. Yes, the accelerometer with the shake-to-shuffle is seriously cool. And no, I don’t want one. Reason? That super-skinny form factor is hell to hold. It’s so narrow I had trouble comfortably operating the clickwheel vertically, and I think my hand would cramp before I made it though a TV episode holding the Nano sideways. There’s also the “pocket fit fragility factor.” Have you ever sat down with a wooden pencil in your jeans pocket? You generally get up with two wooden pencils. Substitute the long, narrow Nano 4G for the No. 2, except salvaging a bit of use by sharpening it won’t work as well.

Is the 4G Nano really as fragile as it feels? Does the accelerometer go bonkers when you wear it to work out? Just how badly would my hand cramp during extended use? Guess I won’t be finding out.

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