CNET Editor's rating: 8.7 out of 10
Reviewed by
Donald Bell
Review date: 09/17/07
Release date: 09/14/07
The good: The Apple iPod Touch has a large, video-worthy screen, a cutting-edge interface, and Wi-Fi Internet, e-mail, and music download capabilities.
The bad: The iPod Touch may cost too much for you, depending on your needs. It has a small capacity for a portable video player.
The bottom line: The iPod Touch is a beautiful product, inside and out, but prepare yourself for sticker shock.
Editor's note: On January 15, 2008, Apple added several new software features to the iPod Touch, including e-mail, location-smart maps, stocks, weather, notes, Web clips, a customizable main menu, and the ability to view rented iTunes movies. In light of the product's improved value, we've increased the overall rating of the iPod Touch from 8.3 to 8.7. We've also revised the content of this review to mention these additional features.
If you find yourself dazzled by the Web, video, and music capabilities of Apple's iPhone but can't stomach the contract commitment, the iPod Touch might be just what you're looking for. Offered in 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($399) capacities, the iPod Touch is a premium-priced device with an attractive set of features for a midsize portable video player. Still, the Touch's limited storage capacity makes it a difficult choice when held up to higher capacity products like the iPod Classic or Archos 605 WiFi.
Design
For better or worse, the iPod Touch is clearly the iPhone's baby brother. Like most products that roll out of Apple, the Touch shows the love of committed designers, hardware engineers, and usability experts. The iPod Touch measures a slim and pocketable 4.3 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.31 inch, with an all-metal-and-glass design that feels as expensive as it looks. Because nothing will ruin a portable video player faster than a gouge across its screen, we're happy to see that the face of the Touch uses the same scratch-resistant glass found on the iPhone. Most users will still want to buy a protective case, however, since the iPod Touch feels a little fragile and the back is covered with the glossy, scratch-prone, smudge-loving chrome exterior common to most iPods.
Although the iPod Touch (center) shares most of its features with the iPhone (left), it is technically a sibling of the iPod Classic (right).
There are only two physical buttons on the iPod Touch: a button on the face of the player used for calling up the main menu; and a screen deactivation button found on the top-left edge of the case. The iPod Touch is controlled largely using an icon-based touch-screen navigation menu nearly identical to the iPhone's, but with greater emphasis placed on music, photo, and video playback.
The two design details that distinguish the iPod Touch from the iPhone are the headphone jack and volume controls. While the iPhone surprised us with its difficult, recessed headphone jack, the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPod Touch runs flush with the case and accepts any standard minijack headphone connection. In the absence of dedicated volume control buttons, the Touch gives users the ability to bring up an onscreen volume slider by double-clicking the main menu button. The same volume screen offers controls for playing, pausing, and skipping through tracks.
When it comes down to it, the iPod Touch's most unique selling point is not its feature set, but its interface. You can find products that offer more features, as well as higher quality audio and video performance, but you won't find any other product that can match the feeling you get using the iPod Touch interface. In the absence of jetpacks or flying cars, the futuristic novelty of zooming photos with a pinch of the finger or flying through your music collection in Cover Flow is difficult to quantify into a bullet point, but it is probably the most justifiable reason to invest in the Touch.
Features
The iPod Touch draws 99 percent of its features from the iPhone. While iPhone owners have zero incentive for buying the Touch, the rest of us now have a way to get our hands on many of the iPhone's features without costly and contractual AT&T service plans. The bad news is that the iPod Touch does away with more than just the iPhone's phone capabilities--it also gives up built-in speakers, microphone, camera, and Bluetooth. Remaining features such as a Safari Web browser, POP/IMAP e-mail, YouTube video portal, photo viewer, music player, video player, stock tracker, weather forecaster, notepad, and iTunes Wi-Fi music store still place the iPod Touch on the cutting edge for portable video players, however. In fact, at the time of this writing, the only product that can even compete with the iPod Touch's combination of a Wi-Fi-enabled Web browser, wireless music store, wide-screen video playback, photo viewer, and audio player, is the Archos 605 WiFi.
