The iPod Touch 16GB Review. Part I: Unboxing, Hardware, and Controls

Posted by: dgoldring on Jul 25 2008

Recently, I had the opportunity to purchase an iPod Touch, and surprised myself quite a bit by jumping all over it.  I say surprised myself, because I have spent the last couple of years using and reviewing almost every portable media player out there except the iPod.  In fact, I have never owned an iPod in the ten years since it came out (well, I did actually own an iPod Shuffle for about an hour).  So, why the sudden change of heart?  There were a few reasons.  First, after hearing so much about it, I was really extremely curious about the iPhone/iPod apps store.  I saw some of the apps available over at What’s on iPhone, and was thoroughly impressed.  But that can’t be the only reason.  I mean buying a whole new platform just so you can shop at their store would be pretty silly.  The main reason was that I have reviewed almost every high end portable media player out there (I am still hoping to get ahold of the Samsung YP-P2), however, I feel that without at least evaluating the iPod Touch, my understanding of the industry is severely limited.  Plus, it just looked really cool.  I opted for the 16 GB version (there are also 8 GB and 32 GB versions) mostly because I stumbled upon a good price for a refurbished model.

Of course, the iPod Touch is a pretty complicated device.  As Steve Jobs might say, it is a media player, a PDA, and an Internet communication device, all in one.  There is far too much to discuss in just one post.  So, I decided to break it into a series of smaller posts, over the course of the month of August.  Today, we’ll just get acquainted with the iPod, and take a look at the hardware and controls.  In later posts, we’ll look at:

• The iPod Touch as a portable media player
• The iPod Touch as a PDA/pocket computer (including the new Apps Store)
• The iPod Touch as an Internet/email device
• iTunes
• And then we’ll wrap it all up

Once we’re all done taking a look at the device itself, watch for plenty more reviews from the all-new iPod Touch/iPhone Apps Store.  For now, let’s get started with an unboxing and overview of the hardware and controls.

OK.  Here we go with the first clear evidence of Doug jumping straight onto the band wagon.  There it is coming out of the box, the all new 16 GB iPod Touch (refurbished).  The ipod Touch actually came with the version 1.1.4 operating system, so I had to download version 2.0, which led to hours of frustration.  But more on that when we discuss iTunes in a few weeks.

The first thing that struck me when I took it out of the box was how skinny it was.  My old Sansa View had really impressed me when I reviewed it because it was so skinny.  Next to the iPod Touch, it feels…well, at the risk of offending anyone with a fat joke, let’s just say it feels as thick as a brick.  For comparison, in the picture above you can see (from bottom) the Sprint Mogul (PPC-6800) by HTC, iPod Touch, Sansa View, and Sansa Fuze.

Hidden underneath the iPod itself, esentially within the folds of the box, is a compartment containing all of the manuals you will need to get started.  Also, in here, you will find a microfiber cloth.  Hang on to this.  Trust me, you will want it.  But more on that in  a minute.

Digging deeper into the bottom of the box, you will find a white envelope.  Tear that open and see what goodies lay inside.  You will find:

• the traditional iPod headphones
• a USB sync/power cord
• a  small plastic stand (not shown)
• a dock adaptor for speakers and other docking platforms

Nothing really special or unusual here.  In fact, the accessories pretty much mirror the accessories you would find in most other portable media player.  Pretty mundane stuff, really.  The one oddity I did notice, however, is that while my iPod is black, the earphones and sync/charge cable are both white.  This seemed strange to me.  For one thing, these accessories would normally be black when included with most devices, which would have matched better.  For another thing, changing the color to black seems like it would cost pennies, but really complete the package much better.  For as much care as Apple seems to have put into the packaging, I was surprised to find something as incongruous as white accessories with a black device.

