Apple iPod Touch 4G
iPhone lite
Review The rumour mill was flying thick and fast last year with speculation that the new third-generation version of the iPod Touch would include a camera for the first time. However, the model unveiled featured a faster processor but no camera, leaving the Apple faithful feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
Apple's iPod Touch: includes a front facing camera for FaceTime chat
However, Apple did at least cut the price of the 3rd generation model and Steve Jobs stated that Apple’s main priority with that model had been to keep the price down in order to exploit the iPod Touch’s new-found status as a hot gaming gadget.
This year’s update is a more ambitious affair, though, as the new 4th generation iPod Touch includes a camera as well as a number of other important new features. In fact, about the only things that haven’t changed are Apple’s little white earphones and the par-for-the course iPod audio quality.
The first thing you notice is that the new model is slimmer than its predecessor, measuring a mere 7.2mm thick. The edges are also more tapered, enhancing the streamlined appearance. Battery life has increased though, with Apple now claiming 40 hours for music playback and seven hours for video – up from 30 hours and six hours for the previous model.
Turn it on and you’ll see that the iPod Touch now sports the same high-resolution Retina display as the iPhone. The increased resolution produces smoother text display than on the previous model, while the improved contrast results in crisper blacks.
Also offers 720p video recording
But while the screen of the iPod Touch has the same 960 x 640 resolution as that of the iPhone, it lacks the IPS (in-plane switching) of the iPhone screen. As a result, the iPod Touch screen is just a little darker and has a slightly more limited viewing angle than the iPhone. However, that’s probably only going to be a problem for people who try to peer at the screen over your shoulder on the tube.
Next page: Photo Finish
COMMENTS
And the sound quality is.........
Is this now a lifestyle device, like the iPad?
I thought this was primarily an MP3/4 player, no?
Shame the review never discusses sound quality, Video functionality, codecs (Audio/Video) supported, or anything about what it's primarily designed to be.
En_Croute
Re:If you're going to get an Apple product...
Why go for the iPod touch over the iPhone? One word - price. 16 GB iPhone 4 £499; 32 GB iPod touch £249
The touch does virtually everything the iPhone can do except make cellular calls (Skype calls are still possible using the touch), and now it has the iPhone's nice screen as well. Makes the iPhone seem just a tad overpriced to be honest! Yes, I know you can get the iPhone on contract, but none of them could be called cheap, especially if you're not a heavy phone user.
Personally, I don't want a large clunky iPad so the touch is perfect as a discreet, always-on device to check email or surf about the house or anywhere there's an available wifi connection. I hope they don't stop making them. Of course that's unlikely to happen now that the touch has become the most popular handheld gaming device, outselling the PSP and DS combined:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30218/Apple_Reveals_Revised_iPod_Touch_The_Most_Popular_Portable_Game_Player.php
Who's it for?
Who isn't going to get an iPhone instead?
Anyone who can't have an iPhone for whatever reason.
- you're employer won't supply you with an iPhone
- you can't afford the £400+ an off contract iPhone costs (a nice simple bit of market segmentation by price)
- you actually need a phone to make calls and can't live with the iPhone's battery life
What's it like as a PMP?
It's an iPod - it's the same as the iPhone and the interface is a subtle evolution of the earlier touch/iPhone. Personally, like most Apple software it's a delight to use (though of course you may hate it).
You must have missed it....
...where he mentions the iPod's "the par-for-the course iPod audio quality."
But again, it's down to your hearing as much as anything. Some people are bothered by the inherent sound quality and some by the lossy compression, but most of us find it hard to tell the difference between FLAC via hi-fi and 64kbps AAC+ via small headphones.
Loudhailer, because I need it.....
@Typhoon Rising
"Hold on, so it records high quality video, but the camera is rubbish? How does that work then?" Simple, the stills are the same size a single frame of video.
