The Touch is more than a Touch Better than my Ipod

The Ipod Touch is the flagship of a very capable and fun line of Apple Ipod products. The Shuffle,Nano,Classic in assending order make up the rest of the core family of products.
Being an owner of the Gen Five 30 gig Ipod for a few years, and is my benchmark comparison for the Touch, I will attempt to share with you pertinent appeals and possible opportunities for the Ipod Touch.
This Touch is the middle model with 16 gigs of flash memory vs. the Hard Drive based Ipod I have owned for a number of years. The Touch has the latest firmware of 2.1 downloaded 09-12-2008.This Ipod Touch as well as my older 30 gig Ipod are interfaced with my I-Mac 24 computer. Hence forth using the HFS file system.
Windows computers use a different file format.

Like all Apple products this Ipod Touch has a quality expensive feel to it. With size only about a 1/4 of an inch taller than my other Ipod it is very small considering the large 3.5 touch view screen. It is a bit narrower in side to side than my other Ipod as well. The Polished metal back and beautiful Glass face remind me of fine watches with fit and finish that is excellent. Very tight gaps tactile controls. Well just 2 really. Power/Sleep control and the Return Control below the screen as you hold the Touch vertically. ( this point forward I will refer to the Ipod Touch as "Touch" and the old Ipod as well the "Ipod".) Quality wise the Touch is on par with my Ipod. I have a Rubber Armor cover and screen protector coming for it to preserve the Touch against the usual rough and tumble of life. Further impressions of the Cover and face protector pending. It remarkable how thin the Touch is. A bit less than a quarter inch.


The unboxing of the Touch is simple. Break open the seal and slide the cover up. Under the cover is a built in foam insert to protect the Touch from shock during transport. Inside the box accessories include a microfiber cloth for the glass face, 1 pair of earbuds, basic "quick start" instruction manual, important things to know manual, and Ipod Dock adaptor. I hooked up my Touch to my computer and it was instantly recognized in I-tunes. I performed the upgrade to 2.02 firmware and later to 2.1 level firmware. 2.1 firmware by the way is compatible with the Iphone as well since the Touch and the Iphone close cousins of each other. Improved hot fixes for backup and fewer dropped calls and other improvements for the use of applications are included with this firmware update. $9.95 for the 2.02 update and free for the 2.1 update for those whom already have the 2.02 update.
Syncing was uneventful and quick. My TV shows and Music from purchased as well as ripped from CDs went onto the Touch flawlessly.
Basic use is pretty much like my old Ipod but with the advent of Pinch Touch Technology the once famous nav wheel on my Ipod seems dated. Icons to select at main screen where you want to go are a snap. Music,Video,Internet,Mail,Contacts,Map routing and more are here at your finger tips. So this Touch is a much more powerful device than my Ipod could ever be.


Video performance is very good for the size. The screen quality is about DVD quality. Colors are vibrant and reasonably accurate. Detail is quite good. Aliasing is very low. Good Contrast and Brightness performance.
Very much easier to view than my Ipod was/is.
I have set my view for Letterbox/Widescreen mode to get the most out of this beautiful display.
Audio performance is very good. The stock earbuds are reasonably clear in the mid range, but have poor bass response while playing either my Touch or Ipod. The highs are just a bit pushy too. Plugging in my I-Grado headphones drastically improves performance in the bass and produces a rich entertaining listen. The Touch sounds a bit more smoother and relaxed than my Ipod does. Perhaps different Operational Amplifiers or Digital Analog Converters. I can't honestly say, but the Touch just sounds a bit better, and to me at least it is easily noticeable. I have a set of Sennheiser CX series earbuds on the way from Amazon.com I bought for $30.00. They were $90.00 before. Obviously if you want the best earbud the top of the line Shure earbuds for about $480.00 or so are available for those who will not compromise on their sound. Hmm, that is more than the Touch. I will have impressions of the Sennheisers in a later update or solo review so please stay tuned.

