Apple iPod touch 16 GB without Software Updates

Apple iPod touch 16 GB without Software Updates

This is a fabulous piece of technology and integrates very smoothly with my Imac and Itunes. Others have already covered many Pros/Cons but there are a few things that are worth considering before purchasing.

1. PRICE--Others have "complained" about the price. This IS NOT food, water or shelter; it is a discretionary purchase. It represents excellent value IMHO in comparison to other similar devices.

2. INTERNET--The wireless internet is surprisingly functional once you are used to some of the quirks and limitations. For example, you can currently only watch video from internet sites supported by Quicktime. Some sites (like AOL) don't seem to load very efficiently and navigating sites with crowded page content can be trying.

3. USEFULNESS--This is NOT a PDA though it can serve as one in a limited capacity with some creative thinking. For example you can create "notes" in Ical or you can (assuming a wireless conection is available) send yourself an e-mail if you need to type something in so you remember it. If you NEED a PDA, get the Iphone instead.

4. ITOUCH vs IPHONE--I opted for this because I don't need a PDA and my current cell plan fits my needs. Remember the IPHONE is a touch device and I'm guessing most people don't wash their hands every time prior to use. Now you are putting those germs right up to your ear. Think about using an IPHONE after shaking hands with "Joe" who doesn't wash his hands after...well, you get the idea.

5. SIZE--It's thin, but not small. If you primarily listen to music, stick with the Nano. Once it is in sleep mode you can't change settings without activating it. I use my Nano for walks and I can adjust it right in my pocket (volume especially).

So far, I love it--I'll post an update if things change!!

Want to Make a Good Ipod Purchase? Stop here!

The 2rd generation of the Ipod Shuffle has to be one of the best purchases that I have ever made, period. Although I will admit that there is just one down side that I see in comparison to say the 80 gig classic Ipod, which I also own. But lets focus on the positive first.

Running at least 8.5 miles a day, 5 times a week the Shuffle is great to have! The controls are easy to use, it gets loud enough to drown out all of the people at the gym and the battery life is out of this world. I love that it can handle hours of music, also that is so small that I forget that I am wearing it on my arm. I also wrote a review one of the Shuffle arm bands that I highly suggest. I know that a lot of people love their new Ipod Touches, but I think that the Shuffle could be the most valuable Ipod because of all of the people I see at the gym using one. It makes time fly and I go a couple of weeks without having to charge it.

The one down side is the sound quality when you compare it to full size Ipod. You can really tell the difference between them. But that is just one of those trade offs for size and convinence that you are going to have to live with with the Shuffle. The rest of the unit is great to use. I know that other reviewers state that it is a little pricey compared to other small MP-3 players, and that is true, it is. But when a product works like the Ipod Shuffle 2rd generation it is worth the little extra money for the long term benefits that the product is going to deliver.

iPOD Nano vs. iPhone

I have both the iPod Nano and the iphone.



First, here is my review of the iPod Nano.



The pictures don't do justice to this tiny technological marvel. It is very thin (thickness of 2 quarters) and less than a quarter size of my average sized hand. If you are looking for a smallest MP3 player with a screen, I would look no further than than Nano.

It not only plays music well, but it plays videos reasonably well on its high definition screen. You can watch an entire movie on this device. How cool is that?



Couple of pointers:



1)Because ipod showcases the album covers and others bits of information about each song, each AAC track takes little more space on its flash drive. Only about 3.6GB of 4GB are usuable for music/video storage (the rest is used primarily by the OS). This is only sufficient for about 1000-1500 (depending on the bits) songs and a few videos. If you have more than 1000 songs in your iTunes, I suggest purchasing the 8GB version.



2)The Operating System of this device does crash occassionally. You can reboot the device by simultaneously pressing on the middle button and the menu button for about 5 seconds (you will need this info so save this review =) ).



3)Contrary to a popular belief, the sound quality is primarily determined by the quality of the headphones and not the MP3 player. The iPod headphones are of the bare minimum quality (but far superior to those used in Sony Walkmans of the 1980s). If you are an audiophile and have some extra money, I recommend getting a good earphone from Shure (E310, E410, E510).



iPod Nano vs iPhone



1)Sound quality: the sound quality of both devices are identifical. iPhone, however, has an annoying non-standard earphone plug-in which requires an adapter for the third party earphones.



2)User Interface: iPhone has possibly the greatest user interface created by Man. It is not only functional but fun to use. Flipping through the albums in the iPhone's ipod is one of most beautiful GUIs ever developed. The Nano has a typical iPod user interface that use the iPod buttons to navigate through music.



