Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]
by Apple Computer
![Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]](/images/Apple-iPod-touch-16-GB-2nd-Generation-Previous-Model-B001FA1NZU-L.jpg)
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Our Price: $394.50 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $109.99 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]
Customer Review: Really cool
Summary: 4 Stars
I love my iPod. It can do so many things that I barely use my computer anymore, except for writing. It does everything that amazon says it does, plus a whole lot more. However, I wouldn't recomend this if all you would be doing with it is listening to music. I know it's an mp3 player, but its to expensive if you're only going to use it for music (nothing's wrong with the music). I wouldn't get it if you don't have wifi either, as about seventy percent of what it can do is based of wifi (browsing, some of the games, email, texting, and app/movies/music downloads. Also its not as delicate as I thought. I dropped it from about three or four feet onto linolium and it was fine. I also got a little water on it and it blacked out for a while but I reset it and it worked again.
Pros
Music is great. The sound is good, and its really easy to find the song I'm looking for.
The touch screen it really sensitive and it doesn't get to many smudges.
The accelometer is much better than I expected. Very sensitive.
Web browsing is fast and easy. My computer sits gathering dust.
Keyboard is pretty good, if I can put it on landscape mode, which not all the apps have.
Genius picks good songs for me. I love it! Almost like an offline pandora.
I got a texting app for six bucks, and it is great! It has unlimited texts to pretty much any phone (in America). There's a free version that only has fifteen texts a day which it pretty good too.
The kindle app is great. The print isn't to small, its got a good selection the downloads are fast, and its easy too use. Some of the books are even free, and they're not bad either.
The apps are great. At least half of them are free and they can do so many different things. Check out the app store on your computer and you'll see what I mean.
I like that you can double click the home button at any time and it will bring up the music options.
Being able to buy songs and apps on the ipod is a huge plus for me. I hate messing with that on my computer.
The brightness adjusts automatically which is great.
There are many more pros, but I can't write them all. Here are some of the cons, mostly just minor annoyances.
Cons
I'll start with the big one. It doesn't come with the 3.0 update. What's worse is that you have to pay ten dollars to get it. That's the only reason I didn't give this five stars.
Itunes wasn't as bad as usual (I have a computer running on Windows XP, and all my music was in WMA format). I just drag and dropped all my songs from My Music to the Itunes library and it gave me the option to convert them to AAC format, which is compatable with Itunes and iPod. Still it would be nicer if they could just accept WMA.
When the keyboard doesn't work for landscape mode (widescreen) it's really kind've cramped and hard to type.
If I'm laying on my side playing with it, the screen with flip so it's sideways to me. Annoying!
The battery life when you're actively using it is kind of poor.
The email is pretty good, but not great. I use the same email for my computer as for my iPod, but when I open them on my iPod it doesn't open them on my computer, so when I sign in it says 'You have two million new messages' or whatever. Also there's no landscape keyboard.
It freezes every once in a while, but it recovers after a couple seconds.
I can't think of anything else. If you have wifi and the desire to use it for things besides music, I say go for it!
Customer Review: ...and I thought I never wanted an iPod.
Summary: 5 Stars
iPod touch 2nd Generation
Summary: Just get one. I wasted a lot of time reading all of these reviews and other product reviews when I could have just ordered it and been on my way.
If you must read:
I got this because I thought it was neat looking, but I didn't want to because 120GB seemed so much better for available space. I went for it anyway.
If you think it's better to have 120 GB instead of 8, 16, or 32GB, then you have no idea how much fun you are missing out on. This does so much that you might wonder why you were even considering anything else. I personally can't listen to 120GB worth of music in between computer syncs. If I was a DJ or something then I'd go for the 120GB.
Operation is great, no annoying clicking of controls or disturbing others while in use (you can adjust the sounds it makes if you want). It's easy to use even if you have arthritis. Nice and crisp images. Download and watch episodes of shows on TV, many for free. You can even watch the shows on the computer or hook it up to your TV (need extra cable for this). It has a screen saver and will also prevent accidental touching and changing things when you don't want to.
Too many other "oh, that's neat" features to remember or comment on. They obviously put a lot of thought into this to make it user friendly.
Also really nice if you have time to kill, such as waiting for someone, relaxing or getting educated on one of the games, applications or TV shows.
Most agree that the speaker is not good, but I'm glad they put it in. I can listen to my music to add some background sound. A plus for me. If you like to hear your music and are not concerned with high dollar sound, then this is fine. Remember, they didn't have to put it in and you don't have to listen to it. It's a portable device, not a sound system.
