Yesterday Apple announced a new version of the iPod touch. When compared to the 1st generation iPod touches, putting the battery life and pricing aside, what’s new?
- New design
A modified design, but no white version - Built-in speakers
This is a big one for me. There are several occasions at my friend’s house where I found a YouTube video on my Touch, and I can only show it, but with no audio. Those were the times I wished I had an iPhone. - Volume controls
Volume buttons are on the left side so you can adjust the volume with the iPod touch physically. This goes hand-in-hand with the built-in speakers - Support for new earphones, which have a remote for volume and play controls and a mic
A much needed feature for music playback. With the previous version, every time you wanted to change the volume or song, you had to take the iPod touch out of your pocket. Mic support is neat. Now you won’t miss out on apps that take advantage of a mic like apps that record voice memos and Midomi (singing app). Now if there was a voice chatting app like Skype or iChat, the mic would become extremely useful. If such app does come out in the App Store, it'd be for both iPhone and iPod touch. Cell phone companies probably wouldn’t be too happy with iPhone users talking via wi-fi, so chances are slim for a voice chatting app, I think.
The new earphones are not included, and will set you back $29.99 or $79.99 depending on which model (regular or in-ear) you buy. - Built-in Nike+
I’m not a big fan of this one. A PDA-sized music player is kind of big to carry for jogging, don't you think?
If you can bare with taking out the iPod touch from you pockets every time you want to change a song or adjust volume, then you might want to sit out on this one. As for the speakers, there’s a workaround of attaching external speakers like:
If a voice chatting / VoIP app does ever come out, then it might worth considering since you can use the iPod touch as a voice communication tool.
You should consider upgrading if:
- you record a lot of voice memos
- you like to run and don’t mind the size of the iPod touch
- there are apps that use the mic that you absolutely use frequently
Now, if you don’t have an iPod touch, should you buy the new version?
Compared to when the 1G came out, the iPod touch has come a long way. It now has all the iPhone apps like Google Maps, and some of the usability flaws are fixed with external volume control, built-in speakers, and the new earphones.
Although it’s positioned as an entertainment device, it’s a very capable PDA. So the answer would be an easy yes - that is a yes, in a world without iPhones.
Potential iPod touch buyers should definitely take a closer look at iPhone before they make their decision. I'll leave that for the next post. Stay tuned.
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12 comments:
One thing that might affect the decision is if you intend to use the touch in a docking device such as the iPod HiFi. The new touch will not charge in these devices.
Thanks for the comment and the insight! Good point!
the mic sounds great! to the author: the "fring" application allows you to use skype or chat on msn... i've tried making calls with my 1g ipod touch and it works (minus the fact that i cant say anything...) does anyone know if a mic attachment will work with 1g for such an app? i wanna get one to record lectures anyway but using skype would be bonus.
Ok if someone would answer me this would be great i've heard they have came out with voip on ipod touch and i have it! (I can call people over wi-fi phone companies beware!) but i got a problem i can't talk to the people i call! the ipod 1g is said to not be able to use this feature and i need some proof! Cause iv'e searched the net and saw people using the new apple mic/ear buds , but i cant tell if its 1g or 2g please answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Sg! Thanks for the comment, and apologies for the late reply. There are mods and hacks for the iPod touch 1g that can give it the mic function. Lifehacker has an article on that. However, from what I know, these mods or attachments don't work with the new firmware and the VoIP apps in the App Store. Therefore, you have to jailbreak the touch and also use an older firmware. Hope that helps =) Let me know if you found a good solution.
To the reader that posted a comment on Nov. 6 about the iPod touch and VoIP. The new Apple mic/ear buds seem will only work with the new 2G touches (from what I know). If you have the 1G, here's a link to Lifehacker that shows an example of an unofficial mic attachment for the 1G. Beware, as these attachments don't work with new firmwares and VoIP apps from the App Store. Hope that helps!
my ipod touch 2g charges on the ipod HiFi
thanks for the info!
I got the new itouch and i must say that is REALLY thin,
its half the size of the normal.
also the sound quality is amazing, But what i dont like is that you Have to be connected to a wifi access piont (Same as 1g) to use the internet :( .
But overall, I really like it!
I agree compleatly with Callum!
Thanks for the comments! The touch is definitely slick! It's really too bad they didn't add a camera this time, but I hope they do soon. And while they're at it, hope they put GPS in there too.
Pair the touch with a service like Version Mifi, you can get internet connection with the touch everywhere. Even without the connection, there are lots of tools and apps that make the touch an awesome modern swiss army knife =)
how do u get the app store on 1g
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