APPLE IPOD TOUCH EBAY AMAZON

Introduction

MacInTouch reviewed the original iPod Touch in 2007, concluding that the device — essentially an iPhone sans phone and camera — served as a feature-rich iPod and the least-expensive way to explore the revolutionary "multitouch" interface that made the iPhone so famous. The "iTouch", as it's sometimes dubbed, had the interface, operating system and most of the hardware of the iPhone, while bypassing the 2-year AT&T contract, a $1680+ pre-requisite for the iPhone in the U.S.
The original iPod Touch lacked email and applications (other than Web apps via its Mobile Safari browser), and it had other deficiencies, as well: no volume buttons, no speaker, no camera and no Bluetooth, although it featured WiFi networking, along with USB. As a media player, this iPod Touch was limited to 8 or 16 GB of storage vs. the iPod Classic's 80 or 160 GB capacity.
Today's second-generation iPod Touch improves a bit upon the original hardware, but it was the 2008 introduction of Apple's iTunes App Store that has turned the device into a full-fledged mobile computer with tens of thousands of third-party applications available.
To date, the iPod Touch is the only device other than the iPhone that works on Apple's mobile application platform. And that is the reason to buy one.
Platform

The iPod Touch uses the same operating system as the iPhone, which is a (massively) slimmed-down version of the "OS X" operating system used for Apple's Macintosh computers. The Mobile Safari browser is based on Apple's desktop Safari browser (though it doesn't support Flash content), but the user interface is completely different. The iPhone/iPod Touch UI is designed from the ground-up for fingers and small screens rather than the mice and relatively large screens of desktop and laptop computers, and every other phone vendor has been scrambling to catch up with it. [See our first iPod Touch review for more details about the underlying hardware platform and user interface, as well as our iPhone reviews, listed in the "Links" section below.]
In 2008, the year after the iPod Touch's debut, Apple rolled out "OS 2.0" for its mobile platform (dropping "X" from its name). Aside from some performance improvements and bug fixes, the real news was support for Apple's new iTunes App Store, which opened up a whole world of third-party apps, drastically expanding the usefulness of the device and justifying many more purchases.
In other words, iPod Touch is not a Walkman-like, single-purpose device. It is an evolving, general purpose computing platform that fits in the palm of your hand.
OS 3.0

iPhone OS 3.0 is due this summer. Like OS 2.0, it should run on all previous iPod Touch models, with an upgrade price of $9.95. Apple gave a public preview, focussing on features for developers but also showcasing new features for end users. Notable enhancements include MMS messaging (to support sending and receiving pictures, contacts, audio messages and map locations); voice memos; calendaring enhancements; cut-and-paste (like Mac OS X has); and a new Spotlight system for searching the iPod's contents (including third party app data, if the developer writes a plug-in).
Other anticipated features include WiFi auto-login, support for Stereo Bluetooth headphones, Notes sync, Safari anti-phishing security improvements and form auto-fill, improved parental controls, true YouTube login, and the ability to get movies and TV shows directly from Apple's store without having to use your Mac or PC to buy-and-sync them over iTunes.
Apple also promises a developers' interface to the Dock port in OS 3.0 for enabling custom hardware and software access — think audio recording, data acquisition, 3G cellular data or fax modems... and ultimately anything the homebrew hardware community can dream up! (A little keyboard, like the fold-up ones that used to be made for the Palm III and Palm V series, would be quite welcome.)
But, as we await OS 3.0, what does the second-generation iPod Touch have for you today?
Hardware

