Development of the iPod nano

Time Magazine profiles the recently released iPod nano. The article provides some minor hints and details surrounding the development of the iPod nano.

The Nano's development reportedly began only nine months ago even while the iPod mini was having fantastic sales. "Jobs was proposing to fix something that decidedly was not broken."

While on the exterior the Nano appears to be an iPod, every internal component was re-engineered.

We use every fraction of a millimeter of space to get things in there," says Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller. "It's like a puzzle to fit all that stuff together. It has the tightest tolerances of anything we've ever made in the history of this company.

The iPod nano also displays the influence of designer Jonathan Ive, who reportedly spent months on the minute details of Apple's latest iPod.

Ive fondles a tiny Nano affectionately, pointing out all the things that nobody will ever notice but that he sacrificed months of his life for--things like the laser etching of the logo on the back or the surface's being slightly rougher on the click wheel than on the rest of the front. "I know you're not going to consciously find these details particularly appealing," he concedes, "but I think it's the fact that we've worried about all of them that makes the product so precious."

Apple has been tight lipped about recent projects, and the article reveals that
"only a small group at Apple even knew about the Nano before it launched."

Detailed review and photos of the Nano.