I was excited to pick up the new iPod Touch at the Apple Store because
I had never owned a first generation.
I want to concentrate primarily on the new features:
First, physical volume buttons are now placed on the side of the
iPod Touch as they are on the iPhone. This is very convenient. It
allows you to adjust the volume of your music, without having to pull
the entire device out of your pocket and activate the screen. A time
saver.
Second, many people requested a built-in speaker for the iPod Touch
like is available on the iPhone. Apple listened. However, there is one
important point to make on this! The iPod Touch is incredibly small,
and Apple is forced to put an incredibly small speaker. The speaker in
the iPod Touch sounds worst than the speaker in the iPhone. I have
compared it side by side, and it’s fairly significant, and the iPhone
speaker isn’t that great to begin with. However, in a quiet room, the
speaker is still useful for previewing a song you might want to buy, or
for playing games. However, still, if you want great sound, you need to
connect your headphones.
Genius - This new feature is really surprisingly good. When you’re
listening to a song you enjoy, select the genius option. It will create
a playlist for you, with songs that go together nicely with the one you
started with. It helps you rediscover great music from your collection
with a playlist suited to the mood you’re in. I didn’t think it would
do a good job compiling this list, but it has been quite impressive.
Applications - It’s great to have the ability to buy(or get some
free) applications right on the iPod Touch. Furthermore, with the
software update this new iPod Touch comes with, the Application
installation process is so much smoother than it had been even on my
iPhone. It now works how you want it to, seamlessly. I like having a
weather application that includes doppler radar images, and that is
free. I also have several games on it. There is a great variety of
applications available from hundreds of third-parties right on the iPod
itself, so you are certain to find something that interests you. I
really like the new release of Spore, for the iPod Touch and iPhone.
Apple is really pushing the games and quietly suggest they are
challenging Nintendo and Sony. They are innovative and interesting
games, but I think they have a ways to go, to challenge those game
makers.
Nike+ is now built in too, so if you have the shoes and the puck,
the iPod Touch is ready to receive the data from it. Battery life is
improved to 36 hours audio and 6 hours video according to Apple. I find
the audio number fairly accurate if you don’t light up the display
much, but the video number is a slight bit harder to achieve.
Of course, the new ipod Touch does look and feel even better than
the first generation, from my small experiences with the previous one.
I also think it feels cooler than my iPhones, but obviously your
interpretation may very. I like the metal back on the iPod Touch. It
looks classy, though it is prone to scratches.
One of my favorite features continues to be, when in my home on
Wi-Fi, to reach down for the Touch, use Safari web browser and look
something up. It’s great.
Overall, it was a solid update for the iPod Touch. I wish the
speaker could be better on it, but I believe that is due to the
physical restrictions of the small device. I could have knocked it to
four stars for that, but I think most people realize a built in speaker
isn’t the way you want to listen to most audio on an iPod to begin
with. I’m impressed by the second generation iPod Touch, and I think
with the third party applications getting better and becoming more
popular, more people will consider the Touch.