Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 195
 Thinner Feeling, Longer Lasting, 2 New Buttons, Built-in Speaker September 18, 2008
Alan (United Kingdom)
488 out of 506 found this review helpful
I reviewed the 1st generation iPod touch back in December 2007. The iPod touch has certainly come a long way since then. The iPod touch runs the same operating system as the iPhone, which is now up to version 2.1. iPhone OS 2.1 runs very smoothly, with fast installation of apps, minimal input lag, faster automatic backups in iTunes, and excellent stability.
With the 2nd generation iPod touch hardware, it is clear that Apple DO listen to their customers. Make no mistake, the 1st generation hardware was and still is excellent. But no product is perfect, and there's always room for improvement. So how is the 2nd generation iPod touch hardware different from the 1st generation? How is it better?
Thickness was never a problem with the 1st generation iPod touch. After all, how much thinner than 8mm do you need a pocket computer to be? Well, despite Steve Jobs saying "it's even thinner", the 2nd generation iPod touch is actually thicker. Yes, thicker. It's 8.5mm thick in the centre. However, it feels thinner in your hand because of the contoured design, borrowed from the iPhone 3G. Apple's big thing in 2008 is eliminating the sides of products, and replacing them with swooping curves that taper to a soft point. For the iPod touch this is a good thing, because it feels less hard and angular in your hand, making it far more comfortable to hold.
The Battery Life of the 1st generation iPod touch was already good at 24 hours for Audio, and 7 hours for Video. The 2nd generation iPod touch dramatically improves on Audio, now at 36 hours, but mysteriously drops 1 hour for Video, down to 6 hours.
The biggest problem for me, with the 1st generation iPod touch, was the lack of physical buttons. How many Consumer Electronics products can you think of that only have 2 buttons? It's a miracle the 1st generation iPod touch did what it did (e.g. Mail, Internet, YouTube, Maps) with just 2 buttons! However, changing the volume of your Music was unnecessarily awkward. First you'd have to tap the Home button to wake the iPod touch from sleep, then you'd have to double-tap it again to bring up the iPod Controls, then you'd have to slide your finger across the screen to operate the virtual volume slider. Fortunately, Apple have overcome their fear of buttons and actually added a physical rocker-switch to the side of the iPod touch. Press one end to increase the volume instantly, and press the other end to decrease it. Genius :-)
Let's be clear, the 2nd generation iPod touch still comes with Apple's normal, no-frills iPod Earphones. However, it will also work with Apple's brand new £19.00 Earphones with Remote and Mic. These are brilliant and actually an improvement over what's shipped with the iPhone 3G. There's a tiny white "block" on the cord of the Earphones that contains 3 buttons and 1 microphone. Squeeze the centre button and you can pause your Music. Squeeze it again and you can continue playing your Music. Double-squeeze it and you can skip forward to the Next track. Triple-squeeze it and you can skip back to the Previous track. The hidden microphone may not seem particuarly interesting at present. But it's worth noting, with this piece of hardware, the iPod touch is all-set to become a VOIP Wi-Fi Phone. All it needs is a Skype app on the App Store! While you wait for the official one, try Fring instead, which is free.
Finally, anyone that's used an iPhone will appreciate how useful it is having a built-in speaker. It's fun for playing video games, it's sociable for watching videos with friends, and it's essential for apps such as the French Talking Phrasebook. Well, the 2nd generation iPod touch now has a built-in speaker. The catch is, the speaker isn't as good as the one in the iPhone 3G. It's completely internal, with no visible hole or port, so the quality of the sound is weaker and tinnier.
Don't buy a Nano, and especially don't buy any other brand. This is the premier portable media device. January 21, 2009
J. Patton
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Next to the iPhone, the iPod touch is one of the greatest handheld devices ever conceived. I wouldn't call this an MP3 or even an MP4 player, because it is so much more. The iPod touch combines a portable media player, a portable gaming device, a PDA, a net-tablet/netbook, a VOIP phone, an internet radio, an ebook reader, and even a musical instrument in to one very thin, very beautiful, and very intuitive device.
As a PMP, the iPod touch is fantastic. The built-in speaker might not be of audiophile quality, but it is one of my favourite features. I am now able to listen to music while doing things that wouldn't permit me to wear my headphones, and I don't need a docking station to do so. Also, the new Apple Genius playlist compiler works very well, and I find myself using it all of the time. Video quality is top notch as well. I definitely appreciate the ability to switch between the filled-screen and uncropped modes. The iPod touch handles skipping through long parts of video without lag, which is also impressive.
As a gaming device, the iPod touch has really impressed me. The processor of the iPod touch 2G is far more powerful than the PSP (though the graphics card isn't quite as good) and because the touch relies completely on its flash memory, games load in seconds compared to wasting half of your flight waiting for the dismal loading times on the PSP. The graphics are far above expectations for an iPod, and can even rival some decent PSP games. iPod touch games are also far cheaper than comparable PSP and DS games. The biggest drawback is obviously the lack of buttons, but touch games overcome that with unique methods of game input (touch, motion, sound, etc). In my opinion, the iPod touch is like a cross between a PSP, a DS, and a Wii when it comes to gaming.