One of the few notable features that put the iPod Touch ahead of the iPhone is the ability to output video and photos to a television using an optional Apple AV cable, Universal Dock, or qualifying third-party video accessory. Another advantage the iPod Touch offers over the iPhone is the ability to manually manage music and video content in lieu of setting up automatic content syncing rules within iTunes. We are a little disappointed that the iPod Touch is the only iPod that does not support a generic USB storage mode, but we doubt many users will be upset by this.
Audio format support is unchanged from previous iPods. The Touch supports standard and purchased AAC, as well as MP3, Audible, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless. Video format support is likewise unaltered from the H.264/MP4 files playable on 5G iPods, as well as the third-generation iPod Nano and the iPod Classic. The Touch supports video resolutions up to 640 by 480 at 30 frames per second.
The iTunes Wi-Fi music store lets you browse, preview, and download music over a Wi-Fi Internet connection.
Safari
The Safari Web browser found on the iPod Touch is more or less the same great browser found on the iPhone, minus a few features. For instance, when using Safari on an iPhone, street addresses, e-mail addresses, or phone numbers displayed on Web pages can instantly launch a location map, phone call, or impromptu e-mail anywhere with mobile phone reception. On the iPod Touch, however, maps and e-mail functions require Wi-Fi reception, and phone calls are obviously out of the question. Our major complaint using Safari on both the iPod Touch and iPhone is its incompatibility with Flash-based Web objects, such as embedded video players and music players.
Despite these few limitations, using Safari on a small mobile device like the iPod Touch is still fun and useful. The intelligent touch-screen keyboard and multiple browser window management are a big plus. Beginning with firmware Version 1.1.3, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now use Safari to save bookmarked Web pages as menu screen icons, providing quick access to commonly-used sites.
iTunes Wi-Fi
Both the iPod Touch and iPhone allow users to browse, preview, purchase, and download music from the new iTunes Wi-Fi music store. The store is limited strictly to music downloads--no movies, TV shows, podcasts, or games--at least, not yet. You'll have to hop onto an available Wi-Fi Internet connection to take advantage of the wireless music store, but once connected, you can search for any artist, album, or song in the iTunes catalog, as well as browse by genre, top sellers, featured artists, and new releases. Store purchases require you to enter your iTunes password as a security measure. Once the download is complete, the song is immediately available to listen to and will transfer to your computer's iTunes music library the next time you sync the device. The feature seems to work without any kinks. Even interrupted downloads pick up once a Wi-Fi connection is re-established.
Apple has also announced a partnership with the Starbucks coffee chain that will allow iPhone and Touch users the ability to access a Starbucks-branded version of the iTunes Wi-Fi music store when the device is used at participating cafes--without paying to use the hot spot. We doubt that anyone will purchase the Touch based on this added functionality, but it bears mentioning.
Wish list
Complaining about the iPod Touch's lack of FM radio or voice-recording features feels like complaining about a Porsche's lack of cup holders. Still, there are some missing features on the iPod Touch that we would have enjoyed. High-capacity SD memory card expansion is at the top of our list of most-wanted features for the Touch. We could easily forgive any PVP's limited built-in memory capacity if the option of SD memory card expansion was available (the Archos 405 or Creative Zen are perfect examples of video players that give us the option to expand).
We'd also love to see embedded Flash support in the otherwise fabulous Safari browser. Whether video content from sites like DailyMotion or Viddler or music from Web radio sites like Pandora or Slacker, embedded Flash media content is a big part of the Internet media experience. And while we're being picky, we also want iTunes game support, and stereo Bluetooth transmission. The ability to use the Touch as an external storage drive like the iPod Nano and iPod Classic would also be a plus.