OK.  So, let’s get back to the iPod.  Like I said, this thing is almost impossibly skinny.  The first time my Dad saw an iPhone, he compared it to something out of an old Flash Gordon movie.  It was like something from the future.  And I can see where you would have that impression.  Every surface is sleek, and there are almost no visible controls.  In fact, there are only two physical buttons on the whole device.  On top there is a sleep/wake button (press and hold to power off).  On the front of the device is the home button.  The home button will close whatever you are doing and return you to the home menu.  That’s about it.  The only other physical indications as to how this will work or what it will do are the two ports on the bottom.  One is a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, the other is a standard iPod plug.

 

The back of the iPod is made from polished stainless steel.  While I am from Pittsburgh, and love to see steel in use, I was disappointed by what I found here.  The polished stainless steel looks great.  It is shiny and reflective like a mirror.  I loved looking at it…until I touched it, that is.  This shiny back is a fingerprint magnet.  After about a minute of use, that once shiny finish began to look like a mottled mess.  And before long, it just looked dirty all the time.  You will definitely want to spend the extra money on a case for this.  Otherwise, when you show off your new toy, all anyone will see are your dirty fingerprints.  That is good if you work for CSI.  Bad for the rest of us.

The top of the iPod mainly consists of the enormous 3.5 inch screen, which is a far sight better than any others I have reviewed.  By comparison, both the Sony Walkman and the Sansa View sported 2.4 inch screens.  And oh my what a screen.  We’ll discuss it in more detail when we talk about the video capabilities next week, but all I can is WOW!  This is the best screen I have ever used.  It really is incredible.  The touch screen is bright and responsive.  I have almost never seen any of the telltale lags that continue to haunt Windows Mobile touch screen devices.  

Then again, Houston, we do have a problem.  This screen is almost as bad as the back of the device in terms of attracting fingerprints.  And it is much harder to ignore the fingerprints when they are right on top of your work space.  Remember that micro fiber cloth I told you about?  You are going to want that handy.  You’ll be wiping smudges off the screen a lot with this one.  This is most unfortunate, because these fingerprints really detract from an otherwise amazing screen for video.  It would be nice if Apple would find a way to fix this.

The final control in the iPod Touch is the accelerometer.  Yes, I know that sounds like a 1960’s era carnival ride.  Come ride the accelerometer…the greatest ride on Earth.  In actuality, it is much less scary, but much more exciting.  What this does is gives the iPod motion sensors.  So, the display will change based upon how you tilt the screen.  Amazing.  I mean, truly amazing.  I have already stumbled upon a few games where I could not figure out the controls until I started waving the thing around like a madman.  This accelerometer may be one of the coolest advances I have seen in mobile computing.  The technology is already starting to drift back into HTC (see the Diamond) and I can’t wait to see how this continues to develop.

Overall, I am extremely impressed by the iPod Touch straight out of the box.  It is slim and sleek.  Like my Dad has said, it looks like something from a science fiction movie.  In fact, you half expect it not to turn on because it is some prop.  But it does.  And as soon as you turn it on, you will be dazzled by the incredible touchscreen and accelerometer.  So far, the only downside I have found is the fingerprint factor.  Within minutes, the iPod Touch was…well, touched.  And from the looks of it, by some kind of a dirty pig.  Smudges all over the screen, back, everywhere.  If Apple made any mistakes with the hardware and controls, it was not protecting against these kinds of smudges on the device.  That is somewhat unfortunate.  But by no means is it a deal breaker.  Just keep that microfiber cloth handy and you will have no problems. 

So, now that the iPod Touch is out of the box, it is time to check out how well it works.  Stay tuned next week as we look as the iPod Touch as a media player.  How well does it handle your music, videos, and photos.  Then, after that, we will take a look at how it handles as a PDA, especially with the new apps store.  So, stay tuned.  We will have plenty more coverage coming throughout the rest of July and the entire month of August.

 

 

iTunes

– unstable/crashed a lot while loading my music

– Great options for buying/renting video, movie and tv shows

– rental terms are a bit harsh

– album artwork sucks.  Could not find a lot of albums that WMP did find.

– Can’t handle compilatiosn.  Turns them into different albums.

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