3)Battery Life: Nano has the edge here. iPhone, although posessing a reasonably good battery life, is a natural battery hog. The prime reason is its beautiful touch screen. It is basically a small computer. Listening to music while having the cell phone turned will drain the iphone's battery in about 3.5-4 hours. The Nano will last about 6.5 hours.



4)Functionality: iPhone clearly has the edge, even its the music player is more usable. iPhone has a cell phone, web browser (EDGE and WiFi), IPOD, camera, eMail, and a calendar. The Nano is principally a music player. iPhone's IPOD user interface, however, far trumps Nano's touchwheel.



5)Size: Nano is about 1/8 size of the iPhone (by weight and volume). iPhone isn't bulky, but Nano is a very small device.

Apple iPod touch 8 GB without Software Updates

New Software Applications Not Included on This iPod touch

This version of the iPod touch does not ship with the new software applications announced at MacWorld 2008, including e-mail and maps as well as handy widgets for weather, notes, and stocks. The new iPod touch also features a customizable home screen that lets you rearrange buttons and create your own Web Clips. These software upgrades are available via the online Apple store for $20, or you can order the 8 GB or 16 GB iPod touch that includes the software applications.

iPod Touch 8 GB Review

Well, let me start by saying that I ordered the Touch on a lark. Got it direct from Apple with free engraving on the back. I must say that this is a really fun toy, at 8GB its just big enough to hold my music collection (6GB), a couple of videos and still have space to cache some video streams, barely! As mentioned elsewhere, the interface is quite cute and innovative. I love a touch screen and I love how big the screen is. Ok, here's the things I love about the Touch so far:

1) Big beautiful screen

2) Touch screen interface

3) Wifi connectivity with Safari, iTunes and YouTube built right into the main screen.

4) Changeable background, finally!

5) Sleek form factor slides nicely into my pocket.

6) Don't have to use it as a cell phone.

7) Flips back and forth from landscape to portrait modes depending on how you hold it or what you are viewing.

8) Power button, thank you Apple for finally deigning to put a power button on an iPod!

9) Automatic brightness adjustment, absolute genius!

10) Seems to remember where you left off on every video on the unit, awesome feature I love it!

11) iTunes: for any iPod you have to count the flawless relationship with iTunes as a big plus, you just can't beat it for reliability, ease of use and great features (and believe me I've tried!)

12) Great Now Playing music page, the album art fills the whole screen and by tapping the middle you get immediate access to repeat and shuffle buttons. Now you can now easily shuffle just a playlist, a feature that has been hard to find on previous iPods.

13) Like any other iPod, accessories abound and are easily purchased just about anywhere!

14) Apple customer service is good imo, they stand behind their product and will replace without much hassle as I know from experience.

15) For only $20 you can get extra stuff like Notes, Weather, Calculator, and stuff like that.

But of course, nothing is perfect. I give this a 5 stars because it is such a great innovation for Apple and a great product, but that doesn't mean that its without flaws and here's the ones I've noticed so far:

1) Touch screen can be a bit frustrating, often doesn't feel me and often I miss the button I'm aiming for with my fat fingers (they feel fat when trying to hit keyboard buttons on that screen anyway!). I understand that this is a "Capacitance" screen which means you can't use a stylus or your fingernail, you have to register firm contact with your flesh on the screen.

2) Screen flipping: although this is a cool concept it can be annoying sometimes. Occasionally the screen flips as I'm moving around and I didn't want it to. So I sit there twisting the thing to and from trying to get the alignment I want. Wouldn't it be nice if you could lock it into the perspective you want and it would just stay there (is anybody at Apple listening?)

3) Hard to operate "blind", as I walk around I like to be able to pause/play or adjust volume without having to look at the screen. Very easy to do on my 5.5Gen iPod, almost impossible on the Touch. I have to pull it out of my pocket almost every time I want to pause or adjust the volume.

4) Sound quality is not quite as good as my 5.5Gen Video iPod or my Archos 605, I've tried it on speakers and headphones and the Video has just a little bit cleaner smoother sound especially at high volume.

5) No built in USB port!

