Tagged Products - wifi

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

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had it already. At the same time I ordered a refurbished nano from Apple for my daughter, and it was on my doorstep in 3 days from when I placed the order, with free shipping. Beware of AMAZON shipping time listed!!!!

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

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luck to all who are waiting.

PS they charged my card which I'll have to pay in full prior to receiving my ipod or being given a credit refund.. Amazon gets a F- on this transaction.

Kodak EX-1011 Easyshare 10-inch Digital Picture Frame

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Kodak Support told me that unedited MOV and AVI MPEG4 and MJPEG taken with a Digital Camera would play, if used with Audio G.711. However, this was NOT always the case.

Audio Only:

1. I did not try any Audio only insertions.


CONCLUSION: 5 Stars for Photographs and 1 Star for Videos = 3 Stars Overall.

HP Photosmart C7280 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier

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Kodak Support told me that unedited MOV and AVI MPEG4 and MJPEG taken with a Digital Camera would play, if used with Audio G.711. However, this was NOT always the case.



Audio Only:



1. I did not try any Audio only insertions.





CONCLUSION: 5 Stars for Photographs and 1 Star for Videos = 3 Stars Overall.

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

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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
- Version 1 accessories (cases) 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 Zune features such as the song-sharing
- No Bluetooth for peripherals and accessories (strange with Nike integration)
- 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!!!!

Apple MB531LL/A 16GB iPod Touch

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App store is a huge part of why I love this ipod. I love browsing the App store for new apps, and I've downloaded a few games. I haven't found any games or apps that I absolutely love yet, but I am impressed with the power this little device has. Some of the video games have amazing graphics, Crash Kart for example looks like a PS2 game (maybe a little worse, PS 1.5). The lack of physical buttons keeps this from being a very compelling game system, but it's great for puzzle games or little games like Yahtzee that work well with a touch screen. However, some of the racing games work really well with the accelerometer, but it's just not my favorite way to control the steering. Blue Skies Air Force Academy is one particular game that was truly designed for the accelerometer, and it works well.

Now that I've said so many good things that I love about this device, I have to say it's not perfect. Although I'd give the hardware a 5/5, I'm a little irritated by the fact that I will probably need to buy a new FM transmitter for my car. I have the Monster iCarPlay and it's worked perfectly for nearly 3 years for me. I can still use it with my iPod Touch 2nd Gen, but it won't charge the iPod. Ugh, hopefully I can get by without needing it to also charge my iPod because that was originally like $60 when I bought it. I can't complain too much, because I did keep my old 30gb ipod video and I can always take that with me if I need an unlimited supply of music on long car trips. Oh I will also probably need to buy a new wall charger, but I can get one on eBay for about $10.

If you're thinking about buying this iPod, let me tell you that if you have $300 to spend, it's probably worth it for you. If you NEED a new mp3 player and you're on the fence about which one to buy, I strongly recommend it. However, pay attention to these tips before you buy! I purchased some of those screen protectors on eBay the same day I ordered this ipod from Apple. It gives me great peace of mind to know that my screen is protected by that plastic sheet, and amazingly I don't notice ANY degradation in screen quality or touch screen sensitivity, I can't even tell that there is a screen protector on it. I also bought a little rubber case on eBay that has a slot for an armband. Not sure I'll ever use it to work out with since the ipod video is easier to use while running, but the rubber case also makes me feel it would be safer if I dropped it.

I'll stop babbling now, but in conclusion 5/5, definitely recommend the iPod Touch 2nd Gen 16gb!

Eye-Fi Home Wireless 2GB SD Card

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there's no way to tell that it's trying and failing to connect.

As others have said: The requirement for an Internet connection even for local copy is odd. Not a problem for me, but odd. Not copying videos: Bad.

Because the camera doesn't know what's going on, it might power off during the copy. They have you "optimize" its power settings by disabling automatic shutdown.

It's definitely not going to the in-laws. Not sure if I'll keep it for myself.

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

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there's no way to tell that it's trying and failing to connect.



As others have said: The requirement for an Internet connection even for local copy is odd. Not a problem for me, but odd. Not copying videos: Bad.



Because the camera doesn't know what's going on, it might power off during the copy. They have you "optimize" its power settings by disabling automatic shutdown.



It's definitely not going to the in-laws. Not sure if I'll keep it for myself.

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

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battery life. The Touch screen is prone to getting sticky if you like eating foods with grease and sauce but can be cleaned quite easily. The actual touch screen is very responsive. Its responsive enough to know exactly what you want to do with it and yet, it won't detect your fingers when you slightly brush against it by mistake.

The Ipod Touch has virtually every feature that the Iphone has, with the exception of phone capabilites, GPS, and microphone recording capabilites. Its got Music, Videos, Photos, Internet/WiFi, YouTube (You can bookmark and download Youtube videos, with an app...), E-Mail, Notes, Calculator, Stocks, Weather, Web Browser, Maps, ITunes...the works. But the one thing thats better than all of those features, is the App Store.

