iPod nano 6 Firmware Reveals All-New OS

Reports indicate that Apple has started shipping the brand new, sixth-generation iPod nano out to those who’ve pre-ordered the player. A developer, for his part, was mostly interested in the player’s underlying software, so he decided to poke around it and see what he could find.

Multiple sources reveal that Apple fans are being notified of their shipment status for iPod nano 6. The devices are to arrive on September 13, or sooner, for some.

As noted above, developer Steven Troughton-Smith was more interested in the OS that allows the Multi-Touch magic in the new nano.

So he got his hands on the new nano’s firmware, nosed around a bit, and found that it’s a version 1.0, meaning it’s not iOS, not the old nano/classic OS, but a new operating system specifically designed for the 6G nano.

“Aha, the new iPod nano firmware is up on phobos; time to dig it apart and see if there's anything of note,” he wrote in a Twitter update.

“The nano codename is N20 it appears; also labelled as ‘1.0’ of the OS. Definitely not iOS,” Steven revealed to followers minutes later.

“That's interesting; VoiceOver seems to have a database of common 'artist name' to 'phonetic name' translations. I'd never considered that,” he also noted.

According to the developer, the Extract2g tool from FreeMyiPod works with the new firmware.

One last find: “the rsrc partition seems to embed a FAT16 partition that I haven't extracted yet,” Steve shared with his followers.

Apple unveiled the completely redesigned iPod nano featuring a Multi-Touch interface on September 1, alongside a new iPod touch, a new shuffle, iTunes 10 and a new Apple TV.

The Multi-Touch “embedded” by Apple in the new nano’s OS lets users navigate their music collection by simply tapping or swiping a finger on the display.

At nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation nano, the new device features a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip. It merges key features from the iPod shuffle and iPod nano lines.

Also noteworthy for Apple fans, Cupertino has started shipping the fourth-generation iPod touch as well.

Several sources reported yesterday that Apple fans who’d pre-ordered their brand new iPod touches were getting shipment notifications via email, with Apple listing September 14 as the estimated time of arrival.

iPod touch 4 is packed full of new features including Apple’s Retina Display, FaceTime video calling, two built-in cameras, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, a 3-axis gyro, and iOS 4.1 with Game Center.