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)
8 out of 10 - Excellent Cool device, definately worth playing around with
Okay, so yes, this was an impulse buy. Debating between the nano and the touch, and in the Mac Store, ...
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.
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by tk40015 (see profile) -
November 16, 2007
10 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
6 out of 10 - Good sufficient
i'm an audiophile, and i've had a 5G ipod for about 3 years now. before that i had ...
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.
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by thesplintercell (see profile) -
March 13, 2008
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect insane. Better then expected
this is awesome..the picture quality is perfect and stunning . Wifi is great.navagation is unbelivable for an iPod!!! Tv ...
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 $$
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Awesome iPod, worth the money!
This is a great iPod, more like a PDA with its email, notes, internet, weather, stock updates. If you already ...
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!
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by DMC94 (see profile) -
March 11, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Great product!
This might be a little too expensive for some people, but I find it to be an awesome portable media ...
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!
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by BenDude (see profile) -
December 8, 2007
6 out of 10 - Good freezes a lot, but still works fine most of the time..
I bought this ipod about 4 months ago, and i loved it for the first month or so, but the ...
I bought this ipod about 4 months ago, and i loved it for the first month or so, but the screen freezes frequently, and when i connect the device to a speaker system with an ipod dock, such as an iHome, the ipod makes a wierd clicking noise about every 20 seconds...Im not very impressed with this ipod anymore, and i recommend for you to get the iPod classic instead.
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by brettjamesk (see profile) -
July 1, 2008
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