The App Store allows you to download, straight to your Ipod Touch of course, any application (Apps) that people create for the product. With the App Store, you can get, FOR FREE...Associated Press News, Internet Radio, Games (Card Games, Racing Games, RPG Games, All Games...), Wikipedia, More Stocks/Bonds, Online Book Readers and probably a thousand differnt things that I haven't mentioned. The App Store even has a customer-based 5-star review system for each application, so that you don't download a crappy one by mistake. The "Apps" and App Store is the Ipod Touch's bread and butter. The apps will have you using the Ipod Touch for the next 3-4 years as they greatly extend the usage and importance of the Ipod.

The battery life of the 2nd Gen Ipod Touch is supposed to be better than the first one and so far, I haven't run into any battery issues. The video quality looks great to me, especially when you download a high-def movie (Youtube videos look good as well). Everything can be displayed in Widescreen and the Touch can even flip the videos over, depending on how you tilt the device in your hand (Very Cool Feature, takes a min or two to get used to). Audio quality is similiar to any other Ipod, if you've ever used one. It sounds better than most mp3 players and now, with the 2nd generation Ipod Touch, its got an external speeaker, so you can pull out the headphones, put it on your desk at work, and dance until your fired.

It seems like Apple continues to reinvent the wheel with every new Ipod that they bring out to the market. Where the old Ipods where know for the "click-wheel," the Ipod Touch is going to be know for its near-perfect touch screen interface. Maybe it wasn't the first device to have a touch-screen but its certainly one of the best. I can't believe I waited a year to buy this thing. 10/10.

Apple MB531LL/A 16GB iPod Touch

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battery life. The Touch screen is prone to getting sticky if you like eating foods with grease and sauce but can be cleaned quite easily. The actual touch screen is very responsive. Its responsive enough to know exactly what you want to do with it and yet, it won't detect your fingers when you slightly brush against it by mistake.



The Ipod Touch has virtually every feature that the Iphone has, with the exception of phone capabilites, GPS, and microphone recording capabilites. Its got Music, Videos, Photos, Internet/WiFi, YouTube (You can bookmark and download Youtube videos, with an app...), E-Mail, Notes, Calculator, Stocks, Weather, Web Browser, Maps, ITunes...the works. But the one thing thats better than all of those features, is the App Store.



The App Store allows you to download, straight to your Ipod Touch of course, any application (Apps) that people create for the product. With the App Store, you can get, FOR FREE...Associated Press News, Internet Radio, Games (Card Games, Racing Games, RPG Games, All Games...), Wikipedia, More Stocks/Bonds, Online Book Readers and probably a thousand differnt things that I haven't mentioned. The App Store even has a customer-based 5-star review system for each application, so that you don't download a crappy one by mistake. The "Apps" and App Store is the Ipod Touch's bread and butter. The apps will have you using the Ipod Touch for the next 3-4 years as they greatly extend the usage and importance of the Ipod.



The battery life of the 2nd Gen Ipod Touch is supposed to be better than the first one and so far, I haven't run into any battery issues. The video quality looks great to me, especially when you download a high-def movie (Youtube videos look good as well). Everything can be displayed in Widescreen and the Touch can even flip the videos over, depending on how you tilt the device in your hand (Very Cool Feature, takes a min or two to get used to). Audio quality is similiar to any other Ipod, if you've ever used one. It sounds better than most mp3 players and now, with the 2nd generation Ipod Touch, its got an external speeaker, so you can pull out the headphones, put it on your desk at work, and dance until your fired.



It seems like Apple continues to reinvent the wheel with every new Ipod that they bring out to the market. Where the old Ipods where know for the "click-wheel," the Ipod Touch is going to be know for its near-perfect touch screen interface. Maybe it wasn't the first device to have a touch-screen but its certainly one of the best. I can't believe I waited a year to buy this thing. 10/10.

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

...

stainless steel, and this plate attacts fingerprints and scratches almost magically. After one year of near-constant use the backplate of my first gen Touch looks a bit like a wild etch-a-sketch (I carry the Touch in my pocket). Interestingly, the glass on the front appears (after one year of heavy use) to be absolutely scratch-resistant. It's the backside (that also carries the custom engraving) that quickly becomes blemished. I would have preferred a brushed metal/aluminium backplate. I had to look it up, but the new Touch is slightly lighter (a few grams) - but it looks thinner (thanks to the tapered edge design). The rounded edges make it fit my palm slightly better, making it feel just right (to be honest, the original Touch was already very, very good in this respect). Other than that the outside dimensions exactly match that of the original Touch. The most visible change from the front is that the steel from the backplate now frames the glass much like it did on the original iPhone.

Touch Screen and Controls
The screen is simply gorgeous. It's bright, crisp, has great contrast, and can adapt it's brightness to the ambient light. In direct sunlight, much like it's predecessor it becomes difficult to read correctly. In shade it's perfectly readable -- a feat considering how bright a display has to be to achieve that. Color temperature of the display has shifted slightly downwards (or, to sound less pompuous: the display's colors have shifted slightly from a blueish to a golden tinge, something you wouldn't notice unless you have the two devices side by side).

