66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
| By | Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews   |
Apple's 32GB iPod Touch is still the largest you can buy. The Apple iPod Touch 8 GB (2nd Generation) model is priced so low that it is very attractive as an entry level unit. So from that perspective, the 16 GB model is kind of the ugly duckling since it's not much less than the 32 GB model. If you just need the WiFi browsing, the 8 GB model will meet those needs. If you want to put a decent amount of music and video on it, the 32 GB model is the way to go. I would recommend those who are considering the 16 GB model to step up to the 32 GB model if at all possible.
The unit finally has volume controls, and even adds a few features that were surprising such as the small speaker. But adding volume controls without track controls was surprising to me. And while the speaker is nice and the Nike integration is also nice, neither of those are deal breakers for me. The battery life improvement is noticeable. And web browsing is still great, though the wireless range has not been improved. Overall the best improvement is probably the lowered price, which is a bigger deal to those who were holding off. This is my third, and I'm still looking forward to the next version and more capacity.
For me, I found that the first generation player became much more of a multimedia device than my other MP3 players. I could live with some of the weaknesses, but the battery life really became an issue. That was even after disabling most power hogging features. I made sure to test this out for at least two weeks before making a judgement on this particular improvement. On the new one, the battery life is definitely improved though not nearly as much as advertised. The other big improvement is the addition of at least a few buttons for volume control.
Safari browsing still rocks, but the fact that they didn't upgrade the wireless is disappointing. I will hope that the next version will have stronger wireless and more capacity. If they can do that, they will be at a nice starting point for future generations to build on.
There is a widely publicized issue with wireless browsing on certain types of secured networks. You may have to reconfigure security at home or wait for an update. I have not directly experienced this and I only connect to secure WiFi, except for rare cases. I have still experienced a long time polling and connecting to WiFi networks however. Depending on many factors, you may need to wait for the next software update if this is a big issue for you.
Pros
+ 32GB of storage is a decent size for music and video for most users
+ Nice new lowered prices for each capacity level
+ Safari web browsing and easy WiFi hotspot setup still the best feature
+ Great design with a sleek thin body with slightly more curvature
+ Beautiful 320x480 pixel wide-screen provides pleasing video viewing
+ Turn to the side to view video using the full wide screen width
+ Orientation detection changes view to landscape mode automatically when turning iPod!
+ Brighter screen with great contrast and crisp sharp images
+ Wireless access via 802.11 b/g compliant antenna (still waiting for `n')
+ Wireless searching and video on mode can be disabled to extend battery life
+ Headphone jack compatible with standard phones
+ Genius playlist feature works well enough
+ New apps work great and give you stocks, maps, email, notes and weather
+ Supports both NTSC and PAL video out
+ Unlike iPod classic, all flash memory means less failures and breakage
+ Flash memory also awesome for running / working out, though I use my nano for that ;-)
+ Integration of Nike workout features also nice add-on
+ Cover-flow works better on the Touch with the software update
+ Slightly better sound quality than 2nd generation iPods
+ Small speaker is great for playing games or previewing tracks
+ Apple reputation is probably still worth the premium
+ Plenty of free video and audio teaser content available on iTunes
+ Easy access to iTunes right from your device over your local wireless internet!
+ Apple store provides easy access to more and more apps
Cons
- Still not enough capacity to make it a replacement for your disk-based player
- Still no track controls, though the volume controls and hold are nice add-ons
- Accessories such as cases that fit version 1 need to be replaced due to body redesign
- Screen requires "real touch," bad for those of us in cold weather cities
- Data port still seems cramped
- Still not backwards compatible with legacy docks and cables
- Battery life somewhat improved, but not nearly as much as advertised
- Only minimal usage of WiFi and video will allow regular daily usage on one charge
- No expandability or SD card slot like competing players
- Limited native formats (MP3, MPEG4, AAC) and high software overhead (still growing!)
- iTunes attempts to install extra software when updating!!!
- PDA functions such as calendar syncing and contact management still need work
- Still lacking some features such as built-in FM radio & voice recorder
- Missing wireless syncing and song transfer, features already on the Zune
- No Bluetooth for peripherals and accessories (strange considering Nike integration is based on bluetooth)
- No wireless synching or wireless access to iTunes WLAN libraries
- No WiFi viewing of live iTunes PodCasts
- Still no local viewing of PDF or other common document formats
- No mode to use as disk storage?!?!
- Still relatively expensive in GB/ $ terms
Conclusion
Overall this device is enough of an improvement to lure in more converts. Those who own the first generation iPod Touch or want to store their entire music collection will probably want to wait. Except of course, if you must have one or more of those updated features (improved battery life, Nike integration, etc). In that case, you can find comfort in the slightly improved sound.
Enjoy!!!!
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