My Apple iPod Touch review
So, you don’t exactly want an iPhone because you think its rather dumb and because you probably have a better phone(thats what you think). A classic iPod is out of question too, because the screen isn’t all that great in size in any case; or you’re probably looking at an upgrade from the older iPod but more battery life and storage are just not reason enough for you to buy it.
Enter the iPod Touch, fitting smack bang between the iPod Classic and the iPhone. Apple have stripped the iPhone of the phone and the camera to leave you with a really sweet music and video player with Wi-Fi ability. Lets take a better peek into the Microsoft Zune bashing, iPod Touch.
iFeel
Physically, the Touch is 2/3rd’s the iPhone in size and only 8mm thick which makes for a snug fit in the palm. To put things a bit more into perspective, the Touch is almost the same size as the Zune and the iPod Classic, only slimmer. It tilts the scales at 120 grams.
The Touch has all of 2 buttons. A home button, and a sleep/wake button. Thats pretty much it. For a music player, I think thats pretty silly. How in the world are you going to change tracks/volume on a crowded mass transport without taking it out of the pocket?
One of the smarter features of the Touch is well.. multi-touch!!With multi-touch you can flick, pinch AND tap. To zoom out of a photo, pinch, to zoom in, just reverse the pinching action. It senses touches by means of an electrical field and allows very natural gestures.
(Watch a small video explaining what multi-touch really is)
iSee
Black is the dominating color for the Touch , spare for the back which has a chrome finish like all iPod’s usually do. Which is a bit of a problem actually. Engrave for all your 2 cents worth, but that chrome finish just loves scratches, and needs to be handled with utmost care if you want it scratch free. Not happening. Slap on a cover or something.
What you also see on the front is that magnificent 3.5″ display, which in my opinion is good enough for watching videos on the move. Navigation is exactly like on the iPhone, so have fun.
At the bottom is the 3.5mm jack, no stupid “recessed jacks” over here. Which means, you can fit in any head/earphone you wish without the need for some silly adapter.Thank the Lord (or Steve Jobs in this case), for the small mercies.
iHear
There really is no need to elaborate about the music playback capabilities over here, its an iPod after all. Which is good in more ways than one. I just love the output it delivers, even on those ear buds, for which everyone has something bad to say about(only the lower frequencies are not so distinct). Hard rock, metal, classics, everything sounds great. But all this, in a no-noise environment. Step out, and all the noise in the world is suddenly audible.
So do yourself a favour and get a in-ear Sennheiser or Shure. Believe me, it’ll make a world of a difference. Your ears will be happy, even if your pocket isn’t.
For those who own on older gen iPod, I give you 2 reasons to upgrade to the Touch right away.
Cover Flow and Accelerometer- When you are playing music, just turn your Touch sideways. The Accelerometer (thats Apple lingo for sensors, even their terms have to sound dead cool) will detect the motion, and the screen will automatically align in Landscape mode. What you will see is sure to delight you. All your album art appears like a physical rack, and you can flip through your music using a flick of your finger.
(Watch a small video explaining what the Accelero mumbo jumbo is all about)
iTunes
If you are in a Wi-Fi hotspot, you can surf the internet on Safari, and also buy music from iTunes, on the go. Wi-fi on a music player is quite handy, to say the very least.
iNote
- Jailbreak into your iPod and install all the 3rd party stuff available for the iPhone. There are lots of silly games and some really nifty apps to install. Turns your iPod into a potential PIM.
- Battery life is excellent. 6.5 hours for video and 22 hours for audio, with Wi-Fi turned off.
- The display absolutely adores your fingerprints. So, slap on a screen protector as soon as you open the box.
- No FM receiver, no audio recording in this one too. I must be 99,978th bloke to complain, but then Stevie is the OverLord…
- After filling the Touch to the hilt with media, I found a slight sluggishness in CoverFlow.
- Apple has also launched WebApps for the Touch. If you happen to be in a Wi-Fi hotspot, head to apple.com/webapps and browse the list of applications. They are more of net widgets actually.
Whats Hot! 
- Slim and slick
- Mutli-touch
- Cover flow
- Accelerometer
- Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
- Excellent battery life
- 3.5 inch screen
Whats not! 