The touch screen is very responsive, and as I stated before, absolutely scratch-resistant. Surviving a full year in my pocket along with metallic objects such as my keys is a testament to it's durability (looking at the stainles steel backside is a constant reminder just how badly it could have been scratched). As with the original Touch, the same problems occur when you try to control the device 'blind' (i.e. while it is in your pocket): without looking at it, you simply can't. Fortunately, Apple has addressed the most important drawback with this design: a hardware volume control. The screen's resolution remains at 480x320, which is very good (certainly better than my iPod Classic's). Interestingly, I've found out that ripping videos to this resolution does not necessarily yield noticeably better results than for the iPod classic's (320x240) screen, so I now rip to that resolution, conserving some memory.

iPod / iTunes
After one year of owning the original Touch I have to remind myself that this device originally is an iPod -- or rather a digital music player. As it turns out, although I also use it for music playing, this function has more and more been relegated to a background task -- a task, nontheless, that it handles really well. The coverflow, browsing and display functionality has evolved nicely from the original (1.0 and 2.0) versions, and are still the best in the market. The interface improvements support nice touches such as displaying a song's lyrics on single tap, bringing up the volume/cue controls on double-tap of the home button, an alphabetic slide rule when browsing titles, etc. Still missing is a search function, though. And, especially in light of the gorgeous display capabilities and the recent addition of a new visualitzer (in additional to the existing ones in iTunes), I would have loved to see a visualizer on the Touch as well. The biggest (and in my oppinion delibarate (as in spiteful)) omission is this: you still can't enable 'hard drive mode', i.e. use the Touch as a mass storage device. The biggest boon is improved battery life.

Video is crisp (still no contrast control, though), and audio playback is just as you expect (again: I'm no audiophile. I'm absolutely happy with most player's audio capabilities). Again I'm not using the Apple-provided white and quite sub-par headphones. I'm using separately purchased ones. New for the second gen is a built-in speaker. Audio quality here is not actually terrible, but close. The sound is tinny, weak, and just somehow comes out of the iPod (mono, of course). I believe that the addition of the speaker has a specific reason different from HiFi: it makes playing games on the Touch without headphones so much more enjoyable. But for listening to music I would prefer headphones or active speakers. To be honest, I prefer not listening to music from that speaker.

iTunes integration is top-notch as before. Some sort of bug-fix now has made data backup much faster, and both iTunes and the Touch now sport a new kind of smart playlist that is called 'Genius'. Initially, I wasn't impressed by this feature. Although iTunes 8 has had this feature I regarded it primarily as a well executed new way to sell song and hence didn't use it. On my iPod, however (which only carries a subset of my library due to memory contraints), this feature literally rocks. On my first day alone it had me re-discover five songs I never knew I had (much less liked).

On the downside, the Touch still does not support playlist groups, which is a constant annoyance to me. I'm also disappointed to see that the Touch still can't synch wirelessly, nor can it be used to access shared playlists (other than downloading them, of course). An application in the App store offers this functionality, albeit only for non-DRM'd titles, proving the point that this is possible.

Images (from iPhoto) can also be synched to the Touch, and nothing is more fun than showing off your iPod's capabilities using a nice picture and 'pinch' and 'swipe'. Interestingly (or rather: unfortunately), iTunes appears to down-sample large images to a smaller resolution, probably to conserve memory. This may make sense, but I would like to be able to have more control over this feature (i.e. decide myself what the image's resolution on the iPod should be).

Accessories - the Big Bad Ugly
Unfortunately, Apple has changed the pin-out (*again*) for the iPod connector. As a result, some 'made for iPod' accessories either don't work, or don't work fully any more. For example, my Altec Lansing active speakers can't charge the Touch any more (it was able to charge the 1st gen Touch). This is truly, truly annoying as you don't know if your iPod works with your 'made for iPod' devices any longer, and makes purchasing new accessories a game of chance. My car has a (hideously expensive) iPod integration that luckily still works (including re-charging). Still, the iPod connector compatibility (or lack thereof) is becoming a big mess. Just imagine you want to buy an accessory for your kid or friend, and too late find out that it does not work with it.

WiFi / Internet
A year ago I purchased an iPod, and got a fully integrated web accesory kit. As it turned out, the addition of WiFi and full internet access is a killer feature to me. The web browser (a mobile version of Safari) is very capable. Much has been said about the fact that Mobile Safari does not support Flash. This is annoying if you visit sites that use it. The pinch/slide gesture-based interface works so well that I regularely use the Touch for normal web surfing. The general experience has increased over the past few month, no doubt in no small amounts due to the fact that many sites have beed re-designed with the iPhone in mind. Since the Touch's browser is exactly the same, it inherits the benefit. WiFi speed is good (although it still uses the 802.11b/g, not the n variant) - and mostly depends on the hotspot you are connected to. It remembers the hotspots it has connected to (much like a laptop would), and can also connect using WPA. There are other Web enabled applications that come with the iPod (Maps, which can pinpoint your location by the position of hotspots close to you), Stocks, YouTube, and Weather, which are nice, but remarkable. WiFi reception range is average, but definitely below that of some PC laptops.

