Apple - iPod Touch Review

The good: The second-generation Apple iPod Touch has it all: music, videos, photos, podcasts, e-mail, Web browsing, Internet radio, games, Nike+, Wi-Fi music downloads, and an App Store for adding thousands of custom features.

The bad: The second-generation iPod Touch may be overwhelming to users looking for a simple music player; audio quality is average; and iTunes software is required.

The bottom line: The second-generation iPod Touch includes features that are light-years ahead of the competition, its design has improved, and its price has finally come down to earth.

Specifications: Device type: Digital player ; Flash memory installed: 32 GB ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: AAC , MP3 , WAV , AIFF , Audible , Apple Lossless

Design
Apple's updates to the iPod Touch's design are subtle, but the hardware has definitely changed for the better. A slim volume switch now graces the left edge of the Touch, making it easier to make quick volume adjustments. The chromed steel back of the second-generation iPod Touch now mimics the rounded design of the iPhone 3G, giving the device a slimmer profile at its edges. Whether psychological or by design, the second-generation iPod Touch feels less fragile than last year's model and makes the plastic enclosure of the iPhone 3G feel cheap by comparison.

Minor improvements aside, the second-generation iPod Touch hardware is largely unchanged. Both the first- and second-generation iPod Touch share the same dimensions (4.3 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.31 inch), same glass-covered screen (3.5 inch), and same arrangement of headphone jack, dock connector, sleep button, and home button.

Features
Priced at $229 (8GB), $299 (16GB), and $399 (32GB), the second-generation iPod Touch still commands a fairly high price compared with other MP3 players with similar capacities. When you weigh the price of the iPod Touch against its features, however, the device becomes much more attractive. Out of the box, the second-generation iPod Touch includes an amazing music player, podcast support, video playback (including iTunes rentals and a YouTube player), a Safari Web browser, photo viewer, an e-mail reader (compatible with Outlook, Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or any POP e-mail service), an integrated Wi-Fi iTunes music store, and a host of smaller utilities (weather, calendar, maps, stocks, notes, voice memos, clock, contacts, and calculator). Provided you can become proficient with its touch-screen keyboard, the iPod Touch is more pocket PC than MP3 player.