IPod Touch First Thoughts

I picked up the IPod Touch (8 GB) today to replace the Zune 30 GB I had. Reasons on the switch boil down to the requirement that I wanted something more PDA-like but still provide great MP3 support. The Zune is more of a music/video player, and I didn't see Microsoft adding a web browser in it anytime soon. Then the IPod Touch was released last August...

Quick Note: I'm not critisizing the Zune. It's a very well done MP3 player, especially with the v2.0 firmware.

In the palm of my hands...
First off, I was impressed with its thinness. It's roughly half as thick as the Zune is. Its light, and fits comfortably in your hands. However, I needed two hands to work with it: my left hand to hold it up, and the right hand to interact with it.

Working with a light touch...
I have to say the touch-screen is impressive. Last week I had a chance to play around with the Verizon Voyager and Venus, and found those touch screens to be clunky. Sometimes slides and taps would register, other times not. Anyway, back to the IPod Touch.

The responsiveness of the IPod Touch was very well received. Even my brother liked it, and he's had his fare share of troubles with touch-sensitive PDA's in the past. The touch-keyboard recognized my keystrokes pretty accurately, even though some key presses were a little off. Still, I found it quite easy to use and already am a pretty fast typer with it.

Using the multi-touch commands expanding and shrinking was nice, and pretty handy to use. The Touch recognized how fast I moved my fingers and responded with appropriate shrinks/expands.

As a PDA...
I'm not expecting the IPod Touch to be a PDA, but the applications it now has sure make it seem like it is one. So far I've played with the calendar, calculator, notepad, and address book. They are all well implemented, just like the one's available in Leopard and Tiger's dashboard. Are these just widgets in a nutshell?

The Internet on a 3.5-inch screen...
One of the main reasons why I got the Touch is for its built-in web-browser. I have to say that Safari is a great browser on it. I really love the ability to zoom in and out of web pages. Also, switching and viewing several pages is a nice touch to it.

Ahh, yes... playing music and video's
The core of any IPod is its ability to play music and videos. The interface for navigating a large list of music is very well done. I find navigating through my music in list format is much easier than using cover-flow. Cover-flow runs smoothly, but it doesn't add much other than a nice aesthetic touch.

Final Thoughts
I am impressed after only about 10 hours of ownership. With its PDA functionality and well done navigation system, I can see the Touch being the longest lasting portable I have ever used (excluding my chocolate phone).

I would have gotten the IPhone, but the cost of getting that would be astronomical considering the service plans AT&T have in my area ($60/month for 2 years is way too much).

 

Nice, dbam!

I never wrote a first looks for my iPod Touch...would sound pretty much the same though .

What I'm really interested about is...I have yet to see an iPhone in person, other than acting very...weird on the bus when someone was typing out an email. So many people say the iPhone is even better in terms of video quality and stuff, and that just amazes me...the iPod Touch is so great already...

 

I want to get one. Right now i got the 8 gig red nano 3rd gen. Its soo nice but i still want a touch. If i get a job at the new apple store this or the iphone may be in the cards.

 

I was in quite the dilemma myself about two months back. iPod Nano, or iPod Touch? I ended up going with the iPod Touch, and I really don't regret my decision now. I'm sure the Nano works fine, I had a first generation and I loved it, but the iPod Touch, not surprisingly, definitely topped my experience with the Nano.

 

Thanks dbam and Sam for your thoughts.

I have a 1st gen nano that needs replacing soon (running out of room as I use it as a portable flash drive too).

I was thinking of the 32gb Touch; it's coming out in a couple of weeks here. On the other hand, I keep hearing rumours that Rogers is going to intro the iPhone soon here in Canada.

Th 32bg touch isn't cheap and I would guess it'll be the same price as a 16gb iPhone whenever that comes out. It would be nice to have one less thing to carry around - a cell phone.

I suppose it's best to wait a little longer and see if the iPhone rumour pans out.

I wish they would come out with a Touch or iPhone with BlueTooth so one can sync/connect to their machine without USB cable. That isn't asking too much, is it?

 

IPOd touch is probably the best "touch" technology.

 

Yeah it is. The ipod touch is definatly a very good product.

 

Yeah, I tried out a touchscreen music player of my friend's (Samsung P2), and the touchscreen just wasn't as good...it responds when its not supposed to...and it doesn't when it should.

 

dbam or anyone else - Sorry for the off-topic - I just got my Touch today - and it won't work!! I charged it on my laptop and tried to turn it on but it just flashes a picture of a connection cable and a music note/CD for a few seconds then turns off. I have a 2006 version of iTunes loaded - and that is the computer I connected it to charge. Is my Touch a lemon or do I have to have the lastest iTunes loaded in order to activate it?? Thanks...

 

Yes, you need at least iTunes 7.4 to activate the iPod Touch. Get that for free on Apple's website .

 

Sam - Thank-you very much - and Wow, talk about a fast response!!!

 

No problems, JellyGeo . I'm happy to help others out!