The second-generation iPod Touch (available with 8, 16 or 32 GB of memory) adds external volume controls and a speaker for sound effects. It also has a faster processor, although Apple doesn't mention this in any of its marketing materials. We found that applications launch faster, Safari displays web pages faster, email fetches faster and everything feels quicker. When running the same apps side-by-side with an iPhone 3G, the second-generation iPod Touch was a clear winner — faster and more responsive. (It probably doesn't hurt that the iTouch doesn't have to run the cell phone communication software in the background like iPhone does... but that software spends most of its time idle on iPhone anyway.)
The speaker is hidden inside the headphone jack. It has a much smaller opening to broadcast its sound than the iPhone, so it's a lot quieter. But it's adequate for casual gaming, and makes the alarm and timer functions useful, finally. The iPod Touch makes a pretty good alarm clock; just make sure the volume is turned up before you go to bed!
The newer iTouch has a lower-capacity battery than the original, yet claims longer life — 36 hours of music vs. the original's 22 hours, and 6 hours of video playback vs. 5 hours. We didn't perform an exhaustive test, but we did watch TV shows for a couple of hours on a plane flight (with the volume up to overcome aircraft noise) and noted the battery indicator was still more than half-full at the end. This follows the trend of Apple's previous iPods; with time, more power-efficient electronics enable longer operation with smaller batteries.
While the second-generation iPod Touch adds Bluetooth hardware, you can't do anything with it yet. Apple says the upcoming OS 3.0 will enable it to support stereo Bluetooth headphones. Third party developers will be able to use it, too — for multiplayer games among iPods, exchanging virtual business card, or whatever else they think up. This flexibility limits interoperability, though; it doesn't use the standard Bluetooth OBEX protocol for sending data objects, so it won't work with non-Apple devices.
Additionally, the new iPod Touch supports the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, which previously worked only with the iPod Nano.
Limits and Potential

The iTouch platform has distinct hardware limits compared to its desktop computer predecessors. It has just 128 MB of memory for the system and apps to share, and no virtual memory to handle overflow. So, even though the core OS supports memory protection, pre-emptive multitasking and other basics of modern computing, Apple has had to place sharp limits on third-party applications.
The limit that most affects end users is non-Apple apps cannot run in the background, like they can on a Mac or PC. This effect is usually unnoticed by users because most iTouch apps compensate by launching and quitting quickly, and preserve the user state as much as possible. But, you can't run apps that provide instant messaging or Internet radio while you surf the web or read email.
Apple has announced a "notification framework" for developers that partly addresses this. Developers can use Apple's servers to send notifications to iTouch applications, including text popups, sound effects and badge icons — just like Apple's Mail and Calendar alerts. This is a viable solution for server-driven applications such as instant messaging, banking alerts, and scheduling.
The notifications system is currently in pre-release testing with developers; apps using this will be released after OS 3.0 this summer.
But, this still doesn't address the desire for true background apps for apps like Internet radio. The big problem, says Apple, is the effect on battery life. On Windows Mobile and Android smartphone platforms, running a background instant messaging application can reduce battery life by as much as 80% — not exactly a great user experience.
There are credible rumors that Apple is working on this, with ideas ranging from Apple allowing backgrounding on a case-by-case basis, to special Home Screen designs enabling users to manage backgrounding, but nothing has been announced yet.
Software and Services

The second-generation iPod Touch includes more Apple applications than the original did. Email is now built-in, with support for IMAP, POP and Microsoft Exchange servers. MobileMe subscribers, Exchange users and Yahoo Mail users can get "push" email notifications, so email arrives on your iTouch as soon as it arrives at the server.
Apple's Calendar and Contacts apps work as stand-alone tools but are much more useful when integrated with desktop calendaring. iTunes syncs over USB between iCal on the Mac or Outlook calendars and address books on Windows. Apple's MobileMe subscription service "pushes" automatic updates "over-the-air", as long as you're within range of a WiFi network, for $99/year ($67 at Amazon). Exchange users get calendar and contact sync for free — assuming they have a corporate Exchange server. (MobileMe also includes email, web hosting, plus photo- and video-sharing services.)
There is also a free option for anyone with a Gmail account: Google has implemented part of Microsoft's Exchange protocol for Google Calendar and the Gmail address book. We experienced a few glitches with it. When importing the Mac Address Book using a Google tool, all addresses, emails and phone numbers of type "Other" (rather than Work, Home, Mobile) failed to appear in Google's address book (and thus didn't carry through to the iPod Touch Contacts database). And, after a few weeks, one Google Calendar simply disappeared from the iPod Touch; we had to reset the device using iTunes and re-set up Google sync to fix this.
"Push" email isn't available from Google either. For that, you'll have to use Apple's MobileMe, a real Exchange server or Yahoo Mail. Now over its initial teething pains, MobileMe seems to provide more reliable data sync, not to mention much easier setup.
iTunes App Store

