iphone - Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) Cell Phone Review

Now onto the product....simple, sleek, amazing. Set up out of the box could not have been easier. Make sure you have the most updated version of itunes onyour computer, plug in the USB cord and you're up and running. Give it a full 3-4 hour charge first time through. Load up your music, pictures, videos. The software is simplicty defined. If you can use a toaster over, you can use this device. The wi-fi immediatley found my home network (and my neighbor's). Setting up email: simple. Surfing the web: simple. And, oh yeah, using it to listen to music (ostensibly what it is for): a lifting and beautiful experience.

Might as well buy this newer version with the new software loaded. With amazon's discount, it only a few dollars more than the old version without the upgrade after you pay for it and upload it youself. Save yourself the hassle and get the new version.

So you know, this thing will get fingerprinted fast. I got a Griffin leather hard shell case with a protective screen cover for about $20.00. A bit pricey but worth it to protect your investment.

I went with the 8 gig verion for a few reasons and it's more than enough space. I am a music nut...I loaded it with more music that I can digest in two weeks and there's still 3 gigs free. Sure I'll eventually fill it (I guess...) but I really don't mind swapping music out for fresh music thereby making my ipod new and fresh again. I also thought if I somehow lose the thing, I'd be out a lot more money with the 16 or 32 gig version. But honestly, it's more than enough space for me. You will not regret buying the Touch with the software update - I am very, very happy with mine. Bright screen, world-class fit and finish, pretty good battery life and tons of functionality. Your photos will look great, Gmail is easy, and I have already downloaded a lot of map coverage (which cannot be "synced" onto the Touch as far as I can tell - you have to connect the Touch to the internet thru your wireless). I connected it to my laptop and all of my old iPod Nano music synced onto the Touch in a matter of minutes. Music, photos, e-mail, notes for (eg) a journal plus stocks and weather - the software update Touch has a lot to offer. OK - I do have one complaint and one suggestion - I wish they would have made the backside matte-finished instead of polished - it is really a finger-print magnet. And, I would prefer it to be just a little bigger to make some things (like maps) easier to read. Kudos to J&R Music and Computer too - I ordered this from Amazon but J&R sold and shipped it - it was in Iraq eight days after I placed the order!!
Edited on 03/03/2008 to add: The Touch continues to impress me. You can't really "save" maps on it - but if you place a bookmark at a location then that area and map scale is preserved to use when you are not on-line. G-mail continues to work like a charm. The Touch has easily replaced my old PDA and offers much more functionality. The Touch is wonderful for web browsing and email on the go with the Apps 2.0 upgrade. Really I cant fault it there. It would be nice if the battery lasted longer when wireless is enabled but that's the worst thing I can say about this device's impressive internet functionality. But for portable music, I went running back to my COWON D2 player. Why? Its impossible to adjust volume or skip tracks without taking the player out and tapping on the screen. Now try doing that while walking around a busy subway at rush-hour. Some mention that you can buy 3rd party headphones that have buttons on the wire, but Apple isnt offering that out of the box. For me this is a major flaw in the design of a portable player. I should mention that the iPhone has buttons for volume. C'mon Apple -- that's not making a lot of sense. At 300 bucks, the Touch is 100 bucks too much, especially since there is no ability to add memory cards to the device to expand storage. It _is_ a cool device for internet but there are better music players out there and they cost less.This is my 3rd ipod and I can conclude that it is my favorite. Although the others I had were the very first iPod (with the 4 buttons along the top and the scroll wheel below) and the 1st gen nano. Both worked very well for me but they don't stand up to the touch.

Obviously the major selling point of the touch is well touch! And Apple does a very good job with it. I found it to be very responsive and have no issues with it. The keyboard will take some getting used to though. I will say that if you have big fingers the touch might not be for you.

Not all has been perfect with the touch though. I have one major gripe. At times when I am in an application say just listen to music, using safari, or just using Google maps, out of nowhere I will get kicked out to the home screen without warning. I'm not sure if it's just too much data being recieved at once of what. It just kicks me out to the home screen and doesn't give me a message, and I just have to go back to the app again. Now this doesn't happen to often. It's ridiculous that this happens but I don't mind if it's only a few times.

The touch is really easy to use which is why it's so like-able. Navigating is really easy. Music, are pretty straight forward. Safari is really easy to use. While viewing the page, slide you finger across to see more of the page, pinch your fingers to zoom-out, and "un-pinch" to zoom-in. For e-mail, just enter your info and you can browse your inbox, outbox, drafts, bulk.

So if your looking for a cool iPod with some pretty cool features check out the iPod touch. You won't be dissapointed.