iPod Nano 5th Generation ReviewNano iPod Criticisms & Successes
When the Nano iPod first came out, advertisers pointed to its small size, at 1.6″ wide, 3.5″ long and 0.27″ thick, and weighing in at just 1.5 ounces. Unlike the old CD players which had a two-hour battery life, the Nano could last up to 14 hours. The new Nano vastly improved upon the iPod Shuffle, which would only play songs at random. While the earliest version only came in black or white, Apple released a number of Nano accessories — such as the protective sleeves, armbands and lanyard-earphone combinations that prevented the dreaded tangled wires problem. Consumers eagerly snatched up one million units in just 17 days!
The initial criticism of the Nano iPod was its faulty LCD screen. Within days of owning the product, some users reported that the screen was so easily scratched they couldn’t even read the song titles. Even something as soft as a micro-fiber cloth was known to damage the delicate screens. Even though “less than 1%” of all devices suffered this problem, Apple agreed to replace iPod Nanos with cracked screens. Nevertheless, a class action lawsuit was filed and is in the process of wrapping up now — a step, which many say, could have been prevented if Apple had just offered full refunds on the Nanotechnology products, rather than charging restocking fees and keeping a short return policy period of 14 days.
The Nano iPod has come under fire by consumers who like to support ethical companies. After the first Nano MP3 player came out, some consumers complained that its bulky, non-renewable packaging was hazardous to the earth and created an unnecessary landfill mess. In response, Apple released their second generation Nano with 50% less packing material. Other consumers were outraged by reports that iPod workers in China made no more than $50/month and worked over 60/six days a week. In 2006, Apple hired a workplace standards auditing company and allowed members to form a union.
Despite its brushes with consumer dissatisfaction and lawsuits, the Nano iPod remains the top-selling portable music device in the world. The new Nano (Fifth Generation model) brings a lot of exciting Nano electronics’ features to the table. This is the first iPod to hold FM Radio that can be tagged, paused and rewound. It is also the first to have a video camera (640 x 480) and allow one-click Youtube uploads. Purchasers of these new iPod Nanos will also find built-in speakers, voice-activated shuffle, a pedometer and a voice recorder. One thing people have been complaining about is the fact that this product still does not have a camera built-in! Even so, for 8 GB Nanos at $150 and 16 GB Nanos at $180, there are a lot of functions for such a small and affordable device.
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Key Problems About Using Solar Power
The use of large areas of land for power plants with photocells of the first and second generation is needed because of the theoretical limitations in the spectrum transformation into the useful energy (about 30%). For example, it could take several tens of square kilometres for 1 GW power plant. For comparison, hydropower, with the same capacity, takes out from the use significantly larger tracts of land. But the construction of such power solar plants may change the microclimate in the surrounding area, so that photovoltaic power stations of 1-2 MW are usually being installed close to consumers or even as the individual and mobile units. Photoelectric elements of large solar power plants are being installed at a height of 1,8-2,5 m that allows the use of land under the power plants for agricultural purposes such as grazing. The problem of large areas of land finding for solar power could be solved in the case of the solar balloon stations, suitable for both terrestrial and marine, and for high-rise basing.
The flow of solar energy falling on a set at the optimum angle photocell depends on latitude, season and climate and can vary by two times for populated part of land (up to three if sub-Saharan Africa is taken into consideration). Atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, fog, dust etc. not only alter the spectrum and intensity of the solar radiation incident upon the surface of the Earth, but also alter the balance between direct and scattered radiation, which exerts considerable influence on some types of solar power. For example, it may affect concentrators or elements of a wide range conversion.
When solar cells are manufactured, the level of pollution does not exceed the permissible level for enterprises of microelectronic industry. Modern photovoltaic cells have a service life up to 30-50 years. In the process of some types of solar cells manufacturing the use of cadmium bound in compounds aimed to improve the efficiency of transformation, makes a complex issue of recovery. This also has not the acceptable decision from an environmental point of view yet. Although such elements have a slight spread and there a worthy replacement has been found for cadmium compounds in the modern manufacturing.
Recently the production of thin-film solar cells has been developing actively. Solar cells of such type of include only about 1% of silicon in its containing, with as regards to the mass of the substrate on which thin films are applied. Due to the small amount of materials on the absorbing layer, that is to say silicon, thin-film silicon photovoltaic cells cheaper in its production, but still have lower efficiency and fatal degradation characteristics over time. In addition, the production of thin-film photovoltaic cells on the other semiconductor materials is growing, in particular the CIS and CIGS that are worthy competitors to silicon. For example,