Then, the Touch also comes with Mail, Calendar and Adressboock, and these do become killer fieatures, especially when coupled with an Exchange server or (as Apple would prefer) MobileMe. Mail supports 'push' technology, meaning that (almost) as soon an there is an incoming mail (and your Touch is connected to a hotspot), you are notified by a little discreep 'bleep'. Reading emails, including mails with rich content works very well. Composing any but the shortes emails, on the other hand, is bothersome, verging on annoying due to the small virtual keyboard). Still, simply being able to do this makes all the difference. Live Calender updates have saved my bacon a few times already, as you do not have to remember to actively synch your iPod after you have made a change to the calender.


Integration with Exchange (at the point of writing) remains a tad spotty, with no messages appearing for s few hours, and then suddenly many appearing at once (I initially suspected a configuration issue on the Exchange Server, but this appears not to be the case). Depending upon how you configure MobileMe on your Mac, the results are similar to what you can expect from Exchange (with the difference, of course, that Apple is running the servers for you). Unfortunately, MobileMe currently does not synch your Notes.

Nicely executed is the integrated iTunes store. While possibly just another mechanism to generate sales, I simply love the fact that if I hear or remember a song, I can almost always instantly purchase it and have it on my touch within seconds. Songs purchased on the Touch synchronize back to your main library in iTunes (into a rather silly 'Purchased on Touch' playlist). If a download has to discontinue because the network connection was lost (or for any other reasons), it will continue as soon as the connection to the Internet is restored.

Interestingly, the touch sports (I'm a sucker for lame puns) the required hardware to connect to the 'Nike + iPod' sports accessories built-in (i.e. you do not have to connect the dongle). I say interestingly because these devices utilize the bluetooth frequency band, yet the Touch does not support bluetooth devices (headphones, mikes, car integration and printers come to mind). Since I use a shuffle for work-out, this is not a must-have feature for me.

Applications/App Store
If Mail, Calendar and Browser are killer apps, Apple has added another killer feature to the Touch (and iPhone) that expands the device's usability (and customizability) by orders of magnitude: the App store. In appearance similar to the iTunes Store, here you can choose from literally hundrets of applictions (of greatly varying quality, though), purchase and install them instantly. Prices run from free to roughly 10 USD (there are some more expensive titles, but the majority are priced at a couple of USD). The apps are presented in three different ways ('featured', 'top', browse by category), plus you have the ability to search for keywords.

Although the 'signal to noise' ratio isn't that great (there are quite a lot of useless or awfully executed applications), there are some jaw-droppingly good apps that truly enhance your Touch. Among the first to mention is Apple's own (free) 'Remote' app, which allows you to remote-control iTunes on your Mac or Apple TV - with real-time full visual feedback, and full search capability (allegedly, it is also a real boon for Apple TV users, as it provides a virtual keyboard as input means. Not having Apple TV, I can't comment on this). Then there is an application that allows you to stream all your music (well, the unprotecte at least) to your Touch - over the Internet to wherever you are (interestingly, this App was not produced by Apple).

Greatly enhancing the Touch's usability are eBook readers (the Touch is almost perfect for rading books, giving you that 'Star Trek' info pad feeling) as well as off-line news readers. Another important category are applications that enable you to easily transfer (and view) files from your Mac/PC to the Touch. I would have expected Apple to integrate this feature into iTunes (perhaps rudimentary support for PDF), but third party providers are more than happy to bridge this gap for you. And for the geeks there are VNC and SSH clients that finally allow them to control their server cluster using an iPod.

For those who want radio, there are lots of offerings for IP radios. Of course this means that your iPod must remain in range of a hotspot to use this feature. Mine does, so I alos now have radio -- and re-discovered just why I never missed it. I'm simply not a radio guy, I guess. I do know that many people miss it, and wish apple had gone the last mile and also added an FM tuner.

Two Apps I'm sure that will arrive soon at the App store is due to another addition to the Touch: support for extenal microphones. Apple's hi-end earphones have both a remote and mike built in, and are said to be compatible with the 2nd (and only 2nd) gen Touch. Audio note pads, and VoIP apps (a la Skype) that allows phone functionality over WiFi are sure to follow soon (note: I have seen these apps available in the US stores; sadly they are not yet available here in Switzerland Also, I interpret Apple's docs that the 2nd gen Touch supports external microphones, as they have not yet shipped the combined mike/remote headphones to me).