Performance
Putting aside the Touch's sleek design, futuristic interface, and innovative feature set, the quality of its audio and video playback rank only slightly above average. The iPod Touch reportedly uses the same audio chipset as the iPhone, but a different one than the iPod Classic. The Touch offers good audio quality, but not the stellar audio we were hoping for in an expensive product. The audio issue is compounded by Apple's long-standing history of preventing iPod users from defining their own custom EQ settings. Apple's 20 built-in equalization presets are handy, but there's just no substitute for rolling your own five-band EQ curve. With the Touch's emphasis on video playback, it would have been especially useful to have a surround-sound emulation effect similar to the Cowon A3's or Sony NWZ-S610's.
We've heard some complaints about the iPod Touch's video performance, but we found the overall quality to be good. Viewing angles are less than great, producing some color and contrast shifting from even slight tilting. We also found that the glossy glass screen kicks back a lot of glare. Still, despite the common complaints, the Touch is unquestionably the most video-worthy iPod yet.
Apple rates the iPod Touch's battery life at 22 hours for music playback and 5 hours for video. Our CNET labs found that the iPod Touch lasted an average of 23 hours for audio playback and 6 hours for video--which is better than expected, and more than adequate for a few in-flight movies.
The iPod Touch comes with a small, clear plastic stand for hands-free viewing. It took us only two days to lose it.
Final thoughts
We think the iPod Touch is a great product with lots to offer, but its premium price tag and limited capacity should give some shoppers pause. Don't assume that Apple's most expensive iPod is the best solution for your needs. If you're planning on watching a lot of video, high-capacity products like the iPod Classic or Archos 605 WiFi will allow you to load entire seasons of your favorite TV shows. Also bear in mind that if you're not around an available Wi-Fi network, features like the Safari Web browser, e-mail, iTunes Wi-Fi music store, and YouTube video portal won't mean much at all. While the iPod Touch may not be the slam dunk we were hoping for, it is an unquestionably cool product that continues Apple's legacy of sleek, innovative design.
(Originally posted on CNET Reviews)
3 out of 10 - Poor great design, terrible video performance
I bought mine today from the Apple store in Raleigh, NC. Basically I agree with the CNET review. It's ...
I bought mine today from the Apple store in Raleigh, NC. Basically I agree with the CNET review. It's a great device. Or at least it would be if it worked properly.
The screen is terrible. Dark scenes in videos from iTunes are unwatchable. It almost looks like a photo negative. Dark images within a scene are a problem too (for example. a person with dark hair). Darker images from the web also don't display properly. I'm no expert, but all that points to a problem with the display.
Apparently I'm not alone. A quick search on 'ipod touch dark scene' will bring up several blog entries. Here's an example:
The person I talked to at Apple tech support was not familiar with the issue. She was very polite and efficient though. I walked through the process of reseting, rebooting, and all that stuff. None of it worked of course. I then made an appointment to take it back to the Apple store. We'll see how that goes.
I hope this is just a manufacturing defect that's limited to a few units and not a design problem. I also hope they don't give me a hard time about fixing it.
Updated The day after I posted my review I returned my ipod touch to the Apple store. The employees knew all about the problem with the screen. They quickly and politely exchanged my ipod for a new one. No hassle whatsoever. Video and dark images look just fine on the new one.
So, I'm giving them a 9 for the iPod (it would be a 10 if it were 32G or if I could expand it with SD cards).
For customer service I give them a perfect 10. Other than sending Steve Jobs to my door with a new unit and an apology, I can't imagine how the defect could have been handled better.
26 out of 29 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular iPod Touch is tops for 16 GB MP3 Models
For everyone without an iphone (really if you have an iPhone and want one of these, you really must have ...
