Sleek Device with Much Potential

.:Introduction:.

I have been keeping an eye on the iPod touch, especially with the advent of the App Store and news of an updated design. Now that it's finally here, I took a dive and ordered mine directly from apple.com. Now let's see what's in store!

.:Purpose:.

I was mainly looking for a device that is easily portable, could keep me entertained during downtime, and has full web capabilities. A few items of importance to me were the ability to read .pdfs, view the web with a full web browser, have access to e-mail, PDA functionality, and powerful reference applications (such as dictionaries and encyclopedias).

.:Experience:.

Package: The device comes in a small, sturdy plastic box. Inside you find the device, earphones, a USB 2.0 cable, a dock adapter, polishing cloth, and quick start guide.

Design: The iPod touch is a stunning device.

Height: 4.3 inches (110 mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (61.8 mm)
Depth: 0.33 inch (8.5 mm)
Weight: 4.05 ounces (115 grams)

Its physical dimensions already show what a thin, sleek, and beautiful body it has. The back is a polished steel contoured to fit nicely in your hand. Overall it is very sturdy, and there is no signs of flex upon pressing the device.

The front is graced with a 3.5" display with multi-touch at a 480x320 pixel resolution. It is made of glass that is amazingly scratch resistant - demonstrated by numerous youtube members keying their screen (though I would not recommend this myself!). The brightness can be set to auto adjust depending on the ambient light. The colors and pictures are gorgeous, and there is nothing lacking in terms of display power. People using this device as a portable movie player will be completely satisfied.

For Apple, simplicity is everything. The face only has one "home" button. At first this seems severely limiting. However, upon use, most applications provide seamless ways to interact with the device, such as a digital keyboard that responds to your taps on the screen. There is also a power button located at the top of the device, a jack for headphones or speakers, a port to connect to a computer or dock, and with the 2nd generation of the iPod touch, physical volume keys.

Hardware: The iPod touch currently comes in a 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB flash drive format.

I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed what actually powers this device. Inside it carries a 620 MHz ARM CPU (underclocked to 412 MHz), a PowerVR MBX Lite 3D GPU, 128 MB DRAM, and a 802.11 b/g chip. Compared to the PSP, Nintendo DS, and other portable devices, it is one of the most powerful devices out there. What is amazing is not only its power, but that they have managed to engineer all this into such a slim enclosure. Hackers have managed to run Quake 3 on the iPod touch, which really shows you what it is capable of.

The battery is lithium, touted to have up to 36 hours of audio playback and 6 hours of video playback. I have found that actual use puts me very close to these numbers. Of course there are other factors to consider, such as screen brightness and wi-fi, which consumes a lot of battery power.

Additionally, the 2nd generation iPod touch carries an onboard speaker. This is definitely a plus, as it makes playing games or sharing a movie much easier. You can also play your music without using headphones, albeit the quality is a bit basic (comparable to an old AM radio).

Software: This is what makes the device what it is, giving it PDA functionality and making it far-far more than just a media player.

The device comes with a music player (itunes), fully-featured Safari web browser, mail application, maps, youtube, photo viewer, calender, contacts, stocks, weather, notes, basic calculator, and with the 2nd generation iPod, Nike+ functionality!

All the included applications run seamlessly with the device, and the interface is a joy to use. The music player uses the "cover flow" interface, which displays all the album art for your music collection. You can go through your entire collection with just a swipe of your finger. Various formats are supported, including .mp3, .mp4, .wav, .aiff, .mov, .aac, and more.

The mail application had me set up my gmail account in a few minutes, and I was able to check and reply to all my e-mail as easily as if I were using my PC. The maps feature is basically a portable version of the web application Google maps. Youtube, stocks, and weather are also web based applications, but run like "widgets" or "gadgets". The calender has a simple interface, and has a daily, weekly, or monthly view. It is really easy to add items, and can sync with an Outlook calender.

The above are only what comes with the device! There are literally hundreds of other applications you can download, many of which are free. To give you a few examples, there are medical applications, notebooks, pdf/ e-book readers, dictionaries, radios, productivity applications, and much more. Let's not forget the games, which range from puzzle to racing games. The developers employ clever application of the iPod touch's accelerometer (which detects the degree of tilt of the device) with their games. For example, you can drive a virtual dirt-bike just by holding the device sideways like a steering wheel!

The Nike+ feature is also handy for runners. I have not used it myself yet, but apparently it can track the length and timing of your runs, which is a great motivational feature. All that is needed is a seperate attachment that you clip onto your shoes.

.:Personal Thoughts:.

This device has certainly met my expectations.

It is portable enough to slip into my pocket, and durable enough to not have to worry about it breaking or the screen getting scratched up.

During downtime (waiting for the bus, lunch, lines, etc.) there is plenty to keep me engaged, such as numerous games and videos. Additionally, as a Go (ancient oriental game, western equivalent is Chess) player, I can review games or solve problems using an application.

Having access to all my e-mail in one click (or touch rather) is really convenient.

The web browsing experience is also nice, but the screen size is sometimes a limiting factor. Viewing vertically, one can see the entire layout of a website, but usually the text is way to small. You can pinch out to zoom in and pan around, but this gets annoying after a while. So although the web presentation is accurate, I would not use it for reading large amounts of text or navigating cumbersome websites.

I can read pdfs using an application called "AirSharing," which syncs files between your PC and the iPod touch. In addition to pdfs, it supports a variety of other files such as pictures and word documents. A really nice feature to have, and it makes viewing files on the go a snap. However, again the screen size is a limitation, as even with the ability to zoom, one can only pan around so much before it gets frustrating.

In terms of PDA functionality, the iPod syncing feature is great. All my calenders and appointments are easily managed. One caveat though is there is no ability to edit Word or Excel files yet. Developers may implement this feature in the future. I am also looking forward to Google's web applications being supported by mobile Safari. 

Whatever industry you are in, you probably can find an application to make things easier, such as a task manager. For me, who is about to go into the health industry, having applications such as Epocrates Rx and Eponyms is so helpful. I can look up drug and treatment information in a few seconds.

Overall, for entertainment and quick information, the iPod touch passes with flying stars. Reading large amounts of text however is a bit cumbersome, so I would not use this device as a primary e-book reader.

Of course the iPod touch is firstly a music player, and it does that just fine. A new feature that Apple introduced is "Genius," which makes smart playlists according to your preferences along with those of thousands (maybe millions) of other users.

Buying music and commercial applications is a snap once you get it set up. With iTunes, you have access "to millions of songs, thousands, of movies, and hundreds of games." Easy as searching for an artist and tapping - the music gets delivered straight to your device!


.:Conclusion:.

The iPod touch is a very versatile machine. It can play music, video, and has tons of applications that are constantly being developed. The device itself has solid construction, powerful hardware, and a nearly infinite potential in terms of functionality.

The newest generation of the iPod touch starts at $229. I do not think there is a better time to purchase if you have been eyeing this device.