Apple iPod touch 16 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
by Apple Computer
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Our Price: $402.45 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $99.98 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod touch 16 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: My first IPOD & MP3 Player - Age 37
Summary: 3 Stars
My first mp3 player was really a small touch-based COWON. It is a very nice device but the interface was so tedious for music management I gave it up within 2 weeks. I had been searching for an mp3 player for some time which was easy to use and extremely flexible and didn't force me to re-buy music I already had somewhere.
About a week ago I decided to "give in" and buy an itouch. The interface is intuitive. I love how web page text flows like water when you move your finger to read it. The calculator has already come in handy, and the location of the youtube button on the interface has made it easy to watch youtube content (anywhere around the house!) while hubby surfs on the pc which helps to avoid conflict.
For a first time mp3 user, the music player (based upon the demo music only) seems easy to navigate and I like being able to rate each song, however, I was hoping for 2 features I heard that MP3 players had: Rate each song by MOOD at the time of listening to it thereby being able to call up playlists in the future by ones mood; and; being able to view the lyrics (kareoke!) for each song (is that idg format??). I have heard that apple is releasing the itouch os as open source so maybe these features will become available in the future by a 3rd party? I have not used (nor do I intend to use) the itunes store except possibly for audiobooks as hubby has a huge collection of songs he will somehow transfer to the ipod, but the itouch will definitely appeal to people who have no problem going to starbucks or mcdonalds or finding an uprotected network somewhere where they can download music via wifi without a pc. It is also useful in 1 computer homes in that it may prevent teens from fighting with eachother over pc use for itunes purchases and management.
The world clock button is nice to have for people who need to contact others across timezones (like myself)
THE NEGATIVES
1. 24 hour clock: I am operating on LONDON time however, I do NOT like being
restricted to an army-time view.. I want to see 8pm not 20:00! Sadly, according
to the Apple store rep I spoke with yesterday, I do not have an option to switch
to a 12hr time view. This is a problem.
2. Flash. The itouch does not support flash 6 and up which is a HUGE PROBLEM APPLE
since a large number of websites have flash elements and I am unable to do things
such as make travel plans or even view whole portions of websites. Enabling
flash, or a safari-compatible flash plugin is ESSENTIAL to usability of this
device.
3. Bookmarks. It is easy and fun to save bookmarks and to scroll through websites in
"coverflow" mode however, I think the itouch should have some minimal cache
allocated so that one does not have to just sit and wait for the coverflow
images to load each time one reconnects to the internet.
4. Missing desktop icons. OK I LOVE google maps, use it all the time, and I am
quite peeved that not only is the button missing from the main screen, it is
apparently not possible to add it oneself. Why does the iphone have this
feature but not the itouch apple??? Not being able to add extra java like
apps to the interface is a negative. No the web wigets are not an acceptable
alternative because they disappear when the internet is not connected.
5. Camera. I recently played with the iphone which has a camera and while it is
not a very good one, it is easy to activate and it can seemingly come in handy.
I think it could be fun to make a skype video call to my family overseas too
while walking around but am not sure the iphone/itouch will ever support skype.
So a missing camera is a negative.
6. External expandability. OK this is obvious a sales/marketing ploy but I really
think that there should be an sd type card slot in the itouch for expandability.
7. Keyboard/google search. The itouch keyboard takes up so much screen realestate
that it leaves no room to type in search terms into the google search box or in
other web site text fields at times. Also web page fonts are sometimes so tiny
that it is impossible to click on anything without first zooming in.
This brings us to where I am which is my intention to return the itouch 16gb and
buy an 8gb iphone, mainly because I don't currently own a mobile phone and secondly because I want internet anywhere and intend to use this as my main "communicator" for email, phone, video etc. Hence I will be purchasing a data plan and have been
"upsold". This is why the $$ is rolling in for Apple.
Thanks for reading my review.
signed, ther person formally known as a PC-only type
Customer Review: This iPod is wonderful! My friends and I can't stop talking about it!
Summary: 5 Stars
***I HAVE THE JANUARY SOFTWARE UPGRADE***
First of all, the fingerprints that get on this iPod are impossible to prevent. It doesn't make sense why people complain about this because no amount of innovation by Apple will prevent oil from our fingers getting all over their products. Granted, they could put a thin layer of glass over the chrome on the back to help prevent scratching...