- No volume controller buttons
- Touch screen not as responsive as the iPhone
- Some more storage space would have been welcome
- Shiny chrome finish at the back very scratch prone
Whats in the box?
- iPod Touch
- Earphones
- Docking stand
- USB Cable
- Polishing Cloth
- User Manual
Price (16GB)
- India 17000/-
- USA $399
iWrap
The iPod Touch is a really nice music player, but if you look at the bigger picture, its more of a “reduced functionality iPhone”. Clearly, Apple must differentiate between their products, but crippling them is not a very smart thing to do.
SatishSays dot Com Rating
7/10
December 4th, 2007 at 5:31 am
what do you mean by the touch screen not being as responsive as Iphone? guess both use the same technology! Apple would be stupid to develop another new touch screen technology just for Iphone and not deploy the same on ipod touch!!
December 4th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
but apple iphone has more facilities than this ipod touch iphone has 2mpx camera and calling and message services man its a waste of buying this ipod touch and other phones!2 in 1 want your pockets hot?try 1 in 1
December 4th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
@Ancient Mariner(are u a Iron Maiden fan?? me too!!)
Anyways, there is more to touch screen sensitivity than just the tech going behind it. The processor also matters.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
what is Accelerometer ?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I’ve edited the post to explain that and some more features. Thank you for pointing out.
December 10th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I find the low sound quite annoying, i use it to walk to uni, and I cant hear a thing with all the cars
Any suggestions?
December 13th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Use a good quality in-ear headphone.
Their sound isolation is pretty good. Try the Creative Aurvana.
December 16th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hey nice review but 17k bucks is damn expensive i would rather prefer to settle with an Chinese MP4 player which are cheap and provide more options and facilities than ipod touch,
secondly Apple stuffs are hyped way beyond their capability, and its suitable only for US and European market, as of india we still have comeout from hang over of Nokia Phones and Roadside FM.
Rok onnnn
February 15th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Hi Satish,
nice n qualitative to-the-point review.
I think if ve try to buy iPod Touch frm Indian online shopping websites…it costs us arnd 13k {8GB one}.including shipping costs…n isz delivered in 3working dayz..like Sifymall, IndiaPlaza etc…n how much r these websites trustable in terms of we paying thru our credit cards n they deliverying in-time n how can we verify if they r providing Jan-upgrade or not
My question iz…if we buy it from these online shopping sites, is the recent January upgade included??…i mean those new 5 applications n customizing of home-screen…all these features if u check at http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/features.html
plus…i m also in d favour of buying screen-protector n in-ear earfones…but then…for screen-protection…that local lamination, that these local mobile fone repair shops do…wont that lamination work?…cuz i think tht the screen-protector available at apple store, costs Rs 600 n local lamination costs barely Rs 40…so, which of the two iz advisable?…
2ndly….i hv SE Walkman fone…so, hv those black in-ear earfones n tht has terrific sound quality…so, will those b fine or still a newer in-ear earfones r advisable?
n yeh, last but not d least…i m nt in favour of using iTunes…as we can get free downloads of songs frm various websites …however, for Videos…is the role of iTunes mandatory in converting the videos to be played in it or we just need to convert it on our system n put it in iPod Touch?..
since thrz no drag-n-drop facility…..so, can u plz elaborate more on how to transfer the content…cuz for my SE fone…itz just like dragging-n-dropping between two folders
quite a bigg list of queries…but…wud b grateful if u can mail me the replies or post back ur reply pretty soon as i’m still in double-minds…whether to buy frm online websites in india or get it frm apple store in US…as my fren is returning to india in a couple of weeks
February 16th, 2008 at 7:55 am
OK Jasjeet, lets answer your queries one by one
1) It is safe to buy from Sify, Indiaplaza or other such reputed sites. Check for the SSL secure sign
2) You can very easily upgrade the iPod Touch all by yourself.
3) Go for a good screen protector. lamination will recude its functionality
4) I think the cable of the SE earplugs are small, you can try them of course. Better still buy some Creative Aurvana.
