IPod Touch: For those who like an mp3 player with a side of AWESOME. (Apple iPod touch 16 GB)

Member Name: Palice

Product:	Apple iPod touch 16 GB
Date:	11/01/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Almost everything.

Disadvantages: Easily scratched; web browsing not perfect, but as good as it can be.

I bought my iPod Touch very impulsively on ebay - made a low offer on a BIN which to my surprise was accepted at £160 - at the time it was £259 on apple.com. Firstly I would like to say that if you can find this at a good price (and chances are you will, with people upgrading to 2nd Gen or iPhones) it is a very good buy, and it is not yet worth the extra money for the newer model, in my opinion.

So as not to make this review too long-winded, I'll go into a list of its pros and cons. I haven't mentioned the music player, as, after all, it is an ipod, and it's excellent.

Pros

- Looks. Apple, as usual, have eliminated all unneccessary buttons and design features, leaving simply the home button and hold button on top, and that great big screen. If you can keep it from getting scratched (a job I have failed miserably at) it really is a good looking device. But you don't need me to tell you that.

- The touch. As obviously the most important feature of the iPod /touch/, Apple has put a lot of work into the touch screen, and as a result, it is very intuitive. (It seems to work out where you meant to press on a webpage no matter how large your finger/tiny the link). The diagonal stretch motion to zoom in and out is genius, as is scrolling (imagine a real wheel; if you spin it with a lot of gusto it will keep rolling a long time, whereas a gentle flick will yield a more leisurely spin - this is what scrolling through artists/web pages is like).

- The App Store. This is one of the best features of the iPod touch, and is what turns it from an mp3 player with tacked-on extras to a PDA. It also means it's impossible to get bored of this player, as there is always something new to find in the App Store, including a great selection of free programs.

Email. You can have multiple email accounts linked to the iPod, and unlike windows mail, you can receive -and send- mails from an aol account. To make things easier, the biggest email providers (Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Windows messenger) are already loaded onto the system so you need only put your email address and password in to start using these accounts. And setting up email not from these providers is almost as easy.
The iPod touch will periodically (depending on your preferences) check for new emails, add up new ones from all your accounts and display the number on the home screen. Which leads me to...

- The home screen. This is very well-documented so most people know what it looks like before they've even seen one in real life, but it really is everything you need - think of a desktop screen (well, a series of desktop screens in most cases) with icons for your applications, bookmarks, plus the features which come standard. Your four most used ones (I have music, safari, email and pictures) can be put at the bottom so they are visible from each page of the home screen.

Safari. Can do anything your home internet browser can do - with the noticible exception of flash. Still, for a device which fits into your hand it is very impressive that browsing the internet is not an all THAT different experience from using a computer. And so we move onto the cons.

Cons

- Frailty. As I mentioned before, it doesn't take a lot to scratch this player. I recommend getting a case -before- you buy the player and putting it into it as soon as you put it away. Also, try not to drop it!

- Web browsing (to an extent). It's never going to be the same as using a computer when you have a device with a 3.5" screen, but it does try its best. However, it is usually a little slower and you wouldn't want to spend long sessions surfing the web. Also you do miss the flash content.

Overall though, an excellent device for people who want a lot more from their music player.

Summary: Pick up this version for a bargain, you'll be surprised at how much you come to rely on it!

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