Like its predecessor, the second-generation iPod Touch plays music, movies, TV shows and podcasts. But, with iPhone OS 2, you can now buy music and download podcasts directly from the iPod Touch, accessing the iTunes Store over WiFi with no Mac or PC intermediary required. (OS 3.0 this summer will add support for buying movies and TV shows too.)
In contrast with other "iPods", the iTunes App Store is where the iPod Touch's real value lies. With tens of thousands of applications written in the past year, and more appearing daily, you can find all kinds of things you might need. For example, Apple neglected to provide any sort of to-do list in its software package, but there are dozens of these applications available at the App Store, ranging from free and simple to expensive and feature-rich.
You name it; someone wrote it, and you can get it: Games. Instant messaging. Fitness goals. Diet tracking. Movie listings. A koi pond. Wine databases. Frommer's travel guides. Alternate web browsers. Birth contraction tracking. Algebra tutors. Yoga guides. The New York Times. Zip code lookup. Instrument simulations. Brewing calculators. Slick Wikipedia front-ends. Live major league baseball coverage. Databases of gluten-free foods and restaurants. A bubble level. Stupid fart jokes. (Sadly, we're not kidding about that last one.)
You can access the App Store directly on your iPod Touch over WiFi or within iTunes on your Mac or PC. iTunes provides a richer environment for browsing, but to subsequently move apps onto your iPod Touch, you'll have to sync via the USB cable. If you purchase on the iTouch itself, it downloads over WiFi, and the next time you plug into your Mac or PC via USB, iTunes copies a backup of the apps you've purchased onto your Mac. (Note that apps you purchase can be used on up to five iPod Touch or iPhones registered to your iTunes account.)
The App Store controls all distribution and sales for iTouch apps — it's a convenient one-stop shop, but it's also the only store in town. And while you can browse and search the App Store freely on your iPod Touch, you must create an AppleID/iTunes Account to download even free apps.
Apple has a vested interest in the App Store — the company takes a 30% cut of every sale. At a recent Apple quarterly financials call, CEO Steve Jobs said the App Store does a gross revenue of $1 million per day. That makes Apple's cut something like $109,500,000 a year — and growing — not a large fraction of Apple's $10 billion per quarter revenue, but nothing to sneer at either.
Apple controls exactly what appears in the store too. Every developer must be approved by Apple before their products can go on sale, and all third party apps are reviewed by Apple for compatibility, security and content.
In theory, this ensures that no dangerous software makes it onto your iPod, but the review process is not very consistent. Applications have been blocked because they accessed "objectionable" content that wasn't actually part of the app. For example, the popular Twitter client Tweetie had an update blocked, because a popular Twitter topic that day involved a "dirty" word, and so appeared in the "Trending" list that Twitter sent to Tweetie. And, more recently, nin: access, an app from industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, was blocked for providing access to the same music sold by Apple in the iTunes Store.
Most recently, the Eucalyptus e-book reader that accesses the Project Gutenberg archive of free books was blocked because the Apple reviewer searched for the Kama Sutra on his own initiative. Each of these cases has been resolved successfully in the end, but they highlight the degree of control Apple exercises over developers for the iTouch platform.
This total control over the iTouch ecosystem is a bit worrisome. But the experience as a customer is so compelling that we have bought in, purchasing and downloading dozens of paid and free apps for this iPod Touch. These applications turn it from an expensive toy into an incredibly useful tool (not to mention a great little gaming device).
Jailbreaking

Before Apple introduced its App Store, there was a thriving community of "jailbreak" developers, who figured out how to bypass Apple's iPhone/iTouch lock-down in order to write their own software applications for the devices. Now, many applications originally developed for the jailbroken iTouch have migrated to "legitimate" App Store apps. Still, jailbreaking remains alive and well, as there are always those who want iPod Touch to do even more than Apple has allowed so far — such as running background applications to play Internet radio while checking email, or recording audio from microphones hacked into the Dock port.
Ultimately, jailbreaking is beyond the scope of this review, but if you're feeling adventurous, there is an active community to help you break out of iPod Touch's remaining limits.
Hands-on

