While the standard iPod content management process has been well fairly well covered in the guide to setting up the 5th-generation iPod nano, there are some options on the main screen that weren't addressed.
This article goes into greater detail about those options, what they do, and when you might want to use them. It was written with the 5th-generation nano in mind, but applies to a number of other iPods as well.
You’ll find these options in the middle of the iPod management screen.
- Open iTunes when this iPod is attached – Will automatically open iTunes when you plug in the nano. A good idea to do this, unless you connect your iPod to this computer only for battery charging, not syncing.
- Sync only checked songs and videos - This is a way to prevent certain items from syncing to your iPod. If you check this, you can uncheck the box next to items in your iTunes library to prevent them from being automatically synced to the iPod.
- Manually manage music and videos - Using this means that your content will never automatically sync – you'll have to do it all by hand. This option does allow you to play the music on your iPod through computers other than your own, though.
- Enable disk us - Lets you store files on the iPod as if it were a portable hard drive. You can use this feature and also use it as a music player.
Voice Feedback
The third-generation iPod Shuffle was the first iPod to feature VoiceOver, software that allows the iPod to speak onscreen content to the user. The feature has since expanded to the iPhone 3GS' VoiceControl. The 5th-generation nano offers VoiceOver only.
- Enable VoiceOver - This feature will enable the suite of features that allows the iPod to speak the names of the song and artist currently playing to you.
- Enable Spoken Menus - Lets the iPod speak the names of the menu items on screen to you (this is primarily an accessibility feature)
- Use system voice instead of built-in voice - The default voice built into the nano is a bit robotic. This option lets you use a voice already present in your computer’s software for a more human experience. This requires iTunes to create VoiceOver messages using this new voice.
