iPod Touch 8 Gig - Bang For Your Buck at the Touch of a Finger

My husband and I are Apple zealots as well as gadget geeks. And when it comes to the latest toys, it’s “monkey see, monkey want to buy one too” (me being the monkey). So when he bought an iPhone a couple months ago, of course I wanted one too. The exception was that I wanted to keep my little cell phone plus didn’t want to change over to AT&T. All I really wanted was the iPhone without the phone and – Voila - the iPod Touch – 8 Gig, which has plenty of hard drive space for my purposes.

I want to address size. We Americans love big things (SUVs, McMansions, etc.). The iPod Touch comes in three sizes: 8 gig, 16 gig and 32 gig. For the casual user like me, who doesn’t need to store a ton of contact information or my entire music and photo collection, 8 gig really is plenty. It is also, of course, the least expensive ($299). Because it’s the smallest, it seems to be the least popular and, in fact, may be phased out in the near future. However, with 8 gig, I can still store about a 1000 songs and 1000 photos along with ample contact information, including podcasts, videos, memos and my calendar events.

**** For those not familiar with the iPhone ****
The iPhone is the latest, popular innovation from Apple. Basically it is a combination of Apple computer applications with a phone. It is operated by using a touch screen. With the touch screen, you can select, type, enlarge (spreading motion with thumb and forefinger), tap, and scroll - up and down and across (page to page, photo to photo, etc.)

********* Now Back to the iPod Touch ************

The most appealing features for me:

* Email access
* Internet access
* Calendar
* Google Maps (including directions)
* iPhoto
* iTunes music and podcasts (for me this is a bonus feature, since I already own an iPod)
* Potential for adding many other applications!
[SEE MY NOTE AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW FOR THE LATEST UPDATE]

Overall Quality

Video
Transitioning to the iPod Touch from an iPod Nano, the biggest difference is the screen, which has a 3.5 inch display. The opening screen has the time and date at the top. You can customize this screen with wallpaper from pictures that are built in or from pictures in your own iPhoto collection. At the bottom of the screen is an arrow with the instructions to "slide to unlock." This arrow works as a "screen guard." When ready to use, you simply brush the arrow to the right to begin use. In settings, you may also set a "passcode lock" using 4 numbers to add security in case of theft. You can set the time the screen can stay idle before the "auto-lock" turns on, in which case you have to add your passcode. The screen has a black background with the application icons or widgets (1/4 inch size) lined up in rows of four.

As bright and colorful as the screen is indoors, it can be hard to see on a sunny day. I experimented with this on a very bright day. I was just able to see the screen well enough to find the settings. The second choice from the top is brightness. When I slid the brightness all the way to the max, it was visible enough to work well with, but not as perfectly clear as indoors of course.

Overall, I love the color and detail quality of the applications. The most "modern" quality, I think, is the way each widget and the visuals within the applications have very fine gradients of color to almost give the appearance of convex glass or like looking at a (non-flat) TV screen. It is this attention or subtle visual effects that makes Apple a favorite for artistic types like me.


Audio Quality

I don't know the difference in technology, but my impression is that the audio quality is a little clearer than my iPod Nano. Fortunately, the earphones required are standard so that I don't have to worry which earphones are for the Nano and which ones are for the Touch.

What you need:

Computer Operating Systems:
- Apple OS X 10.4.10
- Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2) or later
- iTunes 7.6 or later (free download is available)

For internet and mail access, you’ll need WiFi Internet (in your home) or WiFi access, which is sometimes available at places like coffee houses or bookstores, but can also be accessed via an unlocked WiFi of a neighbor


Features you don’t get that are on the iPhone:
- duh, the phone
- external speaker (except for slight alarm sound)
- a camera
- external volume knob

The iPod Touch comes with these 15 great starting applications:

1. Safari (web browser)
2. Calendar (syncs with your Mac calendar)
3. Mail
4. Contacts
5. YouTube
6. Stocks
7. Maps (Google)
8. Weather
9. Clock
10. Calculator
11. Settings
12. Notes
13. Photos
14. Music (iPod)
15. Video

If you’re still interested, let me expound on the iPod Touch’s applications:

Safari - Safari is Apple’s standard browser. When you do the initial set-up, you can sync your bookmarks/favorites from your computer. Some websites, like Amazon and my bank, are optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This means the screen is neatly condensed to fit on the screen without having to zoom in or scroll all around. Otherwise, you can turn the iPod Touch sideways to get a broader horizontal view, as well as zoom and scroll. You can also import your bookmarks from your computer as well as make frequently viewed sites a separate icon link on the touch screen.

Calendar

You can view, create and set alarms for your events by selecting “Today,” “List,” “Day,” or “Month.” I really like the “List” view in which you can quickly scroll down all of your events. You can move slowly, or with a flick of the finger, as fast as a rolling ball. Best of all, you can sync this with your iCal on your computer.

Mail

As with the Safari browser, you have to have WiFi Internet connection to send or open new emails. But without WiFi, you can still read old emails or draft new ones to send later. When viewing your emails, un-read mails are marked with a blue dot on the left. All mails are displayed with Sender in larger vold letters, then the subject and then the first couple lines of text in gray underneath. From there you can tap to open and then reply, forward or delete. You can also delete mails without opening with a little horizontal sweep of the finger to bring up the "delete" button. You have to be careful though. The screen is so sensitive that it is easy to delete mails by mistake. Other applications also work WITH the Mail application. For example, if you make a grocery or To Do list in your Notes application, you can tap the envelope icon and email it. You can also email photos the same way. One disappointment I have with Mail is that you cannot view mail in "landscape" by turning the Touch sideways as you can with Safari internet, photos and video.

