iPod Touch - Full Review and Report

Jeff Weisbein -

The long-awaited iPod Touch review is finally here! So what’s the verdict on this device? What’s new? What does it have to offer? All of that will be found in this review. So let’s begin…

What’s new?

  1. The Full Touch Screen
  2. The Look
  3. Cover Flow
  4. Hard Drive Size
  5. Sound Quality
  6. WiFi Capability
  7. Built-in iTunes Music Store
  8. Playlist Creating and Editing Ability

So now that we’ve listed all these really cool and awesome new features, let’s talk about them!

First off, the most obvious change, the full touch screen. The touch screen is very nice, eye-catching, easy to use, space between buttons is just right, and to be honest, it’s just flat out awesome. The sensitivity is just right as well; one thing I was concerned about was whether it would be too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Well, let me say, Apple got it just right. While I did manage to click next by mistake while listening to a song, that was most likely my fingers fault.

Moving on, “The Look” – Apple finally steered away from the iconic iPod design for this particular model. While it would be impossible or just not very practical to stay with the iconic iPod design that has been with the iPod since the first generation of them, the Touch is different in appearance, however, it is still very very good-looking.

Cover Flow – Which was introduced with the iPhone, was hoped to be, and successfully was, integrated with the next generation of iPods. The Cover Flow on the iPod Touch seems flawless; the speed is just right, it’s smooth, and easy to maneuver through the albums. This is perhaps my second or third favorite feature.

Hard Drive size – definitely a bit of a bummer, especially with the full touch screen – which makes for great video watching. However, with that said, 16GB is not too bad, if you can be a bit selective with what you put on your iPod. I’m a music lover and an audiophile so I do rip my mp3’s in the highest quality VBR bitrate. However, I currently have 497 songs (not even close to my collection of 5000 or so) and 13 videos on it, and have used almost exactly 4GB of space. I thought space would be an issue, however, I’m finding out if you’re just a bit more selective with what you put on your iPod, it’s doable even with a big collection of music.

Sound quality – Another thing that I was looking forward to (improvement wise) and was not let down. The sound quality improved and it’s definitely noticeable with a good pair of headphones. I’m using my Koss Porta Pro’s and I do hear a difference between the Video and the Touch. I was not surprised by this as the sound quality did also improve in the Video from previous generations.

WiFi capability – This is an awesome feature, definitely ties in the second or third favorite feature category. I love that you can go to YouTube, surf the web, etc. Also, the built in YouTube Player is a huge plus. With the amount of great content on YouTube it really allows you to enjoy it via the YouTube Player on the iPod Touch.

Built-In iTunes Music Store – A no-brainer, especially with the WiFi capabilities. I have yet to buy something from the store using the iPod Touch, but I’m assuming it’s just as easy and simple to use as the regular iTunes Music Store from me just looking through the catalog on my iPod.

Playlist creating and editing ability – This is perhaps my favorite feature of all. Finally, Apple got it. The iPod Touch allows you to create and edit playlists directly on the device. You can easily manipulate them by moving, adding, or removing songs. This is excellent, now we don’t have to rely on iTunes to manage our playlists. I hated having to redo an entire playlists just for one new song. This feature, makes my life so much easier.

Do you have an iPod Touch or a new iPod? Do you like/love it? Leave a comment, tell me your favorite feature(s).