I've heard complaints about PDF files. But I can view them and zoom in some in order to see what I need to see when I'm out. I put one of the applications on it to do this.
For those of you concerned with DRM (Digital Rights Management), I've read that the music is now DRM free as of April 2009.
It has a search function that lets you find anything anywhere just by typing in the search box. The encrypted things are not found, such as personal info in applications like e-wallet and the like.
Of course the accessory market for these is fantastic like no other brand.
You might want a case with a belt clip, since there is no clip with it.
High speed internet is highly desired for a lot of downloads, but not essential for some basic use. A wireless router adds a lot of function such as weather, stocks, web surfing, TV guide, maps and head to head gaming with someone with another iPod touch in another part of the country.
Download iTunes now and check it out all the categories, you'll see a lot of things there (especially if you are not familiar with iTunes). You don't need an iPod to see all the stuff you can get for the iPod. They want a valid email address to send what you need to install it. Also a credit card, or bank info, or you might be able to set it up with the gift cards that you can get at many places, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe someone can confirm or deny that in other reviews. I haven't ever had any spam or credit card charges or anything (I use the gift cards instead); just email receipts for stuff I purchased. It will also prepare you for when you get it. You will be up and running faster if you check it out beforehand.
Customer Review: Totally worth it now that they reduced the price
Summary: 5 Stars
My 5th Gen ipod video has a screen thats going out, so I've been looking to get a new ipod for a while. Knowing that Apple comes out with new iPods each year at back-to-school time, I waited a few months and was pleasantly surprised when they decided to lower the price.
I've had this thing for about a week now and I can't put it down. Not only is it a GREAT music player, the screen is amazing and games and videos look incredible. I have converted many TV shows that I can now take on the road with me, and watching them on this screen is pretty enjoyable since it's so much larger than my 5th gen ipod video.
Not only is it a great music and video player, I LOVE the fact that it is like an ultra mobile internet browser. I have internet on my cell phone too, but not with the capabilities the ipod touch has. Although it's not exactly like a PC, you can view nearly every website out there, and I expect Flash to be included in a future update which will really put the internet at your fingertips.
The App store is a huge part of why I love this ipod. I love browsing the App store for new apps, and I've downloaded a few games. I haven't found any games or apps that I absolutely love yet, but I am impressed with the power this little device has. Some of the video games have amazing graphics, Crash Kart for example looks like a PS2 game (maybe a little worse, PS 1.5). The lack of physical buttons keeps this from being a very compelling game system, but it's great for puzzle games or little games like Yahtzee that work well with a touch screen. However, some of the racing games work really well with the accelerometer, but it's just not my favorite way to control the steering. Blue Skies Air Force Academy is one particular game that was truly designed for the accelerometer, and it works well.
Now that I've said so many good things that I love about this device, I have to say it's not perfect. Although I'd give the hardware a 5/5, I'm a little irritated by the fact that I will probably need to buy a new FM transmitter for my car. I have the Monster iCarPlay and it's worked perfectly for nearly 3 years for me. I can still use it with my iPod Touch 2nd Gen, but it won't charge the iPod. Ugh, hopefully I can get by without needing it to also charge my iPod because that was originally like $60 when I bought it. I can't complain too much, because I did keep my old 30gb ipod video and I can always take that with me if I need an unlimited supply of music on long car trips. Oh I will also probably need to buy a new wall charger, but I can get one on eBay for about $10.
If you're thinking about buying this iPod, let me tell you that if you have $300 to spend, it's probably worth it for you. If you NEED a new mp3 player and you're on the fence about which one to buy, I strongly recommend it. However, pay attention to these tips before you buy! I purchased some of those screen protectors on eBay the same day I ordered this ipod from Apple. It gives me great peace of mind to know that my screen is protected by that plastic sheet, and amazingly I don't notice ANY degradation in screen quality or touch screen sensitivity, I can't even tell that there is a screen protector on it. I also bought a little rubber case on eBay that has a slot for an armband. Not sure I'll ever use it to work out with since the ipod video is easier to use while running, but the rubber case also makes me feel it would be safer if I dropped it.
I'll stop babbling now, but in conclusion 5/5, definitely recommend the iPod Touch 2nd Gen 16gb!