Contacts

The contacts are listed like a rolling alphabetized rolladex (remember those?). Once you tap on a contact, it brings up a page which displays the contact information as well as space to insert a photo. If you tap on a contact’s email address, it brings you to the “New Message” screen where you can “type out” an email.

YouTube

On the left is a thumbnail still frame for each video. On the right are their titles along with the star ratings, how many views, how many minutes long and each video’s originator. You can look at videos under “Featured” and “Most Viewed.” You can also bookmark and search videos, as well as email them.

Stocks - I don’t use this, but if is helpful if you want to keep track of that sort of thing.

Maps

This is the Google application that let’s you search for locations on a map as well as get specific directions. You have the option to view either as a drawn map, by satellite view or as a hybrid of the two. Besides typing in specific addresses, you can also get directions by using the “drop pin” feature, by which you can place and move little colored push pins on a map. If you want to save a map or set of directions, just tap the bookmark icon to save it.

Weather

Here you get a 6 day forecast for just about any location. The current temperture is in large numbers at the top along with colorful pictures for different weather conditions.

Clock

As with weather, you can view clocks for different locations around the country and the world. You can also set an alarm, use it as a stopwatch and set a timer. The alarm sounds are not that loud, so you have the keep the device pretty close by. Since I’m a deep sleeper, I don’t think I’d use the alarm as a morning alarm clock.

Calculator - Nothing fancy, but it can be handy in a pinch.

Setting

This is the “brains of the operation.” You can set preferences for the device in general and specifically for the main applications. It’s especially important for setting the the WiFi status. One of the first things I did when setting up, was to place a passcode lock. It’s a slight inconvenience to enter a 4 digit number every time, but the security is worth it to me.

Notes

Jot down things you want to remember, lists, document drafts, etc. The screen resembles a yellow legal pad. What I really like is that you can email your note. There are a few shortcuts, such as Auto-Capitalization and one for adding a period with space after a sentence. When typing, it will also show a small red word to guess the word before you finish. To accept the word, just tap the space bar or return. It will also auto-correct for some words. However, the auto-correct can be annoying, when the wrong words are suggested. It is too easy to accidentally use the wrong wrong if not careful. Because of the small screen, editing in Notes or Mail can be tricky. The trick to editing something in the middle of the screen is to press your finger down over where you left off. A little magnifying glass will appear with a few letters in that area enlarged. From there, you move your finger to move the magnifying glass with the cursor to the exact space where you need to edit.

For multi-lingual folk, In preference settings, you can also choose a keyboard from 8 different languages.

Photos

You can store photos by albums. As an Apple computer user, it syncs with my iPhoto. When you tap on an album, you initially see a 20 tiny photos to a screen. When you tap on one of the photos, it will enlarge to fit the whole screen. From there you can scroll back and forth to view the rest of the album. You can maximize "landscape" sized photos by turning the iPod Touch sideays. For each photo you also have the option to email the photo. I think the photos are pixilated well for good quality viewing.

You can also view each album as a slide show by tapping the "play" arrow at the bottom after opening an album.

Music

This, of course, is the iPod part of the iPod Touch. It functions just like an ipod, with the same options for making playlists or for shuffling your music. When viewing a list of your music, you can turn the iPod Touch sideways to view the "album" covers and virtually flip through them by scrolling across the screen. You can also subscribe to podcasts under your iTunes account. Personally, I'm crazy about podcasts. There are such a variety of them and they're free! Besides audio podcasts, there are also Video podcasts (such as Cooks Illustrated and YouTube). To access them, you go to the next application which is...

Video

So far, I have only used this to view video podcasts. But it can also be used for viewing movies or tv shows, which are purchased through the iTunes Music Store online.

****** Final Note ********
I would not call myself a true techie, but I hope my thorough explanation communicates my excitement about the iPod Touch. My description doesn’t come from a manual, only from my own experience so far. There is so much more to learn and discover. I love its ingenious and intuitive ease of use, along with its colorful icons. As with other Apple products, as soon as the “coolness factor” even starts to fade, a more advanced version is sure to follow.

If you haven’t already laid hands on the iPod Touch, it is free to play with in an Apple Store near you so you can see and hear one for yourself. I highly recommend at least giving it a trial run before buying one.


***** UPDATE ***** (As of July 12, 2008)

Apple has just introduced the Applications Store (under the iTunes Store). To get these new applications, you must first get the new 2.0 Software Update which costs $9.95. This update allows the possibility to download "native" applications. In other words, you can add new applications that don't require wi-fi (use of the internet). You can still download web-based applications from the Download section of the Apple website, but the new applications offer so much more, especially because you don't need the internet to use them. There are games, tools, ebooks, language translators, references and more. They range in price from Free to about $40. As of this writing there are a little over 600 to choose from (and growing) that can be used on the iPod Touch. I have only gotten a few. I recommend you check the reviews of each application before you download them as some are buggy and others are just not worth the money or storage space.

The addition of the Application Store makes me much more enthusiastic about owning an iPod Touch since it makes it more useful for practical purposes and more fun with the addition of games.