Photo Finish
The processor has been upgraded once again, this time using the A4 processor that is now standard in all of Apple’s iOS devices. Watching the 3D graphics of something like Epic’s Citadel demo on the iPod Touch is remarkable, and throws down the 3D gauntlet to gaming rivals such as the PSP and Nintendo DS. There’s a gyroscope as well, which will provide more accurate control for games, and with the new Game Centre feature included in iOS 4.1 the iPod Touch can move into multiplayer gaming as well.
The retina display and the A4 chip enhance gameplay
And, of course, the long awaited camera finally makes its appearance, with 720p video recording just like the iPhone. However it only takes stills at 960 x 720 resolution, whereas the iPhone shoots stills at 5MP resolution. The iPod Touch also lacks the flash and HDR option (high dynamic range) of the iPhone too, so the camera clearly isn’t the same league as that of the iPhone.
Sample Shots
iPod Touch and iPhone 4 image comparison
iPod Touch
Click for a full-resolution image
iPhone 4
Click for a full-resolution image
The iPod Touch also gets a front-facing VGA-resolution camera too, along with a new FaceTime app that allows you to use the iPod for video-conferencing. I had a little trouble setting this up at first, though. The iPhone simply requires you to dial the telephone number of the person to you want get Facey with.
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.
