itouch
Newbie
Posts: 3
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« on: March 12, 2010, 02:32:53 AM » |
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The front plate is made from one of the most impressive glass enhancements I've ever seen. After a year of heavy abuse, my old Touch's glass front has not a single scratch - not one. I don't know how Apple does it, but this is really impressive. Remember, I don't use any protective covers or films. The screen itself is brilliant, bright, and can easily be read outside, wich is a feat in itself. The Touch has an ambient light sensor, so it can dim the screen when the surroundings are darker.
This time around, the screen's color temperature has remained unchanged (the 2G shifted all colors from a blueish to a more golden tinge). Movie playback is simply astonishing. The image is crisp, and the on-screen controls natural. Again, there are niceties such as double-tapping the screen to change aspect ratio, or placing bookmarks etc. You still can't set a movie's contrast, but beyond that small issue, movie playback is perfect. Viewing movies on the Touch simply works great, but personally I think that the screen is too small to watch a full movie. Last week, I tried watching a TV episode while on a plane enroute to Hamburg (a 75 minute flight), but quickly decided against it, opting instead to play a game of 'Luxor'. Somehow I prefer a larger screen for consuming video, while I have no problems doing something interactive on it. Still, video plays great on the Touch.
Button and interface lay-out has remained the same from the last generation: volume controls on the left side, top holds the 'exit/on' button, buttom has dock and phones connectors, and the front holds the single home button. There is one thing that can be improved here: I would have preferred the audio connector to be on top (or either side), as the current configuration precludes the use of many applications (e.g. News- and eBook readers) when you want to place it upright -- for example in the Gym. Some apps do use the accelerometers and can be used positioning the Touch upside down, though.
The built-in speaker is unchanged from the last version. It's weak, tinny, mono, produces horrible sound, has no volume to speak of -- and yet it's one of the best additions to the Touch (the original didn't have it, the 2nd gen did). It simply makes casual gaming so much more fun. I don't care about the bad sound quality, I just love the fact that it's there.
The signatory white earphones that Apple sells with the Touch may look good, but I don't like them. In my ears they are too uncomfortable. Since I'm no audiophile, I can't comment on their audio quality other than that it's good enough for me. Anyway, I replaced them with my favorite non-Apple version. The hitch here is that Apple now delivers the 64 GB (and 32 GB) with earphones that sport a built-in mic and remote. And my head phones don't have that. While the remote is nothing much to write home about (the way it works is just too complex), the mic works well, and has just the right fidelity to pick out voice over the background noise. So, for now, I keep the white buds with me in case I want to use the IP-telephony capabilities.
Battery life appears to have been reduced somewhat from the 2nd gen - at least on paper. During the past few days the new 3rd gen Touch certainly performed as well as or even better than my 2nd gen - but then again, that one's battery is already one year old. One fact that I've become very fond of is the quick-charge ability, which works really well.
The built-in wireless connectivity is really nice, with astonishingly well executed integration. The touch does all it's wireless networking over WiFi and Bluetooth. WiFi works really well (especially here in Switzerland where Hotspots are particularely dense), and Bluetooth integration (which I tried on the 3rd gen for the first time) is flawless. WiFi reception (range) lags somewhat behind that of a Wintel laptop (no doubt due to the metal backplate) and is pretty much on par with that of a 15" Macbook Pro (which is also somewhat lacking in WiFi reception range). WiFi is still the 'g' variant though [interestingly enough, the built-in hardware does support 11n, but so far Apple has chosen not to activate it, presumably to conserve battery. This is interesting also from the fact that in the 2G Touch, Apple initially included Bluetooth capabilities, but only activated it with a later OS release. Perhaps the same can be expected for 11n]. Bluetooth now also works with headphones and BT-based car integration kits (works well in mine). I would have loved to try out BT-based printing from the Calender or Addressbook app, but hit a snag: it appears no Touch app supports printing...
Missing Hardware
There is some hardware that I expected, or whished that it was included in the Touch - especially as (some) of them are now present on other iPods:
No camera. I was somewhat ambivalent about this. No camera means no pictures and/or movies. But it also means that I can keep handling it rough, as I do not have to worry abou the lens. Also, I don't have to worry about taking it to the Gym (my Gym has very strict rules towards camera-equipped items). All things being equal, the addition of a camera (still and/or video) would have been nice, but I don't miss it much (truth be told, I yet have to use the camera on my mobile phone).
Unfortunately, there is also no built-in mic. This is much a more significant omission than having no camera. The Touch is a first class audio voice recorder and (more importantly for me) a first class Skype client. There are third party solutions for this (a mini-micro that directly plugs into the headphone connector), but if the touch had a built-in mike, it would make using world-class applications like Shazam (and Skype) so much easier
Likewise, there is no compass, nor a GPS receiver present in the touch. I understand that these are left out to better differentiate the Touch from the iPhone, but I would have welcomed them in the top-of-the-line (64GB) version of the iPod.
And, finally, there is no radio receiver. I'm definitely not a radio man, as I next to never listen to it. Still, some people do (as the ton of nicely selling IP radio applications shows), and anyway, the Nano has it now - even with a nice Tivoesque pause feature! Why not the Touch? Strange design choice.
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