Ipod touch

[simongr]

As a response to the OT talk in this thread here I thought I would give a quick review of the Ipod Touch - one of the new range of Ipods. This is the cough son of the Iphone.

The product can be found here on the Apple website. Basically they have taken the Iphone (a combination 2.5G phone and Ipod with a new apple interface), put it on Atkins, taken out the phone element and left us with a video ipod that is slim, chic and sleek.

What I have now is an ipod that is only margingally bigger than my old nano (1st gen highly scratched nano) but now plays video (more on that in a second) and has 4 times the capacity and a built in wireless connection option.

For context though I will lay my cards on the table - I have an iMac, iBook and 2 nanos in my household and am considering buying a macbook pro as my work laptop ion my next role (if I can) and replacing my iMac next year sometime with a new iMac and wall mounting the old one to be used as a kitchen TV - so I am biased in favour of apple products. This is not meant to be an objective comparison more a fanboys guide to his new toy.

Saying that - firstly the objective downisdes. 16gig is not a huge amount of memory - especially given that they have given you the chance to watch video on it. I am not too fussed on this. My total music collection is only 12 gig (and there is a lot of mrssimongr's stuff in there...) so this is not a major issue for me and I dont NEED my entire collection. i am happy to mix and match anyway so no dramas there for me. I dont think the battery is that great but havent pushed it too much as I can't lod anything onto it yet. I have been using the wireless internet connection a lot and about 3 hours use of that got me through roughly 1/3 of the battery indicator.

The biggest downside is that they have limited its potential uses - its like giving you a ferrari wth mind control over the steering but the wheels are locked in one direction only. I would assume that this will have more apps coming to it - maybe in the form of widgets (small add on programs) - I think that would take it to another dimension and open a new world of consumers.

There are a lot of new features on the touch - the main one being the new interface which is very nice. It is exactly the sort of direction that I want to see interfaces going - very intuitive, able to focus, grab and expand various areas of the screen. Its kind of like the interface used by Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The screen is fantastic - bright and crisp and big enough at 3.5in to be able to easily and comfortably read an AFF thread. One of my motivators for buying this was to have a device that I could jump online with quickly to check sports, aff etc. whilst in a wifi zone and this does the job perfectly. I wouldnt want to type out this post on the keyboard (basically a mini blackberry keyboard that pops up on screen at appropriate times) but it's good enough to log on check stuff.

In terms of video I have watched a few You Tube vids (it has a function that goes straight to you tube and plays vids from there. The screen seemed bright enough for me and watching a couple of You Tubes it looked fine. the challenge will be getting enough stuff into to watch. I have a heap of Xvids and when I get home will have to work out the best way to get them onto the device. The screen is certainly bright enough to watch and I could up the brightness even more.

Overall this is a great emotional purchase - this is not an objective purchase by any means - it is a great form factor, feels good to use and does the job I need it to do. simongr is a happy chappy at the moment

S

 

[mainly tailfirst]

Nice review.
As a fellow Machead, I'm seriously tempted by the 'iTouch'*. It seems that you got a 'good' one, others have not been so lucky.
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/The-iPod-meets-the-iPhone-a-review-of-the-iPod-touch.ars/5

I suspect that I'll succumb by the time I return Oz for Christmas. I will be regarded as distinctly non-nerdy if I return from the Valley with no new gadgets in hand...

mt

* I think that's a more appropriate name. The thing just begs to be advertised with the 'The Divinyls' playing in the background.

 

[Evan]

I like the look of them
But i have a 2g nano 8gb to do music for now.

I have an N800 just for fun (runs linux) but also like the look of the Fujitsu U800 as a small notebook replacement.

The only issue i see with the touch is lack of uses as you point out, things like consumer infrared (ie not able to control your DVD player etc) even if the apps were available.

But i love the idea of a real OS on these devices, if only Apple were more open to other development.

E

 

[Bundy Bear]

Thanks for the Itouch review Mr G.

I went and brought one about 6 weeks ago. The size is good as I expect from Apple and the screen is amazingly clear.

wifi works well even in the Qantas lounges. You can easily read a forum like AFF or FT and you can even reply to them if you really wanted to. A little keyboard icon pops up at the bottom of the screen.

Being able to rotate the screen 90degrees and the picture follows the head up view. The scrolling through your Itunes played list is very good and surprising how easy it is.

I also use it to store over 1000 photos. I have about 4 gig of music and about 1-2 gig of photos so the 8 or 16gig version which I have suits me fine.

The touch screen feature is trully amazing.

 

[Mal]

Yeah, when in the US a few weeks ago, I was very tempted to buy one. Very good discounts on the Australian price.

I have similar use for it as Simongr really - looking for something to play a few movies to while away the time while flying overseas, something that's small, but wifi enabled so I can surf my favourite websites/check bookings/banks etc while overseas.

Still umming and aahing over the purchase. Have never been an IPOD fan at all, and I detest the pricing policies relating to apple gear. Still, unless I can find something better at about the same price and size, then I think I'll buy one.

 

[simongr]

There are better media players around - one of my mates has a pathological dislike of Apple so I will ask him if there is a wifi alternative.

S

 

[blankman]

I'm also umming about whether to get an ipod touch. I like everything about it except its capacity- which is pretty important for me.

Another option i'm looking at is the archos range of media players. They have wifi capabilities and excellent storage but I think warranty would be an issue in Australia.

Has anyone had anyone heard of any experiences with the gen 5 models?

ARCHOS

Thanks

 

[simongr]

A lot of posters on FT are very big fans of the archos - if you do a search there on ipod touch you should find the thread.

 

[Febs]

I'd go the iPhone. I've been an Apple man since the age of 4, but was always a bit iffy about the iPhone. Not any more though...bought one (actually, a few ) in Buffalo a few days ago, and love it. Working fine with my Optus SIM, and is everything I'd hoped it would be.

Sure it has a few downsides - the camera sucks and you can't MMS...but all-round, it's a fantastic phone.

IMO the Touch isn't a huge discount over the AU RRP. ~$505 vs $549rrp. Decent, but nothing too special. The iPhone though, now that's $500AUD well spent.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[Mal]

IMO the Touch isn't a huge discount over the AU RRP. ~$505 vs $549rrp. Decent, but nothing too special. The iPhone though, now that's $500AUD well spent.

Actually, you're pretty much right. When I posted it, I was thinking of standard IPOD nano's which are a good discount, not the Touches which are still at an Apple Premium.

A lot of posters on FT are very big fans of the archo

Has anyone seen these in Australia? Can't find anyone online selling them (ie with Wifi etc)