5) iTunes is very easy to transfer files to your iPod. You dont need to buy music from iTunes to transfer it to your Touch.
February 16th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Hey Satish,
Thanks a bunch for the quick update…the useful info provided by u, iz highly appreciated.
I just checked few US websites… 8GB iPod Touch costs $259.77, including screen-guard…which makes it Rs 10,295/- {site iz http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/bundle/522300438/1200420468751}
While Indian sites, offer the same at Rs 12,820/- approx…difference of 2k….so, which iz a betetr deal to go for?
keeping in mind for customer care of iPod in India…does the iPod franchisee centres in India provide after sales support?
If yes, then, getting the iPod frm India or frm US …is it taken into consideration?
February 16th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
diff of 2.6k i mean
February 18th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
It’d be wiser to buy it from India itself Jasjeet. The difference should be worth it
February 26th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Hey Satish,
I went to Apple Store and they confirmed that they will service any iPod Touch, bought from anywhr in d world…if it has Global Warranty….so, just wanted to ask if you can tell me now …actually, i dont have trust on Indian online stores…cuz of weak Indian Cyber Laws and US, having strong laws….in favour of customers…curently i can see prices of Indian stores for iPod…dipping to 12.3k now…including shiipping n all…as compared to 10.3k….so, the difference has surely reduced to 2k now…which of no more importance, in favour of buying frm US anymore…
recently i read tht Apple has a clever strategy of bringing on lucrative offers, to sell their products, during off-seasons that follow just after a heavy shopping season…like foir eg, just now, after heavy shopping season of Xmas n New yr…came the off-season…n apple launched the upgrade in that off-season…arnd Jan-end….
same way…it is expected that now just after the coming heavy shopping season of Easter in March-end, in US…apple is slated to brung another lucrative launch towards off-season of April-end…liked either reducing price of all itz models by $50 or by providing 16GB at same price of 8Gb that iz sold currently {that iz $299}…or some other lucrative upgrade like that
so, now, shall i wait or shall i go ahead n buy now…without taking this strategy of Apple, into consideration?
Moreover….can u plz tell me…wht sort of confirmation do we get frm online shopping marts…wen we pay online for the iPod Touch?…tht we can trust upon
thnx in advance towards being soo helpful n answering my silly questions wid so much patience
February 26th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Jasjeet, buy from a reputed online shop, you should have no problem.
Please dont think too much, it’ll take the fun out of the music.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Nice review…But for such a hefty price tag, im not going to buy it unless they put in atleast an External Speaker and FM in it so that I can use it for all my music needs.I know that apple wants people to use iTunes, but it is really a drawback that this also does not have bluetooth, so that I won’t be able to share music with my friends on the go.My ol SE Walkman phone which is much cheaper, can do all I have mentioned here except it is not touchscreen and so good looking, so I m sticking with it for my nusic till I get atleast what I have mentioned here.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Hi Satish,
Thnx a lot buddy, for the expert advice. I hv bought the new iPod Touch 8GB, with January Upgrade @ 11k..frm US
been usin it for past 2 weekz n i must admit itz absolutely robust n it has brought me into limelight, whrevr i go n use my iPod Touch….all eyes all around in the market, instantly turn to see this black beauty,…n majority of them think of it as iPhone only….despite telling them numerous times tht itz iPod…
best part iz,….whr evr i keep it, even while relaxing…itz too tempting enuff to find sum1 else’s hands or even mine’s
the fotos look absolute beauty n video iz a pleasure to watch…plus all the apps like notes, have such supaab animations n album artwork…iz simply d eye candy….n foto pinch….simplyn countless reasons to b a proud owner of this most advanced tech-savvy gadget on Earth!
any1 wishing to buy…100 on 100 from my end…go ahead n buy it…itz highly robust…only sad part iz ki it got dropped frm my frenz hands, at a height of 4-5feet….n its black colour got removed lil bit frm sides n also black steel behind went inside lil bit
April 20th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Happy to know you are happy!
Have fun with the Pod!
June 13th, 2008 at 6:55 am
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July 31st, 2008 at 8:14 am
@AncientMariner
It just isn’t all that responsive, bro.
I have used both of them.