And then there are games. They currently are the biggest category of all applications. The Touch, with it's integrated accelerometer, 480x320 color screen and touch interface makes a nice gaming device, and developers have come up with some truly fun and innovative games ('Toy Bot' may serve as a great example). Apple may have realized that this is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the Touch: the Gen 2 device sports a speaker that makes little sense - except to improve the gaming experience (believe me: playing an accelerometer-based game with headphones on can be verry little fun when it gets exciting). And improving the experience it does. The Touch is ill suited for classic 'control pad' based games (e.g. Tetris, Pac Man), and most of their Touch adaptations suffer accordingly. Other games, however, adapt nicely to touch/accelerometer input (Monkey Ball, Crash Cart etc), or are a natural fit (Labyrinth, Sudoku, Solitair, Othello)

Super-geeks can also download the iPhone/Touch SDK and create their own applications. This is not for the faint of heart, as you first download a few gigabytes (Apple's XCode development environment), and then will have to code in Objective-C (an extension to standard C) and use the Cocoa framework. Plus, you'll need a Mac to do so. The environment is actually very good, and includes an iPhone simulator to test your software before deployment.

I should mention that most of the improvements (with the exception of the hardware upgrades: mike support, built-in nike support, volume buttons and battery life) can be had for free on your 1st gen Touch (if you have the 2.0 Update), or a couple of bucks if you havn't upgraded yet. Unless you (like me) want the larger memory (my first gen only has 16GB), the decision to upgrade to 2nd gen may be difficult.

Summary:
The 2nd generation iPod Touch is an almost perfect device. It combines top-notch video/audio, world-class UI, great casual gaming, hundrets of apps, and full access to the Internet into a single, beautiful package. To sum it up neatly: Untouchable. Well -- almost. It has one big flaw if you have invested in accessories: it may not be compatible with them, as Apple has changed the iPod connector pin-out (again). With those reservations, I recommend the Touch to anyone. Also great: owners of the 1st gen Touch can get most of these goodies with a simple, inexpensive software upgrade.


Hits
+ great display
+ good audio
+ gesture-based interface
+ accelerometer for controls
+ great integration with your music library (via iTunes)
+ long battery life
+ wireless music store
+ wireless App store (killer feature)
+ Speaker for gaming
+ Mail, Calendar and Address book with Push
+ WiFi Internet (killer feature)
+ Remote App (free) for your PC/Mac's iTunes/AppleTV
+ SDK freely available for anyone
+ Microphone and remote support
+ Nike + iPod without dongle

Misses
- incompatibility with 'made for iPod' devices (bad, bad, bad)
- stainless steel backplate (fingerprints and scratches easily)
- no wireless synching
- no wireless playback of streamed iTunes content (an Appstore application can stream unprotected content, though)
- no visualizer
- no search function
- no playlist groups (why, oh why?)
- no GPS nor FM radio
- Notes not synched with MobileMe
- no hard drive mode
- no synching documents (except third party Apps)
- downsampling of photos
- currently tops out at 32GB (would have preferred 64)
- no bluetooth

Apple iPod touch, 32GB - MB533LL/A

...

stainless steel, and this plate attacts fingerprints and scratches almost magically. After one year of near-constant use the backplate of my first gen Touch looks a bit like a wild etch-a-sketch (I carry the Touch in my pocket). Interestingly, the glass on the front appears (after one year of heavy use) to be absolutely scratch-resistant. It's the backside (that also carries the custom engraving) that quickly becomes blemished. I would have preferred a brushed metal/aluminium backplate. I had to look it up, but the new Touch is slightly lighter (a few grams) - but it looks thinner (thanks to the tapered edge design). The rounded edges make it fit my palm slightly better, making it feel just right (to be honest, the original Touch was already very, very good in this respect). Other than that the outside dimensions exactly match that of the original Touch. The most visible change from the front is that the steel from the backplate now frames the glass much like it did on the original iPhone.



Touch Screen and Controls

The screen is simply gorgeous. It's bright, crisp, has great contrast, and can adapt it's brightness to the ambient light. In direct sunlight, much like it's predecessor it becomes difficult to read correctly. In shade it's perfectly readable -- a feat considering how bright a display has to be to achieve that. Color temperature of the display has shifted slightly downwards (or, to sound less pompuous: the display's colors have shifted slightly from a blueish to a golden tinge, something you wouldn't notice unless you have the two devices side by side).



The touch screen is very responsive, and as I stated before, absolutely scratch-resistant. Surviving a full year in my pocket along with metallic objects such as my keys is a testament to it's durability (looking at the stainles steel backside is a constant reminder just how badly it could have been scratched). As with the original Touch, the same problems occur when you try to control the device 'blind' (i.e. while it is in your pocket): without looking at it, you simply can't. Fortunately, Apple has addressed the most important drawback with this design: a hardware volume control. The screen's resolution remains at 480x320, which is very good (certainly better than my iPod Classic's). Interestingly, I've found out that ripping videos to this resolution does not necessarily yield noticeably better results than for the iPod classic's (320x240) screen, so I now rip to that resolution, conserving some memory.



iPod / iTunes

After one year of owning the original Touch I have to remind myself that this device originally is an iPod -- or rather a digital music player. As it turns out, although I also use it for music playing, this function has more and more been relegated to a background task -- a task, nontheless, that it handles really well. The coverflow, browsing and display functionality has evolved nicely from the original (1.0 and 2.0) versions, and are still the best in the market. The interface improvements support nice touches such as displaying a song's lyrics on single tap, bringing up the volume/cue controls on double-tap of the home button, an alphabetic slide rule when browsing titles, etc. Still missing is a search function, though. And, especially in light of the gorgeous display capabilities and the recent addition of a new visualitzer (in additional to the existing ones in iTunes), I would have loved to see a visualizer on the Touch as well. The biggest (and in my oppinion delibarate (as in spiteful)) omission is this: you still can't enable 'hard drive mode', i.e. use the Touch as a mass storage device. The biggest boon is improved battery life.



