A number of different gyms have effectively banned people from using the new Apple iPod nano 5G while in dressing rooms and while working out. That’s because this new nano has that video camera on the back and the gyms are looking out for the best interests of their clients. Privacy is important.

Does this mean that you’ll need to invest in a different MP3 player to pump “Eye of the Tiger” into your skull as you trot along on the elliptical trainer? Well, maybe and maybe not.

Most gyms will probably still allow you to use the iPod as a music device, but don’t hold it up pointed at anyone in particular for too long of a period. One spokesperson said that “discerning whether someone is taking video or just queuing up a music mix can be difficult.” In this way, some gyms might have an outright ban.

How can you overcome this? Seeing how the nano 4G and nano 5G have similar dimensions, couldn’t you just get an old (opaque) case or sleeve and slip it over the new nano? This would block the camera and eliminate the problem, right?

Source: Slashgear

Part of this has to do with its supposed “efforts to fight terrorism,” but I think this has more to do with the “lobbying by Nokia” and other handset makers who are tired of seeing the fake Chinese knockoffs bite into the sales of legitimate phones. We don’t want to see another Mokia, BlueBerry, or uPhone, right?

This is not only to protect the sales of the “real” phones, but the Indian Cellular Association (ICA) is saying that some of the phones coming from China come with faulty batteries and these can blow up on users. That’s a major safety hazard.

Further still, the phones may not come with a IMEI number, so they become much more difficult to track. That’s where the “fight terrorism” part of the equation comes into play. It is estimated that between one million and 1.5 million Chinese knockoff handsets are imported into India each month.

Talk about Clone Wars, eh?

Source: Intomobile