Hands-on Review: iPod Touch
Posted Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 6:49 am by Abe Olandres
Viewed 8549 times | Related entries: Gadgets, Multimedia
The new Apple iPod Touch are now out in stores in the Philippines with prices ranging from Php16k+ for the 8GB model and Php21K+ for the 16GB model. Just got one for review and here are some of my observations after toying with it.
1) It’s shiny, smooth, slick and thin. But that comes with a price — the iPod Touch is a smudge-magnet. Finger prints, dust and fibers are all over it you’d be wiping the screen against your shirt every so often.
2) The big and wide screen displays vivid colors and plays videos seamlessly (unlike older generations of iPod videos that’s a little clunky). Bigger screen also means the iTouch eats up the battery life faster than expected.
3) Connecting to a wireless network is a cinch. It automatically detects and connects within seconds. Fire up the Safari browser and you’re all set.
4) The mobile Safari browser needs some more work. Apple claims this is a full-blown browser but it’s not. It’s also slow. True, there’s a dedicated YouTube client in there but what about embedded videos on web pages? Navigating on Ajax-powered sites like Netvibes is a pain.
5) The Wireless iTunes Store is nice and intuitive. However, my favorite free stuff (like podcasts/vidcasts) aren’t listed. Bummer.
6) The accelerometer is sometimes buggy (an unverified bug) and horizontal or vertical views become wobbly when you’re using it while lying down.
7) The iPod Games are nowhere to be found. Well, you have to buy new ones with it at the iTunes Store. And we don’t have access to the store in the Philippines.
The navigation, virtual keyboard and sensitivity of the touch screen tops the experience and is very easy to learn even for first time users.
Placed side by side with the new 3rd gen iPod Nano, the iPod Touch is also slim and much lighter than previous generations of the 30GB iPod Video.
Still, I find the 8GB and 16GB capacity wanting. I wish Apple had gone with the 80GB Classic and turned that into a touch screen. That would have been the clincher.
Considering that the 80Gb iPod Classic costs Php12,900+ and the 160GB model is at Php19,500+, an HDD-based iPod Touch shouldn’t be any more expensive than the flash-based models.
Note: You’ll have to download the hulking 150MB iPod Update v 1.1.1 and upgrade the iPod Touch before you can start using it. Now, that’s a lot of bugs fixed.
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23 Responses to “Hands-on Review: iPod Touch ”
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hi ad
“I feel pity for people who owns ipods. The sound is Horrible!! It sounds like a tin can.”
aside from audio compression, the quality of sound of the ipod is not dependent on the device itself, but on your speakers. if you connect it to “tin-can” speakers, it will sound like one.
reasons why to own an ipod touch
1. commendable battery life (22 hours continuous play for audio,5 for vids ) with other low cost mp3 players, u’d be lucky with 6 hours continuous play.
2. clear and crisp picture display and manager - auto rotate and user controlled size
3. wi-fi connectivity with wysiwyg broswer (safari)
4. definitely as must have for road warriors
and frequent flyers.
the only downside is it’s only up to 32 gb
In my opinion/ opinion only:
I feel pity for people who owns ipods. The sound is Horrible!! It sounds like a tin can. People are just going with the flow. Just because everyone else has one does not mean everyone have to have one also. There are a lot of far superior portable music/video players out there. Steve Jobs is just making people mind’s spin, Its all about massive advertisement and making people say “ I gotta have those too!! Because it looks cool and my friend also has one too” Please you have to have you own choice.
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