Video is crisp (still no contrast control, though), and audio playback is just as you expect (again: I'm no audiophile. I'm absolutely happy with most player's audio capabilities). Again I'm not using the Apple-provided white and quite sub-par headphones. I'm using separately purchased ones. New for the second gen is a built-in speaker. Audio quality here is not actually terrible, but close. The sound is tinny, weak, and just somehow comes out of the iPod (mono, of course). I believe that the addition of the speaker has a specific reason different from HiFi: it makes playing games on the Touch without headphones so much more enjoyable. But for listening to music I would prefer headphones or active speakers. To be honest, I prefer not listening to music from that speaker.



iTunes integration is top-notch as before. Some sort of bug-fix now has made data backup much faster, and both iTunes and the Touch now sport a new kind of smart playlist that is called 'Genius'. Initially, I wasn't impressed by this feature. Although iTunes 8 has had this feature I regarded it primarily as a well executed new way to sell song and hence didn't use it. On my iPod, however (which only carries a subset of my library due to memory contraints), this feature literally rocks. On my first day alone it had me re-discover five songs I never knew I had (much less liked).



On the downside, the Touch still does not support playlist groups, which is a constant annoyance to me. I'm also disappointed to see that the Touch still can't synch wirelessly, nor can it be used to access shared playlists (other than downloading them, of course). An application in the App store offers this functionality, albeit only for non-DRM'd titles, proving the point that this is possible.



Images (from iPhoto) can also be synched to the Touch, and nothing is more fun than showing off your iPod's capabilities using a nice picture and 'pinch' and 'swipe'. Interestingly (or rather: unfortunately), iTunes appears to down-sample large images to a smaller resolution, probably to conserve memory. This may make sense, but I would like to be able to have more control over this feature (i.e. decide myself what the image's resolution on the iPod should be).



Accessories - the Big Bad Ugly

Unfortunately, Apple has changed the pin-out (*again*) for the iPod connector. As a result, some 'made for iPod' accessories either don't work, or don't work fully any more. For example, my Altec Lansing active speakers can't charge the Touch any more (it was able to charge the 1st gen Touch). This is truly, truly annoying as you don't know if your iPod works with your 'made for iPod' devices any longer, and makes purchasing new accessories a game of chance. My car has a (hideously expensive) iPod integration that luckily still works (including re-charging). Still, the iPod connector compatibility (or lack thereof) is becoming a big mess. Just imagine you want to buy an accessory for your kid or friend, and too late find out that it does not work with it.



WiFi / Internet

A year ago I purchased an iPod, and got a fully integrated web accesory kit. As it turned out, the addition of WiFi and full internet access is a killer feature to me. The web browser (a mobile version of Safari) is very capable. Much has been said about the fact that Mobile Safari does not support Flash. This is annoying if you visit sites that use it. The pinch/slide gesture-based interface works so well that I regularely use the Touch for normal web surfing. The general experience has increased over the past few month, no doubt in no small amounts due to the fact that many sites have beed re-designed with the iPhone in mind. Since the Touch's browser is exactly the same, it inherits the benefit. WiFi speed is good (although it still uses the 802.11b/g, not the n variant) - and mostly depends on the hotspot you are connected to. It remembers the hotspots it has connected to (much like a laptop would), and can also connect using WPA. There are other Web enabled applications that come with the iPod (Maps, which can pinpoint your location by the position of hotspots close to you), Stocks, YouTube, and Weather, which are nice, but remarkable. WiFi reception range is average, but definitely below that of some PC laptops.



Then, the Touch also comes with Mail, Calendar and Adressboock, and these do become killer fieatures, especially when coupled with an Exchange server or (as Apple would prefer) MobileMe. Mail supports 'push' technology, meaning that (almost) as soon an there is an incoming mail (and your Touch is connected to a hotspot), you are notified by a little discreep 'bleep'. Reading emails, including mails with rich content works very well. Composing any but the shortes emails, on the other hand, is bothersome, verging on annoying due to the small virtual keyboard). Still, simply being able to do this makes all the difference. Live Calender updates have saved my bacon a few times already, as you do not have to remember to actively synch your iPod after you have made a change to the calender.





Integration with Exchange (at the point of writing) remains a tad spotty, with no messages appearing for s few hours, and then suddenly many appearing at once (I initially suspected a configuration issue on the Exchange Server, but this appears not to be the case). Depending upon how you configure MobileMe on your Mac, the results are similar to what you can expect from Exchange (with the difference, of course, that Apple is running the servers for you). Unfortunately, MobileMe currently does not synch your Notes.