Apple 80 GB iPod classic (Black)

I've owned and loved my 30 gig video iPod for almost 2 years, and aside from a periodic problem where it won't power off until I've reset it, it's worked fine. I have noticed that screen changes (for example, clicking on "Music" in the main menu and waiting for the music screen to appear) had become sluggish as I added more songs and passed the 20 GB mark, but it still worked. However, it was obvious that I would exceed the 30 GB capacity before Apple comes out with its next generation of iPods, so I started looking at the current crop to see what would work best. Like just about everyone, I want an iPhone, but not the first generation and (hopefully) not being stuck with AT&T as my cell carrier. So that ruled out the iPhone, at least for now. I was dazzled by the cool interface of the iPod Touch, but I don't have wall-to-wall WiFi coverage in my area and wasn't willing to make the compromise on capacity. I wanted the capacity that the Classic offered, but had read conflicting reviews, even from people who are normally big Apple fans. I was especially concerned to read so many people complaining that the performance was actually worse than the video iPod. Reviewers also complained that the new interface was not responsive and didn't represent an improvement over the interface on the video iPod. However, after playing with one at a local retailer, I found the new interface to be a significant improvement and it seemed to work just as fast as my current video iPod. I opted for the 80 GB model, since my laptop's hard drive is only 160 GB and it didn't make sense to get an iPod with more space than my hard drive. So far, I'm very pleased with the Classic. After spending some time with the new interface, I have found it to be much better than the old one. OK, so it's not a touch screen, but that's the trade-off for the larger capacity (at least in this generation of iPods). Unlike many users, I have had no trouble at all with the cover flow feature, and I like the way it works. If I scroll very quickly, I may have to wait a couple seconds for the cover art to appear, but it's not a big deal at all, at least for me. The titles appear no matter how fast I go, and I greatly prefer being able to browse my collection this way compared to scrolling through a long list. I have not had any trouble with the click-wheel and have not noticed that it's less sensitive or less responsive than the previous model. When you scroll very quickly through a list, a large letter appears on the screen to show you what letter of the alphabet you're in, an intelligent and convenient feature that helps to keep you from scrolling too far in one direction. I also like that the Playlist menu now shows the number of songs for each playlist, and most of the other music menus have enhancements, too (showing album art at the left of the entry if appropriate, for instance). I like the way the calendar works better than on my iPod video, and also like being able to manage alarms for calendar events more easily. (Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but I don't think I even had calendar event alarms on the 30 GB iPod). The Classic connected and synched with my Vista PC with no problems, except for a repetitious request to register the iPod every time I connect, a problem I haven't yet solved. It took about 15 minutes to synch 20 GB of songs, which is actually faster than my previous iPod. As for sound, it seems clearer and more balanced than the 30 GB iPod, and also a bit louder. I had found that I had to turn up the volume on my older iPod just to have it at a listenable level, and I haven't had to do that on my new one. I don't often use my iPod for video, but I like the new games better than the ones on my older iPod. Overall, the Classic represents a significant upgrade over my previous iPod because of added capacity, better sound, and a better interface.

Apple iPod nano 8 GB Black (3rd Generation)

This is my third iPod, but my first flash-based one. I really like the form factor of the new iPod Nano. While some people have complained about it being fatter than the previous gen Nano, it's still wonderfully small, thin, and light. The new Nano is also shorter, which personally I think makes it a better fit for small places like the coin pocket of your jeans w/o sticking out and jabbing you. I had previously held out on getting a flash-based iPod because the storage capacity wasn't quite enough to hold my iTunes library (currently ~12GB in size). I was disappointed that the new Nano still has the same 8GB capacity as the 2nd gen Nano, but I just couldn't wait any longer. Too many cool features to resist, I would just have to trim down my playlists a little. BTW, an "8GB" iPod Nano actually only has 7.41GB of usable storage space. Presumably some of that missing storage is due to formatting, the iPod operating system, and other what not. The new Nano's fatter body allows for a wider screen suitable for watching videos and some new user interface features, most notably the Cover Flow view. iTunes has had Cover Flow view for a while. Now it's available on the iPod. Albums w/ missing cover artwork are displayed as annoying white music notes on a gray background. (WARNING: Some individuals, like me unfortunately, may be susceptible to getting an uncontrollable urge to want to fill in all the missing cover art. I spent an entire Saturday tracking down missing cover art on the web, and even dug up a couple dozen original CDs to scan in the cover art myself for those last few albums...) I really like the additional info displayed in the various lists. For example, the album list displays the album name, the artist beneath, and a tiny thumbnail of the album cover; the old interface displayed only the album name. As another example, the song list displays the song name with the artist name underneath; the old interface displayed just the song name, which can be confusing when you have different songs with the same name.