Also, there are two things that Apple can fix right now, and one thing they can add to iPod touch 2G: for now, they should enable disk mode for iPod touch and they should modify Google Maps so it can display widescreen; for 2G, they should add a camera. The superb integration of the user's photos in iPod touch begs for a camera to create even more, especially with Mail. Being able to email pictures makes me really want to take pictures of things I see and email them to friends/family. However, if the iPod touch was released BEFORE iPhone I probably wouldn't have the camera complaint, so I didn't subtract from its ratings because of it.
Now, for why I gave this iPod touch five stars:
The ease of use is unparalleled, even by other iPods. Using this iPod has reminded me that, although it's brilliant, the Click Wheel is MUCH slower than a multi-touch screen. I have like three hundred songs in my music library, but sifting through them is faster on my touch than even on my computer. All I do is touch the letter of the relevant name (i.e. if I'm in Artists, the first letter of the artist's last name; Songs, the first letter of the song title, etc.). Even if I accidentally press an adjacent letter (O instead of P), a quick flick of my finger takes me right to the proper category.
Additionally, the keyboard is superb. It can even turn "Esoecually" back into "Especially," which is VERY helpful for typing quickly. The best thing to do is to type quickly, ignoring what corrections it suggests but approving them anyway. After you're done, take 30 seconds to scan the text for mistakes, because sometimes it'll suggest the wrong word. You'll find that doing this takes half the time of correcting mistakes manually. However, typing long amounts of text strains your fingers, so if you're going to type more than a couple of paragraphs, pull out your laptop. Again, NO amount of innovation can fix this, so I didn't subtract from its total.
The design of iPod touch is gorgeous. I love the simple look of the front, the shiny chrome on the back, and the overall Star Trek look of it. When I show this to people, they often say that they won't be surprised if we've got fully functional tricorders in ten years - LOL!
The user interface is brilliant. The only complaint I have is that Cover Flow isn't practical. I only ever use it to show off the touch screen and the accelerometer. As for the rest of it, Apple has done it again. They've managed to reduce screen clutter to a minimum, yet still maintain ease of use and simplicity. For instance, in Mail, there are five buttons: (1) this button checks and downloads new mail, (2) this button calls up a list of folders into which you can move the selected message, (3) this button deletes the message (quite beautifully too - the trash can opens up and the message minimizes into it like apps in Mac OS X minimize to the Dock), (4) this button calls up a menu with the options "Reply," "Reply All," "Forward," and "Cancel," (5) this button is to write a new message. Also, in the Weather app, it contains a simple list of the current temperature and sky conditions, plus the forecasted highs and lows plus weather for the next week. There's lots more, but just take my word for it that you'll be stunned...
Finally, one of my favorite features is the lock feature. It makes it so that you have to type a four-digit password to use the iPod every time you turn it on. This might sound like a hassle, but it takes less than five seconds. I like it so much because teachers like to take kids' iPods away and I think they play with them, so the lock feature prevents my teachers from messing with the thing. :-)
Overall, iPod touch is another revolutionary product from Apple, even if it does have three faults - nothing is perfect (well, except God). You should buy it if you receive email often, like Internet access, don't like the tiny iPod classic and nano screens for watching video, and if you love ease of use and the ability to show off. I shuddered at the price at first, but trust me, it's worth it for this wonderful device and it's worth the extra $100 to double the memory. I've got a modest music/video collection, and I've already topped 8GB of memory usage on my iPod touch. You like HAVE to get the 16 GB version. All in all, a device more than worthy of your money.
Customer Review: To buy or not to buy.
Summary: 5 Stars
The IPod Touch is great. The screen is absolutely beautiful and the back is like a mirror. Unfortunately they are scratch magnets like they were made of a liquid cristal :). Just a small rub with a piece of cloth can scratch the front or the back of the IPod. If you want it free of any scratch as it came out of the box... you can purchase a silicon case that comes with a protective screen or you can get them separately.
Storage: 16 GB is not as much as the other IPods have(I had the 30G IPod video). But let's be honest, a normal human being that works 8 hours is not listening to music all day long and even if you have the chance you'll get tired. The same happens with videos or photos. You can sync the essential music and still have space for videos and photos. Besides it is a flash memory so it'll last longer than the hard drive based IPods... in theory.
People are complaining that the Ipod classic with 80-160 Gb have a considerable delay to access files.
Wifi: the implementation of the wifi for safari and youtube has a good performance but you cannot expect it to have the same reception as a notebook. The web browser has its purpose to surf the internet to check web-based emails, news, forums, etc. Not like a computer where you can see more elaborated pages with flash and other pluggins. It works for me to check the essential (bank account, email, some forums, news, etc).