Nicely executed is the integrated iTunes store. While possibly just another mechanism to generate sales, I simply love the fact that if I hear or remember a song, I can almost always instantly purchase it and have it on my touch within seconds. Songs purchased on the Touch synchronize back to your main library in iTunes (into a rather silly 'Purchased on Touch' playlist). If a download has to discontinue because the network connection was lost (or for any other reasons), it will continue as soon as the connection to the Internet is restored.



Interestingly, the touch sports (I'm a sucker for lame puns) the required hardware to connect to the 'Nike + iPod' sports accessories built-in (i.e. you do not have to connect the dongle). I say interestingly because these devices utilize the bluetooth frequency band, yet the Touch does not support bluetooth devices (headphones, mikes, car integration and printers come to mind). Since I use a shuffle for work-out, this is not a must-have feature for me.



Applications/App Store

If Mail, Calendar and Browser are killer apps, Apple has added another killer feature to the Touch (and iPhone) that expands the device's usability (and customizability) by orders of magnitude: the App store. In appearance similar to the iTunes Store, here you can choose from literally hundrets of applictions (of greatly varying quality, though), purchase and install them instantly. Prices run from free to roughly 10 USD (there are some more expensive titles, but the majority are priced at a couple of USD). The apps are presented in three different ways ('featured', 'top', browse by category), plus you have the ability to search for keywords.



Although the 'signal to noise' ratio isn't that great (there are quite a lot of useless or awfully executed applications), there are some jaw-droppingly good apps that truly enhance your Touch. Among the first to mention is Apple's own (free) 'Remote' app, which allows you to remote-control iTunes on your Mac or Apple TV - with real-time full visual feedback, and full search capability (allegedly, it is also a real boon for Apple TV users, as it provides a virtual keyboard as input means. Not having Apple TV, I can't comment on this). Then there is an application that allows you to stream all your music (well, the unprotecte at least) to your Touch - over the Internet to wherever you are (interestingly, this App was not produced by Apple).



Greatly enhancing the Touch's usability are eBook readers (the Touch is almost perfect for rading books, giving you that 'Star Trek' info pad feeling) as well as off-line news readers. Another important category are applications that enable you to easily transfer (and view) files from your Mac/PC to the Touch. I would have expected Apple to integrate this feature into iTunes (perhaps rudimentary support for PDF), but third party providers are more than happy to bridge this gap for you. And for the geeks there are VNC and SSH clients that finally allow them to control their server cluster using an iPod.



For those who want radio, there are lots of offerings for IP radios. Of course this means that your iPod must remain in range of a hotspot to use this feature. Mine does, so I alos now have radio -- and re-discovered just why I never missed it. I'm simply not a radio guy, I guess. I do know that many people miss it, and wish apple had gone the last mile and also added an FM tuner.



Two Apps I'm sure that will arrive soon at the App store is due to another addition to the Touch: support for extenal microphones. Apple's hi-end earphones have both a remote and mike built in, and are said to be compatible with the 2nd (and only 2nd) gen Touch. Audio note pads, and VoIP apps (a la Skype) that allows phone functionality over WiFi are sure to follow soon (note: I have seen these apps available in the US stores; sadly they are not yet available here in Switzerland Also, I interpret Apple's docs that the 2nd gen Touch supports external microphones, as they have not yet shipped the combined mike/remote headphones to me).



And then there are games. They currently are the biggest category of all applications. The Touch, with it's integrated accelerometer, 480x320 color screen and touch interface makes a nice gaming device, and developers have come up with some truly fun and innovative games ('Toy Bot' may serve as a great example). Apple may have realized that this is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the Touch: the Gen 2 device sports a speaker that makes little sense - except to improve the gaming experience (believe me: playing an accelerometer-based game with headphones on can be verry little fun when it gets exciting). And improving the experience it does. The Touch is ill suited for classic 'control pad' based games (e.g. Tetris, Pac Man), and most of their Touch adaptations suffer accordingly. Other games, however, adapt nicely to touch/accelerometer input (Monkey Ball, Crash Cart etc), or are a natural fit (Labyrinth, Sudoku, Solitair, Othello)



Super-geeks can also download the iPhone/Touch SDK and create their own applications. This is not for the faint of heart, as you first download a few gigabytes (Apple's XCode development environment), and then will have to code in Objective-C (an extension to standard C) and use the Cocoa framework. Plus, you'll need a Mac to do so. The environment is actually very good, and includes an iPhone simulator to test your software before deployment.



I should mention that most of the improvements (with the exception of the hardware upgrades: mike support, built-in nike support, volume buttons and battery life) can be had for free on your 1st gen Touch (if you have the 2.0 Update), or a couple of bucks if you havn't upgraded yet. Unless you (like me) want the larger memory (my first gen only has 16GB), the decision to upgrade to 2nd gen may be difficult.



