If you own a first-generation iPod Touch, you can spend $10 to upgrade its firmware to include many of the software capabilities (including Genius playlists) found on the second-generation model. But when push comes to shove, it's easy to tell which of the two companies has more experience with software design. If you find iTunes' Genius feature too demanding on your computer's resources or too invasive of your privacy (the feature reports your listening habits to Apple), then you'll need to live without the feature on your iPod as well.Ĭompeting MP3 players like the Samsung P2 (right) do an admirable job emulating Apple's touch-screen control. Oddly, the Touch's Genius feature won't work if you haven't enabled Genius on your computer's iTunes software. You can create and save Genius playlists directly onto your iPod Touch, and with automatic syncing enabled in iTunes you can also transfer them back to your computer. The Genius feature is easy to use, and the results are fun, provided your music collection holds enough songs to make interesting connections. The second-generation of the iPod Touch also introduces Apple's new Genius feature, which lets you create an instant 25-song playlists based on the musical characteristics of a single song. You can also extend the capabilities of the iPod Touch using third-party "Made for iPod" hardware accessories such as AV docks, external battery packs, and speaker systems.
An iTunes App Store, accessible from your computer or directly from the iPod Touch, lets users download and install thousands of applications, including Internet radio players, games, voice recorders, and social-networking tools.
Provided you can become proficient with its touch-screen keyboard, the iPod Touch is more pocket PC than MP3 player.Īs of version 3.0 of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch firmware, the device's stock features are just the beginning. Out of the box, the second-generation iPod Touch includes an amazing music player, podcast support, video playback (including iTunes rentals and a YouTube player), a Safari Web browser, photo viewer, an e-mail reader (compatible with Outlook, Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or any POP e-mail service), an integrated Wi-Fi iTunes music store, and a host of smaller utilities (weather, calendar, maps, stocks, notes, voice memos, clock, contacts, and calculator). When you weigh the price of the iPod Touch against its features, however, the device becomes much more attractive. Priced at $229 (8GB), $299 (16GB), and $399 (32GB), the second-generation iPod Touch still commands a fairly high price compared with other MP3 players with similar capacities. Both the first- and second-generation iPod Touch share the same dimensions (4.3 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.31 inch), same glass-covered screen (3.5 inch), and same arrangement of headphone jack, dock connector, sleep button, and home button.Īpple's Cover Flow music menu is a bit useless on the smaller screens of the iPod Nano and iPod Classic, but it's a fantastic way to browse music on the iPod Touch. Minor improvements aside, the second-generation iPod Touch hardware is largely unchanged. Whether psychological or by design, the second-generation iPod Touch feels less fragile than last year's model and makes the plastic enclosure of the iPhone 3G feel cheap by comparison. The chromed steel back of the second-generation iPod Touch now mimics the rounded design of the iPhone 3G, giving the device a slimmer profile at its edges. A slim volume switch now graces the left edge of the Touch, making it easier to make quick volume adjustments. DesignĪpple's updates to the iPod Touch's design are subtle, but the hardware has definitely changed for the better. Now in its second generation, Apple has finally given the iPod Touch a chance to shine by lowering its price (an 8GB model now runs $229), improving the hardware, and practically doubling the features from last year's original model. As the less-gifted sibling of Apple's celebrated iPhone, the iPod Touch has had to work hard to prove itself.