For everyone without an iphone (really if you have an iPhone and want one of these, you really must have a spending problem) and just wanted an MP3 player, then I would get this. Many people on cnet posting their comments are upset about a couple of things. First, the storage (8 or 16 GM FLASH). FLASH is the simplest way to sum it up (it is superior to hard drives; only con SO FAR is storage space). 16 GB is so far the highest capacity available anywhere for FLASH and it has a few advantages over hard drive models. First, no moving parts which makes it 100% skip free unlike hard drive models which have spinning disks. Second, FLASH has faster loading times (overall speed is greater) and with FLASH, you can devices almost any size you want because since FLASH is so small, you can do many things with it (hence the thiness of the iPod Touch). Also, there are less techincal problems with devices that use FLASH over hard drives (you are more likely to experience problems with hard drives than flash memory). Yes, while 16 GB seems small, to many people it may not. Depending on how deep your music library is or depending on how many videos you play to keep on it, 16 GB may be sufficent for many like me. I have over 200 albums (most full) and I'm not hitting 10 GB yet. That goes to show it holds quite alot! At $399... it may seem like alot, but think about the whole product as a whole, and also remember that FLASH techonolgy is expensive; the price is a bargin. Other neat things is that it has blazing fast Wi-Fi (way faster than DSL which is fast enough lol), new iTunes Wi-Fi Store (very convient), and other stuff. Overall this tops the iPod line as the best and over the next couple of years, this is going to be the standard for iPods. Why a rating of 9 out of 10: no products are perfect and thats because (common sense): everything man made always has its flaws (meaning never 100% perfect).
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by RonaldJr18 (see profile) -
September 7, 2007
8 out of 10 - Excellent Almost perfect...
I have to admit right now, I am annoyed at all the zune and other 'non-iPod' fanboys. Their ratings have ...
I have to admit right now, I am annoyed at all the zune and other 'non-iPod' fanboys. Their ratings have completely messed up the overall score. However, I gave the iPod 16Gb an '8' because I know that even if I give it a '10' to 'compensate' for the shameful fanboy scores, it will be to no avail and I will just have to depend on savvy consumers who are doing a thorough research on what they are going to buy.
To give you a recent and brief history of mp3 player ownerships, I have owned a standard no name brand mp3 player, iPod Mini, 5G iPod 80GB video and the Zune 30GB unit. They all have their places and it was a toss up for me between the 5G iPod 80gb Video and the 1st Gen 30GB Zune (Black). I liked the iPod's ease of use and iTunes feature sets and I really loved the Zune's navigation, durability, out of the box sound quality and it's nice widescreen view. Now to the 16GB iPod Touch...
The Touch comes with a docking tray adapter for you past gen dock users, which is nice. It also comes with the standard iPod earphones (get yourself some better ones) and a little cleaning cloth for all the smudges you will eventually have to wipe away once you start using it. It also comes with a USB cord adapter for charging/syncing.
I don't claim to be a professional audiophile, but I do know this from general research, the human ear can 'basically' only hear the 20-20,000 range sound 'spectrum'. So all of the comments made about the poor quality of sound that the Touch resonates seems to elude me. Do these people who complain about the sound quality have dog-like listening ability? So yeah, the sound quality to me is just fine.
User Interface. This is the bread and butter of the iPod Touch. The interface is so intuitive and well thought out as to give the user a feeling of instant recognition of icons and navigation throughout it's interface. I can say that everytime I have pulled this device out to use one of it's features I would get a compliment on how nice it was. So it definitely has a cool factor. Let's not forget that the Touch has some sort of accelerometer built in to it so it can automatically switch to landscape view when you turn it on its side. This works when you watch videos, pictures and web browser. The cover flow is a nice added 'touch' here as well.
Touch Screen. The touch screen is easily smudge-able. However, it is made of glass which makes it very durable, giving it a very 'solid feel'. Apple did not skimp on the build quality of this device, that is certain.
Video- Video was very nice and just a tad bit bigger than the last gen 30GB Zune. The videos were also very nice and had excellent vibrant color to it. I have owned this device since launch and I can say that I have watched a few different types of videos on it from cnet video podcasts to football videos (GO Broncos!) to episodes of BSG (Battlestar Galactica) and have never experienced any problems at all.
