curvier, lighter, cheaper, iPhone-ier

curvier, lighter, cheaper, iPhone-ier, September 9, 2008

By	James L. Wright Jr. (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

The 2G iPod Touch is a solid update, with some nice new, er, touches. If you have the existing 1G Touch, you won't find a compelling reason to upgrade unless you use the Nike+ fitness device, as this new Touch has that support built in. If you've been waiting for the price to come down, good news: the new devices are about $100 cheaper than their predecessors, so the 32Gb Touch can be had for under $400, and the 8Gb for a little over $200. The 16Gb device strikes me as the sweet spot at $299.

Improvements include: iPhone Firmware 2.1, which opens access to the AppStore and fixes some of 2.0's bugs; an internal speaker (not terribly loud, but it'll do in a pinch); the Nike+ support; a new form factor that is lighter and curved for easier holding (though if you use it on a flat surface it's not as stable as the 1G); 6 hour video / 36 hour audio battery life; support for the new iTunes 8.0 Genius playlists (similar to Rhapsody Channels and Pandora, but limited to your on-device music collection).

If your primary need is for an audio player, especially for podcasts and audiobooks where the device sits in your pocket for hours on end, I'd recommend you consider the iPod Nano. The new 4G Nano tops off at 16Gb, which works out to nearly six months of spoken-word content. And at $199, you get twice the storage for less than the 8Gb Touch.

Where the Touch shines is in its interactivity - a gorgeous video-viewing experience that won't strain your eyes like the Nano, full Safari browser and other Internet-enabled applications (with a WiFi connection), gorgeous 2D and decent 3D gaming, PDA-like functionality. It's called Touch for a reason - it screams out to be looked at, touched, played with, caressed, even licked. It's a full-blown computer in your hand; to use it as a mere digital audio player makes Steve Jobs cry.

I wouldn't toss a 1G Touch for this device, since you can upgrade to the 2.1 firmware and get most of the goodies in software. But if you're looking to upgrade from a smaller device and want something with the additional potential to replace your Palm, PSP or Nintendo DS Lite, this is a compelling option.

Apple iPod Touch