In the hand, the latest iPod Touch feels just right; its gently-curved back lays nicely in the fingers, like the iPhone 3G but even slimmer. Its shiny metal back is prone to scratching, like all the classic iPods. Apple includes a microfiber polishing cloth, which we use as much for the metal back as for cleaning the glass face where you manipulate the user interface with your fingers.
As described in the MacInTouch review of the original iPod Touch, this interface is nothing like using a desktop computer. Instead, the iPod Touch is a unique, gesture-driven, tiny tablet that has to be experienced first-hand (if you're not already familiar with the iPhone). It's a compelling experience in which you directly manipulate everything on-screen, without the disconnected tools of mouse and keyboard. It's the first commercially successful computer that takes advantage of tools we have decades of experience using: our fingertips.
On the downside, the device's home screen doesn't scale well to the dozens and dozens of apps that the App Store encourages acquiring. (It's a little like flipping through a notepad without an index.) Some better organization scheme is clearly needed, but there's no word yet from Apple about having anything helpful in the works.
Battery life seems as good as advertised. With heavy daily use for email, calendaring, web browsing, and light gaming, our test unit wanted to be charged a couple times a week.
iTunes

Any urge to rip the packaging off and start playing with your new toy immediately is quickly thwarted. Like all other iPods, you must first plug it into your Mac or PC and use the latest version of iTunes to set it up. iTunes does make setting up email on the iPod Touch easier, though; it can copy the settings from all of your Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook email accounts to the iTouch, saving you entering server addresses, passwords and ports. It also can copy all of your Safari bookmarks to the iPod Touch and keep them in sync with your desktop as they change over time. (MobileMe subscribers can sync bookmarks wirelessly.) And iTunes backs up your iPod Touch every time you connect it, so if you lose your iPod Touch, you can replace it and restore all your apps and data, just like an iPhone.
Playing music is every iPod's raison d'etre, so audio quality was one of the first things we evaluated after activating the iPod in iTunes. The original iPod Touch had some excess noise in its amplifiers, noticeable during very quiet passages, but Apple seems to have fixed this. We couldn't detect any in the new model. The iPod Touch's improved audio circuitry is masked by mediocre earbuds, however, as with the 3rd generation iPod Shuffle. Using higher quality earbuds is definitely recommended (see links to some favorites at the end of the review).
The iTunes Genius feature, introduced with iTunes 8, works on iPod Touch, and it's great. We occasionally stumped it with obscure international music or little-known local music acts, but for the most part it knew all about our music and created pleasing playlists. As in iTunes, you can save a Genius playlist — the next time you sync, iTunes picks it up (just like it does "On The Go" playlists from other iPods), so you can listen to it on your Mac, PC or other iPods.
CoverFlow, the horizontal album-flipping interface featured on the original iPhone, is even more fluid on the new iPod Touch than it is on an iPhone 3G or earlier devices — perhaps thanks to the new, faster processor.
Display

As before, the iTouch display is remarkably bright and crisp with 167-pixel/in. resolution (a finer dot pitch than Apple's desktop displays use). Though the iPod Touch can't play HD video like a desktop Mac, its display is only a quarter the size of HD, so this isn't really a deficiency. Apple's iTunes Store includes iPhone/iTouch-compatible files along with HD video downloads, and we watched TV shows purchased from the store.
Safari and WiFi

Safari is faster and snappier than on iPhone 3G. It also appears to cache more content, perhaps due to lacking the memory overhead of cellular network software. Whatever the cause, it doesn't have to reload pages from scratch as often, which dramatically improves the web browsing experience, especially if you use tabs. (We recently discovered iCab Mobile — it's even faster still, and much more feature rich, a bargain at $1.99!)
WiFi 802.11 b/g wireless range is fair; neither exceptionally good nor poor. (There's still no 802.11n support.)
PDA Features

As a PDA, the iPod Touch is weak, with a basic calendar (named "Calendar") and a basic address book ("Contacts") but no task management, no linking or grouping, and no ability to sync its otherwise-handy Notes with a Mac or PC. (Apple says Notes sync is coming with OS 3.0 this summer.)
For those who need more, the App Store can make up for these deficiencies with everything from basic to-do lists to full-fledged project management apps. For the truly hardcore, there are at least five different iTouch apps for the popular Basecamp project management system from 37signals. And, for Mac-based customers, Bento is worth a look; the $4.99 iTouch version can sync with Bento 2 on the Mac over WiFi — it's pretty slick, though version 1.0 was crash-prone in our testing.
Games

Games, first introduced in different form with the iPod Video in 2005, have really come into their own on the iPod Touch platform. Some game developers have even programmed their games to use higher-quality graphics on the faster second generation iPod Touch.
Games range from traditional phone/PDA games, such as Bejeweled, to novel interfaces that exploit iTouch's unique motion sensor and multitouch screen, such as Rolando, Radius and Bloom. Many games have free "light" versions, with more levels or features in the paid versions.