The touch screen is what makes this Ipod different from all the others and it was well designed. As others have said, the interface and the keyboard are intuitive. Even though there is no albums or song search by word it has a scroll alphabet on the right side (like an agenda), so you tap the section that has the starting letter of the song that you are looking.
There is no physical button that facilitates pausing, skipping, backing a song or lowering the volume like the other models. This comes handy when we don't want to take out the IPod from our pocket or we are driving or whatever. But when you get used to this IPod it is also easy. You just press the home button or the sleep/wake button; with the help of your mind you remember that the slide bar to unlock the IPod is at the bottom. After you slide the bar, the volume control should be a little bit lower than the other bar. And presto.
A lot of reviewers have complained about the inability to add contacts or events but that was already updated right? At this moment I can add events and contacts. Talking about the updates, I haven't experienced any problem with the blacks when using the video feature.
The headphones sound good. But they are the regular ones made of hard plastic which causes discomfort after using them for a while. I don't know if the white piece of plastic is the stand, if it is you can throw it to the garbage (you'll see what I mean when you open the box).
The accelerometer only works if you have the ipod in a vertical position in relation to the floor. Ex: if you are seated and have the Ipod on your lap... the accelerometer doesn't change the portrait mode to landscape when you rotate the IPod.
Some of us were lucky enough to get the black Friday price of 359.00 here on Amazon. But if it hadn't been like that, I would've purchased it at 399.00 anyway. If you can afford it, this IPod is worth it.
The only thing that I don't like so far is that I need to purchase movies or tv episodes from Itunes if I want to sync them to the Ipod. If I have a video that is avi, wma, etc., I need to purchase a mp4 converter. Yeah we are spending $400.00 on this device and we should be able to buy a coverter that costs $30.00. But why should we? That should be something that Itunes should do. Piracy is the answer.
UPDATE 02/02/08: FYI (Maybe you know about this or maybe you don't)
Regarding the issue of no physical controls... if you double tap the home button while your ipod is in sleep mode, the regular "slide bar to unlock" screen will appear with the addition of music controls at the top.
You will be able to start, skip, pause or play the current song or go to the previous one. And adjust the volume. It comes handy to solve the problem of no physical buttons to manipulate songs without looking at the screen.
I don't know if this was added with an ipod touch software update or if it was there all along but I didn't read anything about it in the documentation that came in the box.
Customer Review: Let the Music Play ...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have purchased two of these from Amazon, both at unbelieveable prices. I guess I just caught it at the right time. And if you purchase from Amazon, they do have a price matching policy for thirty days. The first one was bought for my sixteen year old son who loves it and swears that it is THE BEST IPod that he's ever owned. I have to agree... I LOVE mine as well, the touch screen, the HUGE screen that shows videos, and the really cool show it gives you with the covers of your mp3s that you have on your Ipod. All very cool. The show..well that's what I call it.. is kind of like you are spinning a rack of the CD's that you own and you're trying to decide which ones to pick so you can listen to them.
I also love the fact that they redesigned the head phones so that they fit in my ears a little better. I thought the others were too big and always hurt my little ears. They just never fit right. Another thing that you never have to worry about again is that click wheel on the old Ipods, which was always one of my major complaints with the older models. I really hated that feature and always "clicked over" or "clicked past" something I wanted. So, needless to say, I'm so not sad to see that go!
I've owned quite a few Ipods, as well as my son, and now the only complaint I have is what to do with our old ones! : )
The new Ipod Touch is just beautiful to look at. It's a great conversation piece and it keeps you occupied for hours. If you are a music lover, an Ipod is a must. Watching videos and the like isn't a chore anymore...with a too small screen to enjoy the actual video...it's like the OLD MTV. Remember when they actually ONLY played VIDEOS?? : )
I love the easy interface and set up of these mp3 players. Anyone can use it. It's easy to update your Ipod with the songs you want and the ones you want to remove. The new You Tube feature is very cool as well. Just type in what video *or whatever you'd like to watch* and there it is, on your screen, for free! I love the fact that I don't have to go on my computer to purchase songs if I don't want to and can do so wirelessly with the WiFi feature it's made quite simple. That was a big plus when deciding to buy.