Other notes- Web browsing is very easy and to be honest, was a very different experience than what I have ever experienced before. I've used 'touch screens' before, but the Touch is definitely unique in that it just 'feels' like it was meant to be used with your fingers. This is coming from someone who used touch screens with a stylus and regular plain old touch screens like ATM's. The browser is excellent, however, you will not be able to view flash sites and some other types of videos on some internet sites. The WiFi is fast and easy to set up and will ask you if it ever needs to access a different network for web browsing.
The Calendar is very useful, in fact, it just recently got an software update that allows you to add contacts and dates/events to your contacts/calendar and when you sync your Touch, it will automatically update your computer's contacts/calendar events as well. Very nice. The Clock (which can add multiple time zones/world clock), Calculator were also welcomed little programs that I use quite frequently.
The You Tube function of the Touch is more of a specific function, but it works. For what I use You Tube for, it works just fine.
What I do like about the Touch is that it is still both Windows and Mac compatible as where the Zune (even the new ones) is not. You can only use Windows for Zune unless you use Apple's Bootcamp or other Windows emulation software within the Mac OS. Just something to consider if you have narrowed down your search to these two types of devices.
The Touch has a button on the top left that if you push it once 'quickly' it will put your screen into 'sleep mode'. Which saves on batteries and also prevents any accidental 'touches' to your screen. To turn it completely off, press and hold the same button for a few seconds.
There is no recessed headphone jack like the iPhone, so using any other ear/headphones of your choice is not a problem.
For people who like to keep their 'stuff' private, there is a 'security lock' function that allows you to use a 4 digit password to unlock the device. You can even set the time to 'lock' from 1 minute on up.
The 16 GB storage seems to turn alot of people off, but for me it works just fine. I have been able to put all of my music library (about 2 gigs) and some videos on it no problem. I've even put an entire season of Battlestar Galactica on it and still had plenty of room to spare. I can't even imagine having that much videos and music on it. I always keep my Touch's storage 'clean' by only putting what I want on it and leaving the rest on my laptop. Right now, I have a few video podcasts, Bronco season highlights, one tv show and my entire music library on it right now and it has only taken up just a tad over 3 gigs of space leaving me with 11.5 gigs still available for whatever I want to put on it. Depending on how you use your space on this device is up to you, I personally recommend using your space management skills with this device. But it works for me and what I do with it.
The iPod Touch is a very very nice device and if you have the money and do not want or need an iPhone, I highly recommend this product.
This works just fine for what I want it for since I would rather have an actual cell phone with other features that would compliment this device.
Thanks for reading my review and I hope it helps you in your decision making process when choosing this device or others of this type.
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by donwright (see profile) -
November 18, 2007
10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect HOW CAN YOU RATE THIS YET - ITS NOT EVEN OUT!
I get so tired of people rating a product when they don't even have one in their hands. This ...
I get so tired of people rating a product when they don't even have one in their hands. This isn't a rate by what you have heard, it is supposed to be a rating for people that have purchased one and have hands on experience with the device giving their opinions. Come on people! And yes, I had to put a number in to submit this, so I gave it a 10 as the specs sound good!
Updated No more ranting abuot how people rate products before they own one. I've been able to play with the iTouch for about 3 days now. EXCELLENT product, and very similar to the iPhone. The only major dislike is volume control. Its very good, but being used to my nano, and having a physical volume control, there are a few extra steps to adjust the volume of the touch. Not a big dela other than when you are at the gym. The Wifi is awesome, as is the display. I have not had any of the reported "dark" screen issues that are being reported.
6 out of 10 - Good Excellent product, but hear me out for "6" rating, also helpful tip for buying a non defective touch
First let me say this: I love my touch and it is an excellent product. However I had to to ...
