[gutman]

I got a 4 GB nano for Christmas and have been having what appears to me to be a series of problems. First let me say that I'm a pretty low-powered user. I have 200 or so songs and maybe 20 podcasts which I update about once a week, and I try to recharge the nano about every three days. No heavy use, no special software, or exotic uses of my iPod. I like to listen to podcasts on my way home from work and it seems that everytime after I turn on my iPod and after it boots up (apple screen), I dial down to "podcasts", hit select, and it reboots. After waiting for the apple to go away and the reappearance of the top level menu, I dial down to "podcasts" again, hit select, and it reboots again. This can happen up to five times, which, while driving, is quite a pain. Today, after rebooting twice, I dialed down to "podcasts" and it just froze in that position. I had to wait until getting home to get the reset directions off Apple's website and reset it. This nano is barely four months old, does not get heavy use, and seems already to be acting as if on its last legs. Is this par for the course with all nanos (or worse, with all iPods) or do I have a lemon? Should I expect to put up with this bad behavior for the lifetime of the nano? How can Apple in good faith charge $250 for a product that operates so unfriendly? Thanks.

[digidan]

Well, you're not alone. A lot of iPod Video users have had the same trouble. I'm not terribly suprised actually - that's more or less exactly the same problem I'm having.
First? Try the new Apple iPod updater, if you haven't already. (iPod Updater 3-23)
It solves the issue for some, like the constant reboot every time I woke my iPod from hold, it didn't fix others. My iPod still fails to work occationally. Well, it does, but it occastionally won't come out of hold (it freezes) - and needs a reset.
you might also try the iPod "5 Rs". www.apple.com/support/
I wish you luck - Hopefully Apple will get to the bottom of these troubles.
-Dan