I also understand that besides being able to RENT movies on this little Ipod, they are also going to have new updates every now and then that you can buy to make it a little better. The newest update package for January includes the Weather, Stocks, Email, Maps and Notes. These applications can also be bought in the itunes store just like the movie rentals. Awesome! You can also move the keys around on the front of the touch screen to better suit your needs as well. I LOVE THIS THING! I am sure there will be much more to come, but I can't say it enough...that I Love it and I Love it the way it is. But I have to admit, the more I can do with it, the better it seems. I'm so happy with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone.
So if you are thinking of getting one, contemplating the amount of money spent, it's worth every penny! No regrets. Oh and the GB thing. whether it's 8 or 16, It's really hard to fill up that much space with just music and videos. I've had the larger capacity ones and never came close to filling it. I have over 660 songs on my Ipod, along with videos and it's not even close to being half full. *we have the 16 GB*
My son did drop his last one, right on the corner, I believe that's where the glass is the most vulnerable. So, my reccomendation to protect this beauty is a smart and really gorgeous looking case by DLO. It's a black leather case, very nice quality leather, and it has a flap that goes over the entire Ipod with a magnetic closure. It has access to the charging and headphone openings while closed and when you open the cover, you have full access to the touch screen and it will NEVER fall out. This is by far the best case I have seen for this item.
Well that's my review. Enjoy your new Ipod!
Customer Review: great potential but hobbled
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a brutally honest review.
First, as is, I don't recommend the iPod Touch because it is seriously hobbled. It lacks Mail, Google Maps, Notes, Weather and Stocks -- all highly useful apps that come w/ the iPhone and _could_ have come w/ the Touch.
It's Apple's decision to hobble the Touch. Either out of complete incompetence (doubtful -- Apple's not dumb) or more likely product positioning (not wanting it to compete w/ the iPhone).
Here we see (again) the strength and great weakness of Apple. They make great, even revolutionary, products. But, they also lock them up and try to keep total control.
Early Apple computers were better than PC's, but PC's were open -- and we saw what happened. I hope they wake up and don't repeat the same mistake.
In any case, for those technical, there is apparantly a "modification" for the Touch easily found on YouTube or thru a google. I'm not promoting that -- just stating what's out there.
I'd rate a Touch w/ it's potential unlocked at 4 stars; as is, at 2 stars -- so, the 3 stars given. For the non-technical it should be avoided. Apple is supposed to release a Software Development Kit (SDK) to allow 3rd party apps. I'd wait to see how that turns out and if the Touch becomes un-hobbled. Or wait for the next generation of the Touch or competing products (its design will get copied).
There are also a number of weaknesses w/ the product (beyond the hobbling).
1. There is no internal speaker -- there should be. There are times when you may want to share or not carry headphones. Even a tinny sounding speaker would suffice.
2. Safari, the web browser, is excellent, but on such a small screen, and w/ touchpad input, it's still barely usable. This isn't Apple's fault... it's about as good as you're going to get on such a small device. It (Safari) is also slow and this isn't because of wireless bandwidth. It's much slower than on a laptop connected to the same network.
3. There is no volume control.
4. Touchscreen keyboard input is difficult. The keys to be touched are too small. A touchscreen only works well when it's easy to touch a specific key or button. With the Touch, your finger (even a small one) will be bigger than several adjoining keys. So... one has to guess the exact point the underside of your finger will contact the screen. It's frustrating trying to type anything in, even a url.
5. It has no bluetooth (again, hobbled) and can't be accessed directly from a computer through USB or wireless. It can only be accessed indirectly through iTunes.
6. This is a judgment, but for the capabilities the Touch could offer as a PDA or even shirtpocket notebook, it's too small. I know, small is good, but there comes a point where too small isn't.
The Garmin Nuvi GPS 600's have a 4.3" screen; the Touch a 3.5" one. That extra screen size makes a big difference.
Apple, perhaps, doesn't realize that the Touch is (can be) much more than an iPod or music player. For those who just want to listen to music, get a cheaper iPod. But, there are _many_ who don't want to listen to music constantly, who will be interested in the Touch because of it's web enabled and pda potential.
It's not there. An all-touch screen is interesting, but it's not enough. There does need to be other controls. And, it's too small.
An ideal device would be the merger of the Nuvi, w/ GPS capability, and a more functional Touch. In another generation or so, this'll no doubt occur. But, the Touch is certainly a step in the right direction w/ its excellent engineering and interface.
For the technical, who are willing to take the time and effort to unhobble, want to play an underground cat and mouse game w/ Apple, and have disposable income, it may be worthwhile. For the rest, just wait.