iPod Touch - the link between classic iPods and iPhone

Author's Rating:

Pros: Innovative touch technology, beautiful screen, wifi, Safari browsing, great audio and video performance, slim design

Cons: Back scratches easily, battery life can be less if watching longs videos, no "touch" typing

The Bottom Line: 
Brilliant design, looks and performance, all in one product. The iPod Touch is the natural evolution of the iPod classic, and fills the gap between yesterday's iPods and the iPhone.

Author's Review
I am a fairly late iPod convert, only picking up my first iPod - a 60GB iPod video - last year. I was very happy with the iPod, although I have to admit that viewing videos could be trying at times, due to the tiny screen.

I almost passed up the opportunity to get the iPod Touch, but after playing with one for about 5 minutes I was convinced. In no time at all the iPod Video went on eBay to make room for the latest incarnation of the iPod.

The screen, and the fabulous touch-based technology that Apple has included, are the main design features of the iPod Touch. It is very well designed, very clever - and very intuitive. In no time at all I felt at ease using this new interface. It literally has to be used to be believed. I almost feel as if I am in a futuristic Sci-Fi film using the iPod Touch, it is that slick!

The iPod Touch does look similar to the iPhone, but as many have pointed out, it is a bit slimmer and shorter. The slim design is a bonus, as it fits unobtrusively into my pocket. This is one of the main selling points, in my opinion. The iPod's video-enabled competitors might have more bells and whistles, but they are often quite bulky for my taste.

The video experience is very much improved upon compared to the original iPod. The screen is much larger, and videos are displayed in landscape mode. Some users have complained of colour issues with their screen, but I can say that I do not fall into that category. I feel that the display is bright and crisp, and that colours are well represented.

The sound quality is slightly better than my original iPod. The bass sounds richer, and the highs stand out more. The music player interface is extremely simple to use, and I actually feel that it is an improvement on the original.

Some people have groused about the lack of storage capacity on the iPod Touch models, but for me, 16GB is fine. Granted, my MP3 collection is over 60GB - but I find that I am actually listening to more of the collection now that I no longer have room to fit the all of the songs on my iPod.

An added feature that my original iPod did not have is WiFi connectivity. You are able to browse the Internet wirelessly, which I actually use quite a bit. Safari provides the best mobile browser that I have used to date. The browser automatically senses the position of the iPod and adjusts to landscape or portrait positions.

You can also easily increase the size of the page with the same techniques you would use to magnify pictures.

Speaking of pictures, viewing your collection of pictures on this iPod is much improved due to the screen size and touch technology. Viewing and zooming is dead easy, and the images look great on the wonderful screen.

Because the iPod Touch uses OSX, you also have some of the same widgets that you would find on your Mac desktop or laptop. These are very hand, and a nice detail that adds to the user experience.

I do have a complaint with the iPod touch however. The back, as on the original iPods, is very scratch prone. I find that I am babying the iPod Touch more so than even the hard drive iPods!

Battery life also seems to be somewhat shorter than advertised, but I quite frequently sync - so this really is not an issue.

Lastly, the keyboard can be somewhat hard to use if you have big fingers. It is impossible for me to touch (or "feel") type, as it is a virtual keyboard and I have no tactile feedback. As a matter of fact, this is one of the reasons that I passed on the iPhone, as using controls "blind", as another reviewer put it, is very difficult.