Review: First and Second Generation iPod Touch. iPod Touch First Generation gets 2 out of 4 stars because of no side controls, and no camera.
iPod Touch gets 3 out of 4 stars because you cannot change the song without taking it out of your pocket or getting other headphones. Still no camera that many people expected with the second generation iPod Touch.
As most of you know the iPods are owned by Apple, and the CEO Steve Jobs. They had many great iPods but never a touch screen. That’s why Apple invented the iPhone and iPod Touch. Today we have the iPod Touch, Second Generation. I have one that is my own, and my brother has First Generation. They are both great iPods. First gen. iPod Touch came out on September 13, 2007 and second gen. came out on September 9, 2008, and it’s the newest addition to the iPod family except for the new third gen. iPod Shuffle. The tech specs are: Height: 4.3 inches, Width: 2.4 inches, Depth: 0.33 inch, Weight: 4.05 ounces. A new part of the second gen. iPod is that it has volume controls on the side of the device. Many people wanted this so they didn’t have to reach into their pocket to get it the iPod out and change the volume. Although if you want to change the song you would have to either get the iPod out of your pocket or get the new headphones that have a microphone and controls to switch the song, pause the song, start music, and change the volume. The headphones are $29.99 from Apple retail stores and online at apple.com. They are very convenient and still at a low price. Also in the second generation Touch has the ability to use Nike+iPod built in to the device. The software on the iPod second generation comes with 16 applications already installed on the iPod when you open it. It comes with Calendar, Notes, Contacts, Stocks, Maps, Weather, Clock, Calculator, YouTube, App Store, iTunes, Music, Videos, Mail, and Safari. The first generation is pretty much the same but with an exception of the App Store. The calendar states what it does in its name just like most of the other application. Notes come with a digital note taker. In contacts you can add different people and their phone number, address, e-mail, AIM screen names, their photo, and their URL. In some apps like Stocks need Wi-Fi to use just like many of these apps. In stocks when you have Wi-Fi, you can check the stocks. Maps just like stocks need wireless internet. When you do have it the device can locate where you are, maps, and directions to different places. Weather you need Wi-Fi too. In weather you can add different places to check the weather. Clock has the features of the world clock, alarms, a stopwatch, and a timer. Calculator states itself in its name too. With the YouTube application you can watch videos that are located on YouTube. The App Store is new to the iPod. Just a brief summary of the app store is that you can download free and paid apps. They are counting down to their 100,000,000 download of apps. They have many great apps. You can do pretty much anything with these applications. For example a very useful app is called AroundMe. With this free app with need to have Wi-Fi , but with it you can find local Banks, Bars, Coffee, Gas Stations, Hospitals, Hotels, Movie Theatres, Parking, Pharmacies, Pubs, Restaurants, Supermarkets, Taxis, and Theaters. I have this on my iPod Touch. Next music explains itself but the new feature is that you can make a Genius playlist. To do this you just have to pick a song and it makes a playlist that kind of relates or sounds like that song. Next, Videos you can put videos on your touch to watch anytime or anywhere. Mail includes checking your e-mail with internet. You can have more than one account in Mail and it supports Microsoft Exchange, mobile me, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, or a choice of other. Last but not least we have Safari, it very comparable to Safari on a Macintosh, or Safari on a Windows computer. You can surf the web when you have Wireless Internet connection with a landscape or portrait mode. It has a beautiful screen for surfing the web, and the internet goes pretty fast. That’s pretty much it with the iPod Touch. There are endless features with this great device. iPod Touch is very, very comparable to the iPhone. It has the same exact features as the iPod Touch but just with the phone, text messaging, and the camera. The iPhone runs at a lower price than the Touch but with all the hidden fees, the texting charge, the actual phone usage charge it ends up being at a higher price than the Touch. It is very easy to upgrade from First Generation iPod Touch to Second Generation. You just need to go to iTunes on your computer, and pay a onetime charge at around $10 to get to experience all the great features of the new Second Generation iPod Touch. You can go to apple.com if you want any further information about the products that were mentioned in this review. I hope this made you think about getting an iPod Touch too. iPod Touch third generation is coming out soon, so if you want to wait until that comes out you can get all the newest features Apple made.
