Since the launch of the 4 & 5th generation iPod Nano Apple has dominated the marketplace of the “small media players”, devices that can play music and video and hold at least 8gb – the 5th generation nano adding the video camera.
One rival to the Nano is the Kubik Edge 8GB MP3 & Video Player and at half the price of the 8gb iPod nano is well worth considering if your budget will not stretch to the £100 you need for the iPod Nano.
First thing first this device differs from iPod nano in that it is controlled via a touch screen, which gives it some similarities with iPod touch in appearance only smaller. Though this is not a device that will allow you to connect to the Internet.
What it offers that the iPod nano doesn’t, well it has a 2 mexapixel camera as well as video recording capability, the Nano just has a quite low quality video recorder only. As well as this the Kubic edge comes with a Mini SD Card Slot to expand memory by up 4GB.
Where the Kubik Edge falls down is probably in the quality of build and functionality, the nano is smaller and lighter and boasts that unmistakable Apple style that exudes quality, the sound quality is better on the nano though most people won’t notice a difference when using the headphones, though it will be more obvious when docking with more powerful speakers. The Kubik Edge screen is bigger though pixel quality less and your iPod nano will last twice as long between full charge. The nano’s full-charge takes 3 hours, whilst the Kubik Edge is just 2 hours, but remember the Nano will give you twice as long back for those 3 hour charge, the nano also gives you 80% charge (19 hours) after just 1.5 hours charge.
After reading some personal reviews of problems with the iPod nano and the Kubik Edge, it’s clear that you are far more likely to encounter faulty devices and durability problems with the Kubik Edge, the old saying of you get what you pay for works here – At less than £50 for Kubik Edge, you can imagine quality control at the Kubik factory is nowhere near as high as at the Apple factory.
One final issue with the Kubik Edge is although it supports wma and wav, it’s best if things are converted to mp3 (they offer you some software to convert your file). It will play wma and wav files but with these it lumps them all into one location so you can’t select by album, artist etc.
Overall if you can afford it and you don’t need a camera or FM tuner, I personally would go for the nano over the Kubik Edge. If you do only have £50 to spend then you probably won’t find a much better video mp3 player than this.
Though in saying all that – the 8gb iPod touch is just £140.94, which is easily the best iPod available so if your budget can stretch to £40 more than this would be my choice.
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Winner | |
| Kubik Edge | iPod Nano | ||
| Size (mm) | 93 x 15 x 55 | 90.7 x 6.2 x 38.7 | iPod Nano |
| Weight (grams) | 78 | 36.4 | iPod Nano |
| Style | Ok | It’s Apple | iPod Nano |
| Capacity | 8GB (+ 4GB) | 8GB & 16GB | iPod Nano |
| Price | £46.99 | £99 to £130 | Kubik Edge |
| Sound Output | 2 x 4 mW | 60 mW amplifier | iPod Nano |
| Frequency response | 30Hz to 18,000Hz | 20Hz to 20,000Hz | iPod Nano |
| Display (diagonal) | 2.8-inch | 2.2-inch | Kubik Edge |
| Display (Resolution) | 320 x 240 | 376 x 240 | iPod Nano |
| Camera | 2 Megapixels | None | Kubik Edge |
| Video | 2 Megapixels | 0.3 megapixel | Kubik Edge |
| Radio Tuner | Yes | Yes | Kubik Edge |
| Touch Screen | Yes | No | Kubik Edge |
| Audio Life | 12 Hours | 24 hours | iPod Nano |
| Video Life | 3 hours | 5 hours | iPod Nano |
| Full-charge time | 2 hours | 80% in 1.5 hours | iPod Nano |
| Fast-charge time | None | 3 hours | iPod Nano |
| Build Quality | OK | It’s Apple | iPod Nano |
| Supports | MP3, WAV, WMA | AAC, Protected AAC , HE-AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV | iPod Nano |
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