The design improvements are minimal, the hardware remains largely the same and many of the software advances are the work of other companies, yet Apple’s new iPod touch represents a giant stride forward for portable entertainment devices.
The second generation iPod touch is the best iPod to date. It cost less and does more than the original, although owners of the first version can benefit from many of the improvements with a $10 software upgrade.
Working hand-in-hand with iTunes -- Apple’s online store that sells movies, television shows, music and third-party applications -- the iPod touch is a Swiss Army knife of electronic gadgets. From web browsing to email reading to game playing, the iPod touch is a joy to hold and use.
Calling the iPod touch an mp3 player is like classifying the iPhone as a cell phone. Sure, the touch plays music, but it does so much more - and it does each task better than all of its competitors.
It doesn’t seem so long ago that Apple CEO Steve Jobs maintained the iPod was ’about the music.’ Those days are gone. Now the company is touting its new hit as ’the funnest iPod,’ quick to point out the game titles that are a mere click away at the iTunes’ App Store.
Even people who don’t need a constant soundtrack to their lives will find a lot of uses for the touch. In fact, during my first three hours of testing the device, I didn’t once think about loading my music library. Instead, it was all about the games, applications, email and Internet.
When Apple unveiled the touch last week, a good portion of the presentation focused on games, with looks at Electronic Arts Spore Original, Gameloft’s Real Soccer, and EA’s soon-to-be released Need for Speed title. In order to give the touch a true test, I quickly downloaded Spore Origins and Real Soccer 2009. They cost $9.99 each, a price that seems to be what the large game companies have settle on for their new, full-featured titles.
A few minutes with both games were all it took to confirm what many gaming experts have been claiming. The iPhone and iPod touch are now formidable handheld gaming platforms, to be taken as seriously as Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.
While playing as the United States against Germany in Real Soccer, it hit me that I could have a perfect trifecta. So I loaded my music onto the device and soon was playing while listening to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony: The world’s most beautiful game played on the world’s most beautiful handheld gadget with the world’s most beautiful music as the soundtrack.
What makes many of the games so much fun to play is the use of the touch’s accelerometer – the internal device that senses titling and movement – and the touch screen. It’s the same gorgeous 3 1/2 inch glass display first seen in the original iPod touch. The 163 pixels per inch screen makes movie watching an enjoyable activity.
The touch’s wireless capabilities also come into play with some games, notably Apple’s Texas Hold ‘Em and Gameloft’s Asphalt 4 racing title. These are the two best examples of multi-person, Wi-Fi gameplay on the iPod touch and iPhone. While games have garnered much of the attention, the Apps store sells many other applications that run the gamut from photo cropping tools, to dictionaries, to travel guides, to social networking programs.
The wireless technology in the touch allows users to surf the Internet with Apple’s Safari browser, connect to email accounts, watch YouTube videos and make purchases from the iTunes store directly to the touch.
The latest version of iTunes, released last week at the same time as the iPod touch and 4th generation iPod nano, includes a fun gimmick that will bring music listeners to the forgotten depths of their library. Bearing the humble name ‘Genius,’ the feature creates 25 song playlists based on the musical characteristics of any song.
My music collection isn’t large enough to make for unusually interesting playlists, however you can enable the function to communicate with the online store, not only including selections you can purchase, but also drawing on the listening habits of all iTunes users who have enabled the function.
After downloading iTunes and trying the feature once, I disabled it. Surprisingly, that action disabled the feature on the touch as well. Once I turned it back on in iTunes and synched the touch again, I was then able to create Genius playlists on the touch.
Also new to the second generation touch is the ability to receive Nike+ workout data from the ‘puck’ inserted in your training sneaker. Up until last week, the system needed a receiver plugged into the bottom of the iPod. Now there’s no need for the receiver.
When I first heard of the Nike+ built-in technology, I was puzzled why Apple put it into the touch instead of the smaller iPod nano. However, when you feel the new touch, which is skinnier and lighter than its predecessor, it is quickly apparent that the device will not get in the way of athletes who want to wear it in an armband or slip it into their sweatpants while exercising.
In addition to dimension changes, the most noticeable alteration is the addition of a volume control toggle switch on the left side. Load a game, turn up the volume and another change is quickly apparent. The device now has a speaker. The sound isn’t great, but it does just fine in providing the sounds of games, YouTube videos and movie dialogue. For serious music listening, however, users will still want to either reach for headphones or slip the touch into a dock speaker system.
While not admitting that the headphones that ship with iPods are not up to the high standards of the device, the company is releasing two new choices next month. One, an in-ear headphone featuring a remote and microphone on the cord, will let users record voice memos.
Along with the headphones, two other common complaints about the touch are being addressed by third-party application providers. The gadget’s lack of a radio tuner no longer seems to be much of an issue, thanks to music listening programs like Pandora and AOL Radio which allows you to tune in any CBS station in the country.
Safari’s inability to handle Flash and other non-QuickTime formats is another irritation, but developers are working on solutions for that as well.
When considering which handheld multimedia device to purchase, buyers cannot overlook the accessory market that has blossomed with the iPod. Sure if you look hard enough you can find one or two Zune speakers and a handful of SanDisk Sensa cases. On the other hand, there are more than 5,000 iPod accessories on the market. Also, 90-percent of new cars in the country have iPod integration.
The first generation 16GB version of the first generation iPod touch sold for $399. That price now gets you a 32 GB 2nd generation model. The 8GB model sells for $229 and the 16GB version costs $299.
