Enter the iPod Touch. From what I can tell, it’s an iPhone without the phone.
Admittedly, I’ve a lot to figure out about this thing. These are initial reactions/thoughts.
First, I’ve finally got what I’ve been looking for (and which the Motorola Q only provides in a horribly inefficient, badly designed way limited way): the Web. Email. An interface I can see and read and, remarkably, actually works. All I’ve ever wanted from a cell phone was the phone function and the Web/email. As it is, I’ve got them now but, as Germany once was separated between east and west, these two things are divided between the cell and the Touch. But at least I’ve got them.
Second, it’s an iPod so the first thing that comes to mind is music. The iPod is not simply a music player – it’s really a computer of sorts, a marriage of hardware and software. But it was introduced to everyone as a music player and, regardless of how it evolves, music is what we think of due to the way we first encountered it. The first impressions thing.
Here’s my point: I haven’t tried it extensively but my first thought is that it’s crap as a music player. I also have an 80G iPod Classic and let me tell you, there’s no comparison. I don’t have specs but my ear tells me the dynamic range of music is reduced – it doesn’t sound as good on the Touch as it does on the Classic. Is this just my weird perception or is this technically so? Is music more densely compressed on the Touch, sacrificing quality for capacity? I don’t know but my ears far prefer the Classic. I just don’t know if they’re imagining something that is actually real.
I understand it’s called the iPod Touch but the Classic’s scroll wheel is better by far – easier to use and less problem-filled. Playing music on the Touch it seemed as if just looking at it, or breathing within a few feet of it, caused it to do something – jump to another app or simply pause the song. And locating a song by touch kept popping up songs I didn’t want – again, simply by looking at the title, or so it seemed. In other words, the sensitivity was way too high. Perhaps this can be adjusted but, if so, why would this be a default setting? The Classic, with its wheel, is much easier to use.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about the iPod Touch. Possibly, through use, I’ll reach a point where I’ve adjusted to the aspects I don’t really like and simply love the device. I already do for the Web, email and other apps. But another thought occurred to me as I was using the iPod Touch and that has to do with the whole idea of a touch screen and a small device.
But that will have to wait for tomorrow (or late tonight).
Note:
As you can see, I’ve been revising my thoughts as my use evolves – but I more or less still agree with the above. Most of my second thoughts had to do with the Motorola Q, first generation, and my dissing of it. It’s better than I gave it credit for, especially when you consider when it came out and the fact it’s a first generation device. Still, it has issues …
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