Summary:

The 2nd generation iPod Touch is an almost perfect device. It combines top-notch video/audio, world-class UI, great casual gaming, hundrets of apps, and full access to the Internet into a single, beautiful package. To sum it up neatly: Untouchable. Well -- almost. It has one big flaw if you have invested in accessories: it may not be compatible with them, as Apple has changed the iPod connector pin-out (again). With those reservations, I recommend the Touch to anyone. Also great: owners of the 1st gen Touch can get most of these goodies with a simple, inexpensive software upgrade.





Hits

+ great display

+ good audio

+ gesture-based interface

+ accelerometer for controls

+ great integration with your music library (via iTunes)

+ long battery life

+ wireless music store

+ wireless App store (killer feature)

+ Speaker for gaming

+ Mail, Calendar and Address book with Push

+ WiFi Internet (killer feature)

+ Remote App (free) for your PC/Mac's iTunes/AppleTV

+ SDK freely available for anyone

+ Microphone and remote support

+ Nike + iPod without dongle



Misses

- incompatibility with 'made for iPod' devices (bad, bad, bad)

- stainless steel backplate (fingerprints and scratches easily)

- no wireless synching

- no wireless playback of streamed iTunes content (an Appstore application can stream unprotected content, though)

- no visualizer

- no search function

- no playlist groups (why, oh why?)

- no GPS nor FM radio

- Notes not synched with MobileMe

- no hard drive mode

- no synching documents (except third party Apps)

- downsampling of photos

- currently tops out at 32GB (would have preferred 64)

- no bluetooth

Apple iPod touch, 8GB - MB528LL/A

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speaker. The 2nd Generation includes an admittedly quiet, but fully functional speaker. When you're playing a game or watching a Youtube video, it sounds just loud enough.

3) Delay in switching from landscape to portrait mode. This hasn't been addressed, and I haven't seen much discussion about it. It's less of a problem now that there is an external volume button, but it can still get annoying. Laying the device on its side while listening to music brings up the Cover Flow screen almost instantly. But for some reason, moving it back upright to get to the Now Playing screen sometimes takes as long as 10 seconds. It's not a big deal, but it can get a little annoying at times.

As far as the new features, the Genius feature works suprisingly well, as others have mentioned. I've tested it a couple of times while listening to a song, and it generated a playlist of similar artists and songs.
I haven't tested out the Nike + iPod component, but I'm glad it is included. The iTouch is fairly large, but sleek and light enough to not feel bulky in an arm band.

I've also noticed that the battery life has indeed been improved -- I haven't even charged my iTouch in a week. :) The exterior physical changes are subtle but noticeable, as it looks a bit slimmer and easier to handle.

All in all, I had to make the switch. I sold my 1st Gen for $200, and spent the extra $30 for the new model. While upgrading may or may not be worth it for everyone, I'd strongly recommend the new iTouch to first-timers. You won't be disappointed.

Apple iPod touch, 8GB - MB528LL/A

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caught on to a number of the functions while I was still painstakingly looking through the accompanying 100+ page manual that I felt compelled to immediately print out. I'm still finding the learning curve fairly steep.

Unless you're a digitally talented teen (or my wife), this gadget may not be worth the investment of time required for some of us to master all of its potential. Especially with the limited (and limiting) keyboard on the Touch, you might do well deciding on no more than a couple of dedicated uses and then practicing those until you're good at them. This entry model, especially, is priced reasonably enough to justify saving it for the things that it (and you) do best.

One caveat re: Apple's entire new line: I don't recall the company making more fuss out of so little than its hype about the "Genius" feature (sad commentary on the intelligence of the public?). Were it not for the absurd raving about this non-substantive "improvement," I'd feel like even more of an out-of-tune klutz for being so technologically challenged in the presence of yet another shrunken "smart device." I tried it, but am happier to have it turned off. (And, after a lifetime of collecting records, able to come up with just as many and better choices.) Time better spent reading a book (or Kindle).

So far, I'm finding navigation of the internet, answering e-mail, and even downloading of iTunes excessively slow and cumbersome for my purposes on the Touch, enough to steer me back to my Macbook. In sum: the iPod Classic and Nano 3G are still my top vote-getters, smaller even than the Touch yet manageable to aging eyes and unsteady fingers (especially when under time constraints). By not pretending to be "micro-computers" but merely intelligent storage drives, they serve "me" instead of vice versa. But for those seeking a world in miniature to escape to for extended periods, the Touch offers such a universe.

In sum, the Touch is an amazing gadget and cutting-edge technology, guaranteed to impress anyone within range (I'll probably use it next time I show a movie to a grand child). I'm still hopeful of learning how to stroke its magical screen to ensure timely downloading and playing of music files, even though this maiden voyage has convinced me that I'm not the ideal customer for an iPhone. (Nor, for that matter, for any of these miniature all-in-one phone-camera-GPS-media centers, including Google's new one, which at least has the advantage of being coordinated with Amazon's collection rather than iTunes).

Eye-Fi Home Wireless 2GB SD Card

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RIVACY!

Apple MB531LL/A 16GB iPod Touch

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RIVACY!