I'm listening to Le Nozze di Figaro on my nano as we speak.

I have a tan line on my arm, marking the spot where my nano is worn when I go outside. My nano has more accessories bestowed upon it than my miniature dachshund. When I discover new activities to share with my nano, I am excited. This is not an mp3 player - this is a pet.

Why am I so smitten? After all, I've owned a 30GB iPod for years. That iPod serves us very well, and I still consider it one of our most useful toys. Can there be any rational reason to have such affection for my tiny, 2GB nano?

Drink Me

Apple did more than simply shrink its original iPod. The nano is engineered to optimize its function as a music player which is not only portable, but ideal for playing while on the move. When my husband had a motorcycle, sometimes we would notice the 30GB iPod skipping when jostled. It also skipped if I took it on a hard run, which are the kind you need music for the most. The reason for the skipping was all the movement shaking the hard drive. The nano uses Flash memory, which means there are no moving parts, and no skipping. The On-The-Go Playlist function allows you to create playlists on the spur of the moment, simply by holding down the center button while listening to a song. For anyone who likes putting together their own compilations, this is addictive.

Flash also means the nano is able to be ridiculously small. Steve Jobs describes its weight as "about two dollars in quarters"; I call it one and a half ounces. Its size is 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches, but you have to touch and hold it to really appreciate it. The touch-sensitive click wheel makes the design so intuitive, even a five-year-old could use it - if you choose to allow five-year-olds access to your most elegant and costly music playing gadgets, that is. The nano is compatible with our 30GB iPod's accessories, as well as some fun new options just for the smaller player. My 2GB nano holds five hundred songs, assuming all the songs are around four minutes long. While I loved running with the 30GB iPod for how much smaller it was than a portable CD player, I am thrilled with how much smaller the nano is in comparison. Even at mile five of a six mile run, when even your shoes feel too heavy, I don't feel hindered or annoyed by the nano's presence. Actually, I often forget I am wearing it at all.

Specs, specs...You do have a computer, don't you?

Many times, I have been asked by those of a certain age how you get the music on the iPod. I am fond of these people, and consider it a fair question. You need a computer; either a PC with a USB port running Windows 2000 or later, Windows XP or later, or a Mac with a USB port running Mac OS X v10.3.4 or later. The iPod comes with software to install iTunes on your PC or Mac. Downloading songs and albums from iTunes is easy even for a novice, and much less expensive than buying music in a brick and mortar store. According to Apple, the iPod supports the following formats: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV. I don't have to know what those terms mean, I only have to look for them when I want to upload music to my nano. For the most part, the iPod plays what you have downloaded from iTunes or burned from your own CD collection. To put the music on your iPod, plug it into your computer and open iTunes. Simply click and drag music from your library into the nano. While there are other mp3 players on the market which cost much less, ease of use is a big argument in the iPod's favor. Anybody who can play solitaire on their computer can fill an iPod with music.

After enjoying music for up to fourteen hours, the nano needs to be recharged. I am a girl who is never accessible by cell phone because it is dead at the bottom my purse, but so far my nano's battery outlasts my lack of interest in charging it. I usually charge mine with the inMotion speakers I bought for our 30GB iPod, but no such accessories are necessary. Simply plug the iPod into your computer with the included cable for a one and a half hour quick charge up to 80 percent battery power, or three hours for a full charge. Right-click the nano icon and select eject before you disconnect it.

The nano can also store up to 25,000 photos and play a slideshow with music for up to four hours. That is 24,999 more photos than I will ever load into my nano, but I can see the appeal of this feature. The screen does a great job of making small writing and pictures clear and visible. It is only a 1 and a half inch screen, but the LCD is bright and shows 136 by 172 pixel resolution. The lamp is perfect in the sunshine as well as pitch darkness, and shows up well underneath my Nike Sport Armband, even though the sweat-proof window on that accessory is not transparent. If this screen were not so high quality, I think reading the text or viewing any pictures would be close to impossible.

What else can this do? It can play solitaire and quiz you on your music collection; you can store phone numbers and put things on the calender. I can't comment extensively on these functions, since I am not a sullen teen curled up in a corner, with headphones shutting out the universe. All I want to do with my nano is listen to music, usually while I am busy with some other activity such as working out or housework.

My confession

As much as I would like to insist that I chose the nano over any other mp3 player because it is optimized for my active lifestyle or its wondrously intuitive functionality, I must admit a strong physical attraction to this object. It's small, shiny, and the hottest accessory I've ever owned. I don't understand wearing it in the lanyard like a necklace, but I do love to strap it around my upper arm or flash it in public. Sometimes I use it as a lipstick mirror, courtesy of the reflective chrome back. Other people plainly covet my nano, and I feel smug. Apple detractors complain that the iPods are only so popular because they are trendy and attractive. Considering almost every married woman in the country wears a transparent crystal of pure carbon, with no utility, on their left hand, I am not ashamed of wanting something which is both useful and beautiful.

What's not to love?

That beautiful, sleek exterior which makes the nano such an object of desire also detracts from its function. A music player so ideal for an active lifestyle should be able to handle plenty of abuse, and thanks to the Flash drive, the nano can - but only on the inside. While only outright abuse and vandalism will destroy its functionality, cleaning it with the wrong cloth could mar its beauty. Since my husband paid $200 for a lovely thing, I treat it with care and it shows no scratches, but Apple should be smarter than this. Surely, the designers responsible for one elegant piece of hardware after another could produce an adorable music player with a tougher exterior.

If you dislike Apple's software, being forced to use iTunes will dismay you. The European Union wouldn't stand for this, but users in the US have no choice at this time. I think iTunes is excellent, but I am a Mac user, so what do I know?

While it is interesting that the nano can hold photos, run solitaire, and alert you to dental appointments, I resented those features as soon as I hit the wall for music capacity. Because I listen to full operas, 2GB goes fast. Are those extra functions taking up space where I could be storing more music? If they are, I would be much happier to store more songs for my $200 than photos and the ability to "rate" my music collection. And if extras must take up memory, why these ones? Why not a more practical feature, such as Bluetooth? I have a typical iHousewife's impatience for cords, and I would adore an iPod which could sync to iTunes wirelessly.

I hate the earbuds that come with the nano, and I am not alone. Given the user-friendliness of everything else, I expected at least some respect for my earholes. The earbuds sound decent enough when I am not distracted by the discomfort of shoving these too large, too round, and too hard objects into my ear. Apple has better earphones, but nothing truly excellent for sports. I'm disappointed.

While small is oh-so-hip, if you are old enough to need bifocals, you may find yourself holding the nano at arm's length to read the screen. High resolution LCD notwithstanding, the letters are small. Also, small means easy to lose - if you ever stop staring at it in admiration and delight, that is.

Succumb to the charms

I must wrap up this review now, because the next track is Sull'aria, two minutes and fifty seconds of singing so beautiful, I will stand silent and still while it plays. Considering the benefits and demerits to iPods in general and the nano in particular, I simply adore my little nano and can only think of three good reasons to choose a something from a different mp3 player family:

1. Apple's products are out of your price range.
2. Your computer doesn't meet the system requirements (and you don't want it to, gosh darn it!).
3. Steve Jobs slept with your wife.

Why be stubborn when you can be happy? If none of the above apply, nothing on the market can compete with the iPod in all the areas where it shines. The nano is better than anything else I have seen for runners, cyclists, or other types who don't listen to music sitting down. Strap one to your arm, grin and bear the lousy earbuds, and enjoy yourself.