First let me say this: I love my touch and it is an excellent product. However I had to to buy and return THREE touches before getting one with a good screen. Tip: When buying a touch there is a way to identify if the item has a good or bad screen by looking at the box. Looking at the serial IGNORE the first THREE characters. Following that will be two numbers. These numbers tell you the week the touch was made. For example if it say "44" the touch was made in the 44th week of 2007. Only buy a touch with a 45 or above. I week 45 the touch shipped with updated firmware and you are guaranteed to get a good screen. (There were known screen issues with touches previous to this one.) Ideally buy the one with the highest number possible. Now, the reason for this relatively low rating. When the iPod first came out its purpose was to provide more features than any other competitor product relative to it's price, and succeeded. It is obvious Apple did not use this philosophy when creating the touch. There are far better products for the price. For 400 dollars the features and storage are ridiculous. There are far better products according to a price:feature ratio. Anchos players have far more functionality, however they are quite frankly ugly and I do not like them. The storage capacity of the touch is honestly pathetic. Yes, yes, I know it's due to the flash memory, and flash memory is superior to hard disk based alternatives. But honestly for a PVP 16 gigs is not enough anyway you cut it. Granted a hard disk option would add to the overall thickness of the touch it would be a fabulous trade off. While I understand Apple's decision to not include bluetooth in the touch so as to not allow it to compete with it's iPhone, but it is a poor decision. If Apple hopes to stay competitive bluetooth is essential. If Apple wishes to distinguish its iPhone from the touch there are far better way to do it. Add 50 dollars to the iPhone price or something, but for damnit give us bluetooth and more storage space. I understand Apple leaving out the email, maps, and various other iPhone apps. Keep in mind, it is an mp3 player, not a phone. To conclude when you buy a touch you are getting an excellent audio, video, and overall media player. You get seamless integration with itunes. You do not get the ability to carry all your music and videos with you and you don't bluetooth functionality. There are various other more minor features the the touch could have but none are really essential. It would be wise to wait until Apple releases a second gen touch when they will no doubt address most of these issues. However, purchase a touch, and you will no doubt be satisfied.
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by trx1701 (see profile) -
December 2, 2007
9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Absolutely Wonderful
I bought a 16gb model the day this sucker came out and I have had no problems. I have had ...
I bought a 16gb model the day this sucker came out and I have had no problems. I have had 3 ipods before this (2nd gen, 4th gen, nano) and this ipod takes the win. I can't believe how easy it is to use. The flick to scroll feature is outstanding, cover flow is simply beautiful and safari is just the icing on the cake. Wifi opens a whole new door. Simply find a hotspot and you can download music on the fly, which works amazingly fast. I also like to have youtube for those long lecture classes and how the sleekness allows this ipod to be tucked away neatly. Do not worry about jamming this into your pocket, the screen is almost bulletproof.
Now on the downside, the stupid metal backing that is probably the softest element on earth is still present, I was hoping for the backing like the iphone had. Also, Steve thought it would be cool to give you a keyboard and only be able to type in contacts (uh... for what?!?), url's and search topics. You have a calendar but can't type in appointments and the notes feature, which was totally useless before is now perfectly well adapted for this player, is gone. sigh...
so... if you weigh the good and the bad, the ipod touch is definitely worth your money (or college refund check in my case). Cover flow is simply the best reason to buy this and the widescreen video player. People who are complaining about the camera... seriously... EVERYONE has a phone with a camera on it... use it...
7 out of 10 - Very good It's All About Marketing
This is really all about marketing. Apple could have easily went with a hard drive and made a 80 and ...
This is really all about marketing. Apple could have easily went with a hard drive and made a 80 and 160 gig version of the iPod Touch but that wouldn't be smart from a business sense. Not that I agree with what they've done but think about it...people are going to rush out and buy the Touch simply because it's cool and the new thing to have. Next year they'll release the updated version and it will double in size and the same for the following year and so on. Each time they release a newer version with more space the same people that go out and buy the 'must have' everything will shell out more cash to get the latest and greatest. In 3 or 4 years we'll all look back and laugh and say...can you believe the iPod Touch used to come in 8 and 16 gig. Why on earth would you buy that with such little space?
