Apple’s new iPod touch
September 6th, 2007 | 
Author: 
I am not a cell phone fan. The only reasons why I keep mine around are for emergencies and being able to surf the web on my Nokia N800. So when the iPhone was introduced, I didn’t really get excited. My husband has one and I have to admit it is an awesome phone. The screen is beautiful and the iPhone has an intuitive user interface. I really like the scroll , enlarging pictures, and Internet pages effortlessly with your fingers. Then the drawbacks become apparent real fast. First up is the battery life. It gets worse for my husband as time goes by. He gets less than three hours of constant web browsing, or about 2 hours of video viewing. If he uses the phone only as a phone then the battery life is tolerable, lasting about 2 days, but then again he doesn’t talk much on the phone. The next drawback is the iPhone Bluetooth capabilities. It can only be used when making phone calls. Once he switches to video or music, the Bluetooth is automatically turned off. That makes no sense to me. Another thing I don’t like is that it is hard to get RSS feeds going. I suppose this is due to Safari’s limitations. His only feed was from Daily Lit and after the first day he could not get anymore feeds. What I find really fascinating is that it has YouTube capabilities, but no reading software, no available games. I must be getting old, because while I do view some stuff on Youtube, it would never be one of my must haves on a device. Wouldn’t it be just as easy to include some sort of reader on the iPhone?
So now the iPod touch has arrived, which is thinner than the iPhone, but no camera, no Bluetooth, no mention of a RSS feed reader, and still no application to read e-books. I don’t get it this. The 3.5″ display and touch interface would be perfect for reading. I tried to find more specifics on the device, but I don’t believe there is an extras section containing a calendar, notes, to do list, contacts, or game applications. I hope I am wrong, since my itty bitty first generation iPod Nano has these features. I was really tempted, but I am going to have to pass on this one until I get more information or updates are announced. I don’t know who decided that a text reader wasn’t necessary, but it’s like the iPod touch does everything, but the one thing it should have included. Even Palm reader and Mobipocket have recognized that people want to carry books on their smart phones. Just think, a 3.5″ bright color screen that automatically changes orientation when you turn it, finger scrolling, zooming (possibly good for pdf files), and backlighting. I read that it has 22 hours of music play back, so using it for reading should give even better battery life. While it would be nice to add memory, 16 gb would be more than enough for me. I really would skip the 8 gb since you can double your capacity for only $100 more. That’s why the 4 gb iPhone is gone. It’s make no economic sense. So should you skip the iPod touch and go for the competitively priced iPhone? That’s a tough call, and I think that’s what Apple and AT&T are betting on. I will be keeping my eye on this. If Apple doesn’t make a reader available for the iPod touch, I know it’s only a matter of time before someone develops a work around.
Posted in Devices
“I read that it has 22 hours of music play back, so using it for reading should give even better battery life.” I’m afraid that doesn’t make sense. I bet the 22 hours are with the screen (and wifi) off for most of the time. Reading will be less intensive than playing video, but more intensive than listening to music. So, you should get more than 5 hours on a full charge.
I guess you could convert all your books to HTML and view them via safari. I really hope this iPod gets opened up to 3rd party apps. Somehow, I doubt that’ll happen.
I get the impression that the ridiculously priced iPhone version one was created with as many buzzwords as possible to lure people to buy it. Re. “bluetooth”, no one is going to ask if it works for all applications (you expect that!); the word “Youtube” sounds good; no one will ask if the web browser has limitations etc.
Will it get a book reader? Only if Apple start selling ebooks or makes a deal with either eReader or mobipocket. Apple is not likely to make a deal with Sony or Microsoft.
Paul,
Shouldn’t I get more battery life when just looking at pages rather than listening to music? Well as least the same ammount of time. Maybe I am just dreaming. I hope the iPod gets opened also, and if it happens it will probably be opened before the iPhone. I really think the iPod touch looks so cool. I even read today on Engadget that there is a bluetooth symbol visible on the photos. So, maybe by the time the device rolls out, Apple may decide to whet our appetite.
Jorgen,
I would be happy with FBreader or just a plain text reader. I did expect the iPhone to work with stereo headphones. I felt so bad after talking my husband into getting it only for it to work with phone calls.
Tim,
Congrats! If I weren’t so e-book crazy, I would have preordered mine last night. After much thought though I would opt to get the iPhone instead of the touch. The only place I have wifi access is at home.
Thanks all for your comments.
Ellen
No, because you’ll probably let the screen dim/shutdown when listening to music. I bet it’ll have a power-down timer for the screen in order to conserve battery life. The 22 hours quoted will be with minimal screen use.
I don’t think people are dissatisfied with the capabilities of the iPod touch, it’s more the fact that apple will keep it a closed platform. This prevents us from exploiting those capabilities to their fullest and that is both a shame and a waste in a lot of people’s eyes… I’m going to have to see if I can spare $300 for a touch, it looks fantastic!
RSS reader is not needed as this can be done by browsing to a news aggregator website. most of these have an iPhone friendly edition. e.g. Bloglines
re: reading ebooks
this is being worked on too. just google it.
There’re websites around offering books to the iPhone. it’s throught the browser as well… but hey, most ebook formats are HTML based so what the heck
Ellen, I am confused: are you saying that iPhone does not support stereo??? Or that you have to use Apple’s headset?
Jorgen,
It’s the BT Stereo headset that it doesn’t support. My husband has the Motorola S9. He can use it to talk on the phone only. When he switches to watch a video, the BT turns off. He can’t even listen as mono.
Ellen
Shame on Apple!! I must be the only one in America that is not mad at Apple for the price reduction of the iPhone. No one made me purchase the iPhone. I bought it to get the latest and greatest technology available. If I could not afford it I would not purchased it. I am mad as hell that Apple designed the iPhone to work with limited BlueTooth technolgy. I have the Motorola S9 that works well as my phone’s head phone. Good sound and very good microphone. Yet, as soon as I want to listen to some music or watch a video, it shuts off automatically. Shame on Apple for giving me something less than the best. I paid a premium price for their product. They purposely gave me something less than a premium product. My wife may purchase another Apple but I will not be buying anything soon or, more than likely, later for that matter. Apple made their money on me. As a consumer I will affect Apple the best way that I can….by not purchasing any more products from them until they prove that they are giving me the most technological product out there. Giving back some of the money on a store credit is a gesture for them to make more money. They will not lose any money because of this gesture. We all can make money. You have to earn trust. I do not trust them any longer.