Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't buy one. I got the 16gb iPod Touch as a gift. I usually don't like apple's products, but because of all the features offered on this MP3 player, I decided to actually keep it and use it (instead of selling it on ebay), so in this review I'll try to be gentle.
When I took it out of the box, the first step was to slip it into the case (bought separately) and put the protective film (bought separately) on the screen. I'm not sure why Apple makes their products so prone to fingerprints, dust, and scratches, but my guess is that it makes people buy more products because they break faster. I found it odd that a wall charger wasn't included. This seems to imply that the USB cord should be the primary charger from a computer...which isn't usually an ideal concept to begin with.
One of my favorite features of the iPod Touch is the WiFi capability. Since wireless networks are pretty much everywhere these days, and my Blackberry doesn't have Wifi (Thanks, Verizon!), I was willing to add another device to my pocket for fast, easy web browsing. I must say that the browsing experience is second to none when it comes to mobile devices. (This doesn't mean that the iPhone is the best cell phone, we'll save that discussion for another post) Using gmail, google maps and facebook on the iPod Touch were both much better and easier than on my blackberry.
Weather is easier than on the blackberry as well. All benefits of of wifi, but in non-wifi areas, it's just an mp3 player. The screen is also exceptionally vivid and obviously much bigger than my blackberry curve.
Another feature I was expecting to enjoy was Bluetooth. However, I was saddened to learn that Apple has blocked the bluetooth chip by not allowing any software to access it. Talk about limiting features. I guess the only use right now is if you purchase the Nike Bluetooth shoes, the iPod will act as a pedometer. Why can't I use bluetooth to stream the iPods music directly to my Sync Car Stereo? Cmon' apple.
So I loaded a few songs onto my iPod and pressed play. I was surprised and delighted to hear music coming out of the ipod itself without any headphones plugged in. They finally put a speaker in it. The quality is satisfactory for what you would expect.
Before I got the iPod I enjoyed the standard 3.5mm headphone jack on my blackberry and used it as an mp3 player (thanks to an 8gb micro sd card). I would plug it in via USB, it would show up as drive, I'd transfer music onto it, and I could delete songs from the blackberry itself, or transfer them to another computer via USB. I could even send a song to a friend using bluetooth (or email).
With the Apple iPod Touch, I am forced to use iTunes to connect and transfer music. It doesn't show up as a drive so I can't have access to my files outside of itunes. Also, I can't delete a song from my iPod on the go, I have to plug it in and use iTunes to do that. And connecting to another computer? Forget it. You can play the music but that's about it. Now, I realize that this concept is what Apple fights against because of the copyright violations that it can facilitate. But what if I want to use it to transfer music from my desktop to my laptop?
Besides the obvious limitations of not being able to access or replace the battery or memory on the iPod, it does deliver as a feature packed mp3 player. It raises the bar of mobile computing capabilities. And I think I would say that I prefer to use the iPod over my blackberry for my music on the go, but it's another device to carry. Why not get an iPhone? Because I love my blackberry and I would never use a limiting Apple product for my primary communication method. But, I gotta say, Apple delivered on the iPod Touch, let's just hope they don't make may us pay for each new feature as it comes out.
So I'll be listening to music on my new iPod Touch now, and hopefully the battery will last through more charge cycles than my last iPod did.