The Touch is all about the experience in the applications and Web and Email client world via the abililty to use Wifi. 802.11b/g Protocol for you geeks out there. I interfaced easily with my Wifi Network at home here in just a few minutes using the Setup Icon on the Touch and putting in the Connection I.d. and the Network Password and Encryption type. Now that is done this Touch runs away from my Ipod as the quintessential device of convenience to surf the web with its built in Safari browser which is very efficient and reasonably quick. Safari is quick mainly because of it employ of Web Kit.
While my Touch will not replace any of my computers anytime soon for speed and legibility, it is nice have a small device to check my emails, plot my course for a trip tomorrow, and jot down some notes in my note page to remind me of the things I need to do. The integrated Touch Keyboard is a challenge for my Sausage sized fingers to use, but I am getting better through time. While browsing the net I may view via vertical traditional 4:3 like, or go to wide screen by just tilting the unit 90 degrees. The Accelerometer detects the Touch's orientation and through logic flips the screen to the proper view position. Kind of reminds me of the Sony DSLRs that when you flip the camera vertically, the operating menu goes that way too.
One caveat of the Wifi is the rather voracious use of battery power. It doesn't take long that after just a few hours of use the battery indicator is half empty, or half full if you prefer. Playing music without employment of the screen on is a great way to save power. Also turning off your Wifi connection when not in use will save battery power as well. I have the Griffin AC adaptor to 30 pin to keep the Touch charged when I don't have computer close by.
My older Ipod I think is more battery efficient except when viewing videos, but all else it seems it will out last my Touch even playing music. Seems odd since flash drives should be more efficient than Hard Drive Technologies.
Games are also what this Touch is for. Any game the Iphone can do or applications the Iphone can do, the Touch can do too. I am going to try Spore on it, and a few other games on it. I have played a few games on a buddy's Iphone and it is a hoot. But the Touch is so much more than another game platform. The Nike health monitor system with the transponder that goes in your shoe, and a Dongle that attaches to the 30 pin connector make this a great exercise monitor companion too. Calories spent, heart rate, target goals and objectives and much more. The Nike exercise devices are additional options by the way sold separately.
Safari browser seems to be one of the S.D.K.s' or Software Developers Kit that is available to create 3rd party applications. So various 3rd party vendors can create games and other applications.
So while I don't expect the Touch to be perfect with these applications it will evolve into a capable platform soon. As a note neither the Iphone or the Touch support Java or Flash Encoded applications. Which is weird since the You Tube feature of the Touch works great. You Tube uses Flash encoding for the Video. This is odd I think. While browsing
The Pinch Touch Technology allows to enlarge and make small what you view. Just place you thumb and index finger tips on the screen and to make larger spread your thumb and index finger, and to make smaller pinch the thumb and index finger toward each other.Additional coolness is with the Wifi working in conjunction with the map program if you are say in a Wifi enriched area, you could navigate about with reasonable confidence that you will get to your destination efficiently. While it will not beat a GPS unit. It is still better than nothing. I have only "touched" on only the highlights of this most amazing platform. You really have to get one for yourself and see how it does for you.
Which brings up the issue "who wants one?" Someone whom doesn't need the phone capability. I have Verizon and can't get the Iphone. AT&T are the only carrier for the time being here in the U.S.A.

Others that enjoy video allot will love the 3.5 screen. Folks who travel will love watching and listening to their favorite content. Those in rich Wifi areas will the love the Internet access and Email client and Map features and You-Tube Video feature.
Things that will be a concern. Battery life when Wifi is on is fairly limited. Those whom put their entire library of content on their Ipod may find the 16 or even the 32 gig capacity for that matter limited.I have no such problems since my to die for favorite content is all I want and the next best than the so so content stays at home on the computer. Also I constantly update my content and freshen up the play lists that filling up my Touch is not necessary.

Do I like or love the Touch over my Ipod? It is a very strong and qualified yes. The video performance is terrific, the Wifi and application possibilities abound, and the future looks bright for more applications. The One thing I did noticed was how the Touch would not display album art and change play list commands while interfaced with my Kenwood Car entertainment system. My Ipod does everything flawlessly. I will have to contact Kenwood and find out what the fix is. Maybe another firmware update for the Kenwood. We will see.
Overall I recommend the Touch for folks who want the applications on top of what is already a great Ipod, and for those who already have great phone from any provider other than AT&T. I love my Motorola V9m and I will not replace it any time soon.
So with the above comments I can say yes I recommend the Touch as long as it integrates well with your other Technology Life. Thank you for reading. V.C.