2009 Writer
china-cat84
Harlan, IA
Much more than an mp3 player!
5 star rating

not rich, music lover, Every day computer user, computer literate, a woman, txtng dly, a techie, always listening to music
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Pros

    Can't live without it, Does everything!, Can access the internet, Sleek, Easy to use, Fun

Cons
    No camera, Scratches easily., relies on router too much

FEB
26
2009

Apple iPod touch Second Gen (8 GB, MB528LL/A) Digital Media Player — 

First of all I will provide some background info about myself. I live in a small town (between 5,000 and 6,000 people). I also have a 19 month old toddler. I'm planning on buying a membership to the local gym to help get rid of my post pregnancy tummy and tone up my muscles. That's what started my obsession with the iPod touch. I need music to listen to while I work out so I began researching mp3 players online. I did A LOT of research and I finally came to the conclusion that this is the best product for your money - especially if you want an item that will do it all. If you just want something to play your music, then this isn't for you. But if you want something to play music, videos, view photos, play games, read email, go online, access your contacts, tell you about the weather, and many more things...then this is your music player!

Now, I'm not rich - far from it! And I don't have any credit cards or anything like that. So I was deffinitely freaked out by the price. I bought mine for $225 from a licensed Apple retailer. I was tempted to buy from ebay but I've gotten some bad products from sellers who had decent reputations. So, needless to say, I was a little leery. I'd rather spend more and get a product that is guaranteed to work and won't be "lost during shipping".

I only purchased the 8gb model. I'm not planning on downloading any videos to it and I don't have a huge mp3 music library. But if you want to download videos or movies onto the iPod's memory or if you have a huge music collection, I would deffinitely suggest getting a model with more memory. I sometimes wish I'd bought the 16gb model but I think the 8gb will be sufficient.

As for the iPod itself...all I can say is WOW. It is absolutely amazing. It can do everything that the iPhone can do except it doesn't have the phone part built in and it doesn't have a camera. So it's perfect for people who WANT an iPhone but aren't on the AT&T network. I use my iPod as a music player, an organizer, a scientific calculator, a weight loss tracker, a GPS direction device, an encyclopedia, a game console, a weather checker, an email checker, and to access the internet. And there are more applications you can download (many are FREE!) to turn your iPod into something else. I've seen apps to turn your device into a leveler, social networking apps...if you can think of it, there's probably an app for it. You can even access the iTunes store and pay for and download music directly to your iPod.

It's only shortcoming is that you have to have wireless internet to access all of the features. Wireless routers aren't too expensive so it's not a big deal but it does kinda stick for those people who would have to buy one. And you have to have internet access to hookup your router as well, if you didn't know. A cable connection is best. My router goes up to 400 feet and it cost me about $40.

When I bought my iPod, I was afraid that the apps would be expensive and that I'd be tempted to buy a lot of them. However, many of them are free. A lot of the free apps are considered "light" or demo versions - but they're almost as good as the ones you have to buy. The only app I payed for was a game and it cost me 0.99. I have an app for wikipedia, The Weather Channel, Lose It! (a weight loss helper), WebMD, Solitaire, and a couple games. There are many free apps that are useful and entertaining. For example, you can get apps for MySpace, FaceBook...you can even download an app that will help you make VoIP calls from your iPod (with the help of a headset with mic.

At first, I did wonder if I'd spent too much on a glorified mp3 player. But after using it in my day-to-day life, it was worth it. I don't regret it at all. I can actually check my email if my daughter is awake - I can't with my computer (a laptop) because she tries to grab it and push buttons and it's too difficult. I can easily check directions if I'm having trouble finding something. I can look up phone numbers and information online if I'm trying to find a product that I need to buy but can't find it in stock. I can check symptoms with WebMD. I can organize my life with the calendar. I can do my homework with the scientific calculator. I can listen to my music. I can listen to audio books. I can do pretty much anything with this device!

It really is worth it. So if you've been thinking about buying one for awhile and you're still on the fence - just do it. You won't regret it!

A lot of people think that it sucks that you have to use iTunes. But you don't have to buy the music from them! You can use Limewire or whatever and then just add it to your iTunes library. It does scratch easily but that can be solved if you buy a case for it. I bought a hard shell case - the front part is aluminum and the back is clear. It also comes with a screen protector so that the touch screen doesn't get scratched up. It's worked well for me so far.

My only issue with it is that it doesn't have a camera. I think, for the price you pay, it should have at least a 3 megapixel camera like what most cell phones have.

But other than that, this is a great little device and well worth it!


ALSO: If you are having problems accessing your Yahoo! email account from your touch, this is what I did to fix my problem. I kept getting errors saying that the account couldn't be verified or that my username and/or password were incorrect. First, delete the yahoo account info by going to settings->mail->account->delete. Then turn off the iPod buy holding down the sleep/wake button until a red slider pops up. Slide the slider. Go online, LOG OUT of your yahoo account. Turn your iPod back on and enter in your email account settings again. You won't need to repeat this everytime you need to check your yahoo email on your touch, just the first time was enough for me. Just make sure you log out online or you won't be able to view it on your touch!

If you are having problems with your YouTube app running, you may need to return your iPod to the store and get a new one. My friend could NOT get hers to work no matter what she did and when she got a replacement iPod, it worked fine. It may just be a flaw in the device.

If you are having problems with iTunes, make sure you don't have any proxies running in ANY of your internet applications, especially Internet Explorer. I use Firefox and had no proxies running on there, but I guess proxies were on my Internet Explorer so I was having all kinds of connectivity issues.

Hope this helped someone! If I have any more tips/tricks I'll add them later.



I did NOT buy mine online but you can find this product at many online retailers (Amazon, Apple Store (Free engraving), PC Connection (cheapest)) and in many brick-and-mortar stores (wal-mart, Target, Kmart, etc)

If you have any questions about this product or about my review, please let me know! Leave me a comment or send me a message and I'll get back to you asap.

Last edited on Mar 21, 2009



I_thumb_up Apple iPod touch Second Gen (8 GB, MB528LL/A) Digital Media Player is recommended by china-cat84

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4 star rating
"great cheap tech"
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4 star rating
"Not for the simple music listener."



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