The iPod Nanos were meant to replace the IPod Mini as the mid-level iPod product, with additional space and features compared to the IPod Shuffle and less than the traditional iPod. The introduction of the iPod Nanos surprised the press, due to the fact that even though they were anticipating an iPod that utilized flash memory for storage purposes, no one thought that Apple would so thoroughly have the iPod Nanos replace the IPod Minis.