iPod touch review
The iPod touch is the first radically different iPod since it’s introduction in 2001. It includes touch screen technologies that were released with the iPhone but without it’s communicative features.
The touch is a pure entertainment device allowing you to not only listen to your music and watch videos as past iPod’s have, but also access youtube video and websites when you’re in wifi areas. The interface is very intuitive and provides visual cues as you reach functionality limits. These interface animations add an extra layer of depth to the user experience. Beyond the fancy touch screen interface lies everything you expect from a portable entertainment device and more.
The music player is very simple to use and provides quick access to your music organised similarly as iPod’s before it. Both cover flow view and the overall interface responds quickly as expected. Video podcasts play as audio only while in the music player with no obvious option to switch to the video version (does anyone know if there is a way to do this?).
Video looks great on the new iPod’s 3.5″ screen. Basic media controls are provided by tapping the screen where it then allows you to go the start/rewind, play/pause and go to the end/fast forward. A slider enables you to adjust volume and a smaller slider at the top of the screen allows you to move to different sections of the time line. For large video libraries the organisation may be a little too simplistic but at sizes of 8GB and 16GB huge video libraries are unlikely in this revision.
This iPod is extended past an offline music and video player and adds internet capabilities to further cement the devices position as an entertainment device. Massive amounts of mostly useless and less than entertaining content is available directly to the touch via a built-in youtube client. The quality of the movies has been enhanced past those offered on the flash based website. This can be attributed to watching the movies on a smaller screen, and the re-encoding into Apple’s preferred video format.
Included is the Safari web browser that displays most websites as the desktop counterpart would but it does struggle with some complex websites such as Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au). The browser does not give you a cut down version of the website but displays it exactly how it appears on a full desktop browser. Zooming in on parts of the web-page with a pinch and separate finger movement enables you to move around the page with ease. Holding the browser in landscape mode made reading the text easier than in portrait mode. Unfortunately Safari does not support plugins such as Adobe’s flash player but the browser can display Adobe reader documents and play some Quicktime files.
Typing in web addresses was very easy and even more so in landscape mode where there is more space between keys. The iPod picks up mistakes and offers intelligent solutions while both entering addresses and entering information in forms. While navigating, most of the time Safari selects the intended hyperlink but accidental selections do happen in confined spaces. Scrolling around the web-page sometimes resulted in accidental clicks on hyperlinks which does become a little frustrating especially on graphic rich pages. Redrawing the new sections of the web page as you move to it is noticeable and could do with some improvements. Safari offers multiple page browsing via an effective page selection screen.
Internet access is dependent on an available wireless access point. Apple decision to include the Safari browser allows you to access commercial wireless services that require logon via a web page. Holding the touch in landscape mode sometimes resulted in fingers covering the antenna and thus losing internet access.
The iTunes music store has been made available directly to the iPod and offers a very simple mobile version of the store you are familiar with on the full iTunes desktop client. Songs downloaded directly the the iPod are synchronised back to your iTunes library next time you attach it to the computer. Of note, podcasts and video are not available via the mobile iTunes music store.
The new iPod touch successfully defines a new range of iPod’s while keeping the iPod purely about entertainment, and not a PDA device. The touch is not without troubles but offers a great experience with it’s slick intuitive interface and a reliable entertainment experience. For people looking for a communications device the iPhone may be more suited, but for those wanting an entertainment device with added internet features the iPod touch provides exactly that.