Ask any of my friends, I’ve been wanting a phone-less iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone. So, when Steve Jobs unveiled my dream come true last week, I immediately pre-ordered one. Expecting the online orders shipping first, I made my pre-order on Apple’s website. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out that way.
Longing for the iPod touch, last night I made the hour drive to my closest Apple Store (King of Prussia, PA), purchased one of their ten remaining 16GB touches, and canceled my pre-order on a display MacBook on my way out. While it’s quite a hassle to make the trip (thankfully this will be my last as the Lehigh Valley gets an Apple Store next month), I’m glad I did.
The Experience
First up, the iPod touch is an engineering marvel. It’s slim, functional, and easy to use. I showed my mom the iPod touch, and she was using it in seconds without me saying a word. Oh course, this is to be expected using the same interface as the iPhone.
While the iPod touch shares the same interface, it does have a couple of new tricks up its sleeve. Double clicking the home button brings up music controls in both sleep and other applications, and double tapping the space bar now adds a period to the end of sentences. These are both welcome additions, and I’m sure the iPhone will receive the same treatment in the next firmware update.
iTunes WiFi Music Store
Of the new iPod touch features, my most anticipate feature was the iTunes WiFi Store. The new iTunes WiFi Store features an easy to use interface that fits perfectly with the touch. In seconds I was searching for music, previewing tracks, and downloading songs. Due to the sheer simplicity for the WiFi Store, I purchased a number of albums last night. While the regular music store is certainly easy to use, it’s no match to relaxing on the sofa and purchasing a track in two clicks. Without a doubt, the WiFi Store is going to make Apple a ton of money.
Rumored Problems
After every Apple release there are always people pointing out flaws, and the iPod touch is no exception. I’d like to briefly run down the list of current “problems” and give you my take on them.
- No Mail App – Don’t need it as I use Gmail.
- No Calendar Editing – A real bummer, but I know the hackers will solve this soon.
- Audio Hissing – Don’t hear a thing with my Sony MDR-EX81s. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the touch is the best sounding iPod I’ve ever used.
- Negative Blacks – I am experiencing this. It’s very annoying, but since this appears to affect every iPod touch, I’m sure Apple will have a firmware update or a replacement batch soon.
I CAN HAS TOUCH?
Overall, I’m loving my iPod touch. Once Apple fixes the screen issue and hackers jailbreak the touch, this will possibly be my best purchase is a long time. I know my touch will get hours and hours of use having the “real web in my pocket”, and when I get “real apps in my pocket” I’ll have a functional PDA as well.
If you’re on the fence regarding an iPod touch purchase, pull the trigger. Unless you won’t use the included functionality, I find no reason to hold back a purchase. The touch is everything a geek could want and more.
13 Comments
Glad to hear your happy with your touch. Can’t wait to get mine, if the damned thing would just turn up! Really hope this screen problem can be fixed with a minor software update.
Thanks for the review. Looks good. I’m waiting for the iPhone to hit the UK and will see what the cost is and what I think of it before making the decision. The iPod with touch looks awesome and if the iPhone doesn’t do it for me I’ll definitely buy one. I wish they had a little bit more capacity too though.
Where in the Lehigh Valley are you located, I actually live in Emmaus. Where is this Apple store supposed to be going? That would be amazing!
The Apple Store will be located in the new outdoor shops they’re building at the Lehigh Valley Mall. That section of the mall is set to open up late October, but the Apple Store may open earlier or later because they like to have their own grand openings.
That’s awesome, it’ll be nice to NOT drive an hour in horrible traffic to the Apple store, although the Lehigh Valley Mall isn’t much better when it comes to traffic and drivers. At least it’s close
Yeah, I know what you mean. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll have to make the trip to Philly once more. The negative screen problem is looking more like hardware. I’m going to wait for more information, but I’ll probably end up driving down again next week.
So how is the device itself? Do you love it? I am definitely going to buy it, but what scares me is the size. I pretty much have all music, just one music video, and maybe two TV shows in my library, and already have 8.21 GB. That’s half of the maximum sized unit. I really don’t know if I should wait until they reveal HDD versions as I think I could use a few more gigabytes.
Jonathan, I absolutely love the iPod touch. I just had my unit replaced with one from the latest batch (week 38), and I no longer have screen problems. The interface is amazing, surprisingly functional, and just a blast to use.
Regarding storage size, the small space doesn’t bother me. Even though I have 12GB of music, 2-3GB of podcasts, and roughly 2GB of videos, I still have plenty of space to use. See, I set the syncing to only sync podcasts/videos that I have not yet watched. That lowers my storage space drastically. Then, I just made a playlist containing all the music I want and sync that.
Believe it or not, choosing every album that I listen to on a regular basis and some albums which are just classics only takes up a few GB for me. I have roughly 9GB remaining on the touch, and I don’t feel like I’m missing a thing. Sure, there is a little more maintenance involved then just syncing, but it’s minor at that.
Regarding a hard drive based touch, that’s never going to happen. The touch/iPhone interface requires a quick storage source to make the animations and interface smooth. Flash memory provides that, while a hard drive could never handle it. Besides, flash memory is starting to take off. I can easily see 32GB and 64GB flash-based storage within the next year.
All very valid points. I went to the local Apple store by me and it was all sold out already, surprise surprise. I’ll wait until more (not until larger sized units). I really want one one these as well. I just took a cross country trip so I’m trying to figure out the damage it will now cost me and how much debt I’ll be in!
I don’t know if it is my ISP, but I been meaning to tell you, posting comments for me seems very slow again!
I haven’t noticed the problem. In fact, my site has sped up significantly in the past couple of weeks. It appears my route to Media Temple has switched from Level3 to another provider. Perhaps the same thing happened to you, but your ISP has trouble with them?
Loving my iPod Touch too, especially the slim form factor. I just really hope they’re able to jailbreak it soon or I’m going to have to sacrifice the slimness for an unlocked iPhone (if that’s even an option).
I am at your site now on the touch and typing is rather tricky!! But your site looks awesome as always.