





If you've managed to hold onto a first-generation iPod nano —the music player with a small screen, no video capability, and no touch screen -- congratulations, you are now eligible for a new one.

Earlier this month Apple issued a recall of first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 because of the possibility that the battery may overheat.

"The issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect," the company writes in a statement.

Apple adds that although the possibility of an incident is rare, the chances of it happening increase as the battery ages.

And if you are unclear how to tell if your nano is a true first generation, Apple has tips on that too.

"It has black or white plastic on the front and a silver metal back -- later iPod nano models have a metal front and back," the company writes on its iPod nano (first generation) Replacement Program page.

But we can't help but wonder, is anyone still using this thing?

If you are still using a first generation iPod nano, we applaud your temerity, and ability to not be swayed by the many advances Apple has made to its nano product in the six years since it first hit the market.

There have been six different iterations of the iPod nano since the product was released in 2005, changes that have seen the music player evolve from a slimmed down iPod to a metallic candy colored player to the current iteration that starts at $129 and is so small that Apple is now suggesting you wear it on your wrist like a watch.

Back when Apple introduced the iPod nano, the company trumpeted the device's "revolutionary" design -- it held 1,000 songs, yet it was thinner than a #2 pencil. In a vintage press release from the time, Steve Jobs declared, "The iPod nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod. [It] is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and it’s going to change the rules for the entire portable music market.”

It's hard to believe that was just six years ago.

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-- Deborah Netburn

Image: In 2006, the iPod Nano was part of an exhibit called "Design Life Now: National Design Triennial 2006." Credit: Associated Press /Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.