With 8 and 16 gig it's almost as if you'll need two iPods. One to watch videos on a wider screen and the 'Classic' version to store ALL of your music and videos on one device.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Almost perfect
To everyone complaining about the lack of storage: It's flash. Flash memory ain't cheap and though, yes, there ...
To everyone complaining about the lack of storage: It's flash. Flash memory ain't cheap and though, yes, there will be plenty of 32, 64, and eventually 100+ gb flash players out there, for right now this is more than decent. I have 2000 songs, 4 movies, 10 TV shows, 40 podcasts, 300 photos and all of my addresses and contacts on my 16 gb touch (with just under 3 gb of space left) and I'd be surprised if that won't tide me over until the next time I'm able to sync it with my computer. I've had every iPod there is and we all must remember that hard drive based players eventually fail due to movement. I never had a problem with the 4 nano's I've had, nor the 2 shuffles. However, I've owned 7 different spinning hd-based iPods, and have had 3 of them kick it. I don't abuse my stuff, I just use it as a portable player. Is it nice to have one's whole library available at all times? Sure, but at what cost? The video on the touch is more than great and the scrolling/tapping features and overall intuitive interface of this iPod make it the best yet as far as I'm concerned. The only drawback? If there's a QWERTY keyboard for entering web addresses and the like, why is there no notepad or text editor of any kind. Oh well, hopefully some kind of software update will address this.
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by joeink (see profile) -
September 25, 2007
10 out of 10 - Perfect Love it, period
OK, I just bought my iPod touch from the Apple Store this afternoon, I absolutely love it. It has everything ...
OK, I just bought my iPod touch from the Apple Store this afternoon, I absolutely love it. It has everything I want in an iPod plus more! I'm just coming back from a mosh and it survived it without a scratch. I'd still recommend you get a case though, just to be safe. Its very simple and easy to use (Apple, of course) and everything works flawlessly. This is truly their best iPod yet, it looks like something that came out of a Sci-Fi film, but I assure you, its completely real. The flash memory is very quick and it was made for Safari. Web pages are clear and easy to read. The built in YouTube player was ingenious, and it works very well. I haven't tried the Wi-Fi iTunes store yet, but I have heard it is very good. I could go on and on about this amazing product. I have noticed that Apple sometimes uses cheap parts in their electronics, but this isn't one of them, the material is very nice and rugged.
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by crazyJoe A81 (see profile) -
September 14, 2007
1. Wifi is really buggy and refuses to connect to a lot of different connections that ...
Here are my gripes:
1. Wifi is really buggy and refuses to connect to a lot of different connections that my other computers have no problem connecting to. Support doesn't help.
2. Audible support is not so great. There is no bookmarking in any of your books, and there is now no longer a sliding time monitor that shows you how much time you are into/have left/ total time, etc. so you have no way of monitoring where you are other than to "trust" the player, and the player often forgets the marks.
3. The browser is virtually useless because of the size of the screen, and typing things in is really hard too. I don't have huge fingers, and it's really hard to type into this thing. You'd think that they would include a stylus, but after looking at it, you don't want to go scratching the thing up with a stylus, and Apple doesn't reccommend using one.
4. All of my files are in WAV format through Media Player, and iTunes won't import them, nor will it consolidate my library. I have to manually bring them in, and then they don't bring any of the tag info with them from MP11, so I'd have to manually type in all the info myself.....lame.
5. Conversion to MP3 format through itunes is a huge pain, and it ends up making and listing copies, so you have to then, after conversion, manually erase all of the WAV files as well.
6. Audio quality still isn't as good as other players.
7. No expansion slot, and 16 gigs isn't a lot of space
8. Contacts, calendar, etc. are hard to use and don't sync with other programs.
9. Video playback isn't so great. Blacks look sparkly and there is a good deal of shadowing going on.
I am returning this player, as it's really not very well thought out. I'm going to try the Creative Zen instead.
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by Audioman (see profile) -
October 12, 2007
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