iPod Touch review
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If Apple made a mistake during the design and marketing of the iPod touch, it was in the name.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of MP3 player alternatives to the iPod and a lot of people have never felt inclined to adopt Apple's rather totalitarian approach to listening to music.

So despite the fact that the iPod has seen significant evolution from MP3 player to pocket media player, a significant percentage of the electronic buying populace have never boarded the Apple train.

By branding this latest media device with the iPod moniker, Apple has inadvertently led the unconverted masses to unconsciously file this amazing lifestyle gadget under the expensive MP3 category and continue paying no attention to it. And that's a weeping, wailing, crying shame, since the iPod touch is so very much more.

Probably the best description of the iTouch (we've decided to rebrand it for you, Apple – you're welcome) would be a PDA. But PDAs carry a certain professional connotation.

They're generally marketed as being more useful than fun; handling Excel spreadsheets rather than playing awesome games. Not so with the iTouch – this is a PDA for the Nintendo generation.

It naturally lives up to the iPod name, carrying plenty of storage space for your toons even on the smallest capacity model (8GB) and features a 3.5mm headphone jack so you won't need any adaptors for your own earphones (unlike early iPod units).

So, purely as a music player, the features are full and very available at any point during the iTouch's use, so let's just go right ahead and assume we all know what to expect from a first class MP3 player and move along to the more interesting stuff.

The beautiful 3.5" 480x320 px screen provides more than just video playback. The iTouch boasts only two physical buttons, while all other functions are controlled from the magnificently accurate touch screen.

Due to the reliance on the screen controls, rather than a jog wheel or additional buttons, the iTouch uses a stray capacitance measured sensor (everything we know, we learned from Star Trek), rather than the pressure-sensitive types normally seen on a PDA.

What that means to us is impressive sensitivity and multi-touch sensing - the iTouch can detect screen contact in several places at once.

This brings us onto games and applications. A stylus doesn't work on a capacitance touchscreen, which relies on the biometric charge in your finger, so the operating system has been carefully designed to allow for specific finger control.

After the recommended 2.0 firmware update, the iTouch falls in line with the iPhone in terms of game playing and application use, and it's this feature that's really setting iTunes on fire.

From the unit itself, you're able to directly access both the iTunes Store and the App Store over the built in wi-fi connection (which resolves a connection impressively quickly).

In many ways, the limitations of finger control have pushed developers to optimise their interfaces, and using the web and email functions is remarkably simple and highly accessible.

The iTouch connects and interacts with iTunes as seamlessly as any iPod, but the option to bypass it altogether and operate solely from the device is a very liberating feature, and one that's difficult to break away from once you're used to it.

A punch-through feature has been added to the music player so your tunes are always at your finger tips while playing games or using the applications, so its primary function as a media device is never pushed to the back for want of more flashy purposes.

One question that must be on the minds of many technophiles is whether the iTouch is superfluous now the iPhone has been released. It's our opinion that the two units will share shelf space for quite some time, however. The primary reason being availability – and we're not talking about stock shortages.

The iPhone is contract only, so right there is a defining benefit of picking up an iTouch rather than its communicative big brother. If you're not looking for a new telephone or aren't the kind of caller who likes being tied to a minimum contract of 30 quid a month, you're probably already in iTouch territory.

And, if you're in the market for a classy and useable media player, but don't particularly care about web browsing and email on the go (although these functions are available from the iTouch, assuming it's got a wi-fi link), the iTouch will more than meet your music, video and gaming needs.

It does have disadvantages, other than lacking the obvious connectability of the iPhone. The plethora of functions, wi-fi connectivity and bright, active screen take their toll on battery life - particularly when playing games or videos.

Apple claims five hours on a full charge for video (and games, presumably, as the CPU and screen are working just as hard), though in test this seems to be a tad optimistic.

It also suffers from the typical iPod aesthetic problem of getting covered in fingerprints just by walking past it, though at least it comes with a cleaning cloth. That's about all, mind you.

For such an expensive device, it's not unreasonable to expect at least a mains charger and some kind of cover, but the box is woefully empty. A pair of rubbish earphones, a USB cable, a dock adaptor (being a small piece of shaped plastic) and the cleaning cloth are all you get.

Naturally a screen protector is vital for a device like this, and unless you carefully cut the film that covers the unit when it leaves the factory (as it hinders use of the home button as it is), you can expect to be spending a few more pounds pretty quickly to ensure your iTouch stays beautiful.

But that's Apple - there should be no surprise that this product is a money pit like all the others. The iTouch might be expensive, but it also delivers.

It's not a music player, and it's not a PDA. It's an escapist lifestyle tool that bridges the gaming gap between the DS, PSP and Wii, while simultaneously flooring the portable media player competition.

As our parting advice, we recommend you don't overlook the iTouch in favour of the iPhone before carefully weighing up your requirements.

It's a beautiful looking and wonderfully functional pocket companion, and if you've got the depth of wallet to support it, you'll never want to be apart from it again.

iPod Touch review

It's damned expensive, and costs to keep it running, but for once you're genuinely getting the excellence you pay for
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Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.