It’s finally gotten to the point where I’ll see Apple unleash a new marketing campaign for a snazzy new iPod Nano, consider looking into buying one, do a load of laundry, and come back to find a completely new set of iPod Nani.

Granted, this is just the usual steady drum beat that is technological progress, which will eventually depreciate the MSRP of my iPhone to $49.99. However, when Apple releases 4 different iterations of the Nano in just 4 years, you have to start to wonder if the house that Mac built considers their line of MP3 players as much fashion accessories as they are functioning music players.

This mentality is in full force with the new Nano, with one of the selling features being its wide variety of bright and vibrant colors. It’s also elegantly designed, with a slim frame, rounded body, and light aluminum casing. The Nano is not lacking when it comes to aesthetic appeal.

It also has all the stock features you’d expect from any iPod, such as wonderful sound output, sort of useful utilities like an alarm clock and timer, kind of fun games and the iconic click wheel. The biggest addition has to be the accelerometer, which allows the screen to flip on its side when held horizontally, an adaptation taken from the iPhone. It also allows the user to play a random song with a quick shake of the system, which is more fun than it sounds.

The biggest problem with the new Nano is the same as the last redesign, the tiny screen. It’s a non issue when listening to music, but the minute you try and watch the demo clip from “School of Rock,” Jack Black’s wild facial expressions lose a lot of their magic when you have to squint so much.

Despite these problems the Nano still manages to be a handsome choice for a consumer in desperate need of a shiny new digital music player. Of course, a few hours after this is printed, Apple will most likely release yet another version that will fix all the problems with the Nano, but that’s a given considering the technical age we live in.