The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide, Second Edition

The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide16

On the Face of It

On the front of your iPod and iPod nano, you’ll fi nd

a display and set of navigation controls. The shuffl e

dispenses with the display and provides a simplifi ed

set of controls. On the fi rst two generations (1G and

2G) of the iPod, these controls were arrayed around a

central scroll wheel and were mechanical—meaning

that they moved and activated switches underneath

the buttons. On the third-generation (3G) iPods,

these controls were placed above the scroll wheel

and were touch sensitive; they activated when they

came into contact with your fl esh but, allegedly, not

when a nonfl eshy object (such as the walls of your

backpack, pocket, or purse) touched them.

The iPod mini, fourth-generation (4G) and later full-

size iPods, and the iPod nano bear a click wheel that

incorporates the navigation buttons. Unlike the fi rst

two generations of the iPod, on which the buttons

are arrayed around the outside of the wheel, these

buttons are part of the wheel itself (Figure 2.1). Their

sensors sit beneath the wheel at the four compass

points, and the scroll wheel sits upon a short spindle

that allows it to rock in all directions. To activate one

of the buttons, just press the wheel in the direction

of that button.

The iPod shuffl e’s navigation controls are based on

this wheel idea but don’t duplicate it exactly. The

ring around the center button is far narrower than

you’ll fi nd on the mama and papa iPods, and it func-

tions somewhat differently. Because of the shuffl e’s

lack of a display and different controls, I’ll discuss

it separately.

Figure 2.1 iPod’s

click wheel.