Additionally, the iPod touch is a good net-tablet. The internet loads quickly, and most sites work just as they would in the normal Safari browser. I have yet to come in to problems with the lack of flash/java support, as many web developers create iPod/iPhone versions of their sites to circumvent problem. I'm sure flash and java will be supported in future updates, so it's only a matter of time anyway. Typing with the onscreen keyboard really isn't as bad as many are suggesting, and auto-correction can now be turned off if you don't like it (though I think it is brilliant).
Some nice PDA features are pre-loaded on to the iPod touch, and you can download many more off of the App Store for free. The calendar is one of the better mobile calendars I have used, and it is much better than the one that was first launched for iPod touch in 2007. By far though, my favourite PDA app is Mail. It works just like the Mail app in Mac OS X, and it can read Word docs, PDF files, Excel spreadsheets, Powerpoint shows, and all of the iWork equivalents. It checks your Mail periodically and will alert you to new messages (you can adjust/turn off this feature). Contacts can be entered as well, and you can add pictures for your contacts. I like how you can specify the country of the phone number by adding the country code, and it will automatically put the spaces in the correct places.
Other features on the latest iPod touch include the VOIP phone functionality (free 3rd party app required), though you'll need to purchase a compatible microphone. Other free 3rd party apps add internet radio; pianos, guitars, flutes, and drums; and an ebook reader which is also capable of buying new books on the internet.
I've had my iPod touch 2G for a while now, and I am still constantly impressed by its excellent functionality.
And yes Apple, it is the "funnest" iPod ever.
A Quality Piece of Technology March 2, 2009
N. Slatford (Bournemouth, UK)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Having recently switched over from PCs to Macs, I found Macs to be a much better all round computer, I had never really given Apple as a brand much thought, but the iMac proved to me that they were a decent company with the ability to produce decent computers. I soon after purchased an iPod Nano, I continued to be impressed by the Apple brand.
So I then, quite recently, made the decision to invest in a 2G 8Gb iPod Touch. Both of my parents have one and after spending a few hours on my mum's iPod I was hooked. The things this thing can do makes this an extremely useful piece of kit.
The Touch comes (as all previous iPods do) neatly packaged in a hard plastic container, within you will find the iPod (obviously), headphones, USB cable, cleaning cloth and quick start guide. Setting up is a breeze, just plug the iPod in and it will auto detect iTunes. Once booted, iTunes will sync it and allow you to register, this is quick and painless, taking mere minutes. Once you are synced, you may be asked to download and install updates, no problems here. Once you are finished setting up, you can begin transferring your music, videos and photos across. This is easy, just drag and drop and is quick with minimal hassle.
The OS of the iPod is intuitive and easy to use, there aren't menus buried within menus to navigate, and the touch screen controls are ever so responsive, even I found typing easy and my fingers aren't very nimble. Everything is laid out nicely, and their little things such as clever little visual effects and general aesthetics add to the fun. You can access the App store from the main menu, and browse through loads of apps, music, videos etc. Downloading them is easy, some are free, others cost to download, but this is usually a very small amount and your enjoyment won't be impaired if you don't pay for the apps.
The device supports Javascript, has a built in web browser that is a pleasure to use, e-mail client that can be synched with any e-mail address you may have, YouTube support, games, apps, music, videos etc. The touch screen controls are complemented with an accelerometer (much like the six axis controller for the Ps3) which makes gaming especially fun. The iPod itself is of a pleasant design, though it can be easy to drop so some form of silicone cover is advised to provide grip, this also protects the iPod from sweaty hands and general dirt and grime. Battery life is decent, if you are playing music expect it to last a while, videos, apps, games and internet naturally drain the power quicker, but even so, you should get at least 5-6 hours out of it. Charging is a simple matter of plugging it into your computer, or any other compatible charging dock.
While it doesn't support Flash, this isn't a huge issue, as it more then makes up for it in other areas. I would highly recommend the Touch to anybody considering purchasing one - it is more then just an MP3 player, it is a full on media player and PDA all rolled into one.
My First bite of the Apple and I'm touched by its Quality March 18, 2009
Hermes (Kent. UK)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I have always been a Sony media player person and for a while I have been tempted to try an iPod. I kept checking out the iTouch and when I did go for this it was of course the 2nd Generation.
I have to say I am very impressed with its build quality and its features. There are also a surprising amount of free Apps you can download from iTunes direct to the iTouch and I have quite a few. I did buy a slim leather case to help protect it and its a shame it does not come with one but all the same it is such an amazing device.
Easy to configure to a Wi-Fi network to browse the web. I'm still finding out things it can do each week and would have to say its the best thing on the market if you want a music/video/internet device then this is it as you won't be dissapointed.
Steve Jobs Take A Bow! October 7, 2008
Scott A. Mckenzie (Selkirk)
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
This is one amazing gadget. I previously owned a 1st gen model but upgraded as I wanted the built in Nike+.
It does so much. An MP3 Player, MP4 Player, Web Browser, Photo Viewer,Portable TV thanks to BBC iPlayer, Fitness Device ( NIKE+) and a very good portable gaming device. There are some really good apps out there for as little as 59p which make it a bargain when you compare the price of games for PSP and DS Lite.
I cannot speak highly enough of this product. Only negative I guess would be it's only 8GB so if you can afford to get a 16 or 32GB version as you will fill it up!
5 Stars!!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 195
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