Apple iPod Touch (first generation, 8GB)
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November 16, 2007 02:10
4.0/5
Okay, so yes, this was an impulse buy. Debating between the nano and the touch, and in the Mac Store, before closing, I said, "so where do I pick one up?" And no doubt in my mind, I am having fun with this device!
All the included options of it can be compared somewhere between a UMPC/smartphone, (oops they took out the phone features, so I really can't call it one) moreso than a simple mp3 player. After the initial charge, I had some fun with it. The wi-fi actually does a better job than my laptop, and suprisingly, the safari web-browser wasn't as stripped down as the one on my sidekick. It does everything that it was advertised to do, and as someone who has grown up with Macs, am not surprised with the end result, which is the ipod touch.
Overall, the device is a pretty thing, and as vanity would have it, I'm okay with that. A lot of what I read on product reviews seem to have that in scoring devices, but honestly, it's what's on the inside that counts. Moreso true with mobile devices. Some button layouts in the long run are sometimes more conveniently placed, or unsymmetrically ballenced button layout will sacrifice looks for the feel and ease of use in hand. Unfortunately, the ipod touch lost in this category. As nice as the device looks, I would have wanted a few more buttons.
There are two dedicated external buttons, and in my opinion, both pretty much do the same thing, which is wake up the device to use the integrated touch screen.
One set of keys I would have like to see is something for volume. As this powerhouse is a true multimedia machine, it takes only a few flickers of the finger, (literally) to switch applications. Unfortunately, I get that blast and rush scramble to pull off my headphones as I switch from a movie to a soundtrack. I often claw my way to reopen the control panel from the song selection screen, to lower the volume to an appropriate levels and vice-versa.
Otherwise, the screen resolution is unheard of in a mobile device like this, multimedia is unlimited, as itunes does a good job of filling customer needs and wants, and if you have an ipod touch and are bored, I'd blame your taste in download options.
Unfortunately, for this totally awesome device, there are downsides to it. One, of course is price. It is a stripped down version of the iphone, but I feel like it is too stripped down. I would have liked to have the googlemap interface also available on the iphone, but that is probably just a preference I found playing with the iphone. Had I not played with it, I never would have known about it. The iphone, did, however have dedicated volume controls, which I don't understand why were removed from the ipod touch.
As beautiful as the polished case is, the smooth surface makes it harder to get a grip on the device, or at least a wriststrap loop to minimize ipod droppage.
And finally, about the movie player. Unfortunately, you are limited to a widescreen format only. You can not watch a movie holding it vertically, which you may not realize is a problem, until you realize that the device is easier to keep a grip on in that position, as well as noticing the fact that 90% of the docking station/speaker systems for the ipod hold the device in that vertical position. Yeah, it would probably be a nice option to have, but you know what, for the price tag they are slapping onto the divice, Apple should give me as many options that I may think up. Also speaking of which, I found this strange. The device has built in speakers that you can hear when you click out letters on the keyboard, but you can't hear any media sounds out of it without headphones? What's up with that?
Anyways, as probably mentioned repeatedly to death about the ipod touch, if you do have an iphone, you have absolutely no reason to pick up this device, otherwise, I would recommend you become nice to whoever will buy you things. The price tag prevents me from giving it a full 100% score, but everything else it does, tempts me. Had we lived in a world that wasn't based on capitalism, it would all have been good. -
March 13, 2008 09:42
3.0/5
i'm an audiophile, and i've had a 5G ipod for about 3 years now. before that i had a 4G ipod for about 1.5 years. the reason i chose the ipod as a platform for me was because it can manage alot of music, and the seamless integration offerings by 3rd parties allows me to jack the ipod into my aftermarket car stereo.
i wanted to ensure that my 5G remains safely in the glovebox of the car, because my choice of aftermarket setup will not support anything newer than the 5G (which is fine by me when my ipod is being controlled by the Clarion DRZ9255 !!)....and so i decided to take the plunge and buy an 8GB touch.
i really don't care much for apple's products in general, nor their philosophy of sucking money out of people's wallets using "ooohs and aaahs" tactics that become extinct after a few months when they petrify their own products by introducing newer ones.
but i did grow used to the ipod platform, and am comfortable using it. one of the reasons i did not switch to a zune 2.0 or something else is that itunes is very solid and an excellent music manager. on to the ipod now....this new touch model is very impressive and nicely designed. it's a solid feeling unit and the touch controls are pretty neat. the added wifi is cool, but there's only so much you can do without a mouse and a tiny 3.5" screen AND needing to be within the range of a wireless network to do it.
sound quality on this device is not that great, when compared to a portable hi-end cd player when using the same reference headphones with both. but at least apple got their **** together and included the right size stereo mini jack so that i can use my headphones of choice (i am dropping the earphones that came with this ipod in the trash as we speak). the only other bummer for me is that i cannot carry around my entire music collection as i do with the 5G, because i have 33+ GB's worth.
despite these shortcomings and the super-high premium per GB for this device, it's pleasant to use and good enough for listening on the go or @ work. if it was $ 100 cheaper, i would have given it an 8.5 for overall value, because to me it's worth about $ 200. -
July 27, 2008 05:55
4.5/5
i went from havin a zune 8gig to this and the difference is huge besides the flash memory they hold. The album art turns up really nice I forget that this has video functions since the album art is cool to look at.
The wifi is great besides the fact keyboard needs work.If youre more of a web surfer its convenient but the battery will wear it down in a few hours. Buying solely for internet shouldnt be a reason to buy until they get better battery, but if your rich then you can crazy.
Videos are amazing to watch on that little rectangle. Im not a portable movie fanatic but i can see somebody getting into injures already cuz they cant take there eyes off it.
I got this Touch Because I wanted to go for something left of center so my prayers were answered. If youre a collector of mp3s anddown to get a bunch of junk on your mp3 then its not for you. Personally I cant get through 1000 songs in a week but if your unemployed go for it. -
May 16, 2008 01:27
5.0/5
this is awesome..the picture quality is perfect and stunning . Wifi is great.navagation is unbelivable for an iPod!!! Tv shows, videos, mail and maps and
weather and photos and everything is amazing... The only thing I wish is that it could have games but it
still gets a 10. Well worth $$
P.s i wrote this
from my touch! -
March 11, 2008 02:58
4.5/5
This is a great iPod, more like a PDA with its email, notes, internet, weather, stock updates. If you already own an iPod touch, get the January update if you don't already have it, and if you don't have an iPod touch get one because the new ones have the update built in. Don't fall for the new Zune just because it's smaller now! The iPod touch is way better! -
December 8, 2007 07:07
4.5/5
This might be a little too expensive for some people, but I find it to be an awesome portable media player. I also strongly suggest getting a case or sleeve for this as the back scratches very easily. But the screen doesn't. It's pretty much scratch proof! -
November 17, 2008 01:53
4.0/5
The ipod touch is a great player for music, games, and the web, if you can afford it. -
October 18, 2008 11:54
4.5/5
This ipod is the most amazing thing with a VERY responsive touchscreen i've ever used. I have had other ipods that couldn't even come close to touching this (no pun intended). I have had both the lg voyager and samsung glyde and the iPod touch's features, especially with the 2.1 software update, blows them away. I rarely use my DS lite anymore because this ipod uses the accelerometer and touch controls so well. The music part of this ipod is AMAZING!!! coverflow and the flicking and scrolling is so much easier than zunes or even the click wheel on other ipods and even though mine's only 8GB, it seems like there's so much more. I have 3 pages of games, 3 movies, 20 t.v. shows, 5 music videos, and a couple hundred songs and i can STILL fit more onto the iPod. The only reason I will be getting rid of this anytime soon is if it breaks (which i'm sure it won't considering what i put it through), or if I get an iPhone.
As for durability, I have washed it twice in the washer(it was powered off both times), dropped it too many times to keep track off, and dropped it off the balcony of a two story house, and i NEVER put any kind of case on it! the Durability is AMAZING! all that happened to it is i chipped a tiny part of the top right corner of the glass and got scratches, but the scratches were definetly expected. Plus now it smells nice and soapy from the washer.
Sometimes, maybe every one or two weeks, it has a day where it wants to lag, and that was happening before I washed it (which was about a month and a half ago the first time). It's not super irritating but it's a thing to note. also, sometimes it doesn't pick up certain wifi signals that a laptop does and apple customer service puts you on hold for too long to ask why.
Another minor irritation is how you have to unlock the screen, side to unlock, put in your passcode, go to music, and THEN turn up the volume. I hope my review was informative, if you have any questions email me at Blu81@mac.com. Thank you for reading my review, Bye! -
September 30, 2008 03:29
3.5/5
Updated on Oct 22, 2008It's a classic.
Updated on Nov 6, 2008Check it out. -
September 30, 2008 09:11
5.0/5
If you want an mp3 player to hold all your music, don't get this. But this holds a lot of my music, ebooks, apps, has a great web browser, great video player, photo viewer. It's a great inclusive media device. The price isn't that much more than a nano, and you get so much more.