Customer Review: Great iPod touch! It's pretty much my everything on one device!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi, my name is Chen Yee. This is a great invention on the market ever!!! When I played around w/ it at the Apple Store, I went to a website called [...] on the device itself to test my typing speed. I can type at least 30 wpm most of the time using the on-screen Qwerty keyboard (in US English format). Sometimes I can type over 40 wpm. The highest typing speed I've ever reached was 55 wpm.
With the organizer feature, haha, I don't even have to use paper planners and address books. If I'm gonna store my data, like phone numbers, emails, appointments, fun events, to-do's, and shopping lists, I can just store them on this device instead of writing them on paper, so I can save paper and trees and thus GO GREEN!!! It can also be a very handy electronic organizer, which is way way better than those $20 electronic organizers I used to have a long time ago.
The screen is awesome! I do like the 3.5-inch touchscreen, and I like how the way I just use my finger instead of using a stylus pen to touch the icons on the screen.
Not only those features, the music feature is awesome, and I like how I hold it in landscape mode to browse music via CoverFlow, which is similar to finding my favorite CDs on my shelf. Plus, on the Now Playing screen, if I tap the album cover (located between the currently playing song and the iPod controls), I can look at song lyrics, so I can learn new songs!!! By the way, singing is one of my favorite hobbies.
The photos look great and very clear on the screen!!! I can get a resolution of 320 pixels (better than iPod classic) from top to bottom if I hold the iTouch in landscape mode. I even like how I can use one of the photos as background. However, the photo can't be used as the menu background on the home screen, so the menu background on the home screen stays only black.
The video look very sharp, too. I like how I can tap the screen to view the iPod controls and tap again to hide the controls while the video is currently playing.
Now, the only major things that drain a lot of battery power are the Safari and YouTube, so if I keep surfing the internet or watch YouTube videos on the device, I can drain a lot of its battery power. Conversely, to conserve battery power and keep me entertained longer, I just keep the wi-fi off most of the time if I don't really surf the internet and watch YouTube videos on it, so I just mainly use my laptop to do those.
Overall, this is a brilliant device, and I already bought the 8GB 3rd generation (released Sep 2009) because I didn't want to spend the extra money, and 875 songs (in AAC format 256 kbps), 10,000 photos, or 10 hrs of video (according to the Apple website) on one device is sufficient for me. I got the device and the accessories included in the box for only $200 at the Apple Store in Downtown Portland.
Also, I decided to buy it because it uses flash memory instead of hard disk. With flash memory, this means no more skipping and delaying. Also, flash memory consumes less battery power (in other words, has longer battery life) than the iPod classic that uses hard drive.
But when I bought the device, I had to buy the plastic transparent screen protectors and a rubber case. The screen protector protects the screen from getting scratched and dirty and the case can protect it from impact, damage, and scratches.
I hope this review is very helpful to you since I specified it.
Customer Review: Not a "sound" device
Summary: 3 Stars
The cool factor alone made this purchase seem like a no-brainer. It combines the most essential features of a PDA, the convenience of surfing the net without booting a laptop up, the ability to watch a movie on a screen you can actually see, game playing offerings, kindle book reading capabilities, photo viewing with a spectacular interface. And at it's core is your music playing device. Well, not exactly, and there-in lies the rub. After unpacking and sampling the myriad functions Apple built into this thin and elegant package I felt almost giddy. Until I plugged in my Shure 5C headphones to have a listen. Maybe the jack wasn't fully plugged in?! No, it was snug. Surely this had to be some kind of a joke. No, and stop calling me Shirley. The sound was flat, lifeless and frankly, just plain terrible. Every review I'd read listed as a Con, the fact that the sound was just average. If average means, sounds like listening to your neighbor's cheap stereo by pressing your ear to an adjoining wall, I'd say they nailed it. Much as I wanted to love the itouch and have it replace several other devices, the sound was so bad that the same day it was delivered, it was boxed up and returned to Amazon. I compared it to my older Toshiba Gigabeat side by side referencing the same songs and then trying my Sennheiser 650 cans as well and there was no doubt that sound quality fell off a cliff. It isn't even as good as a $50 Ipod Shuffle. As for the other wiz bang features; the ability to surf the web with the Safari browser seemed amazing and fast. But to see a web page requires constant stretching and moving. OK in a pinch, but far from a satisfying or useful web experience. The "keyboard" that pops up any time information needs to be typed is ridiculously cramped and I was constantly having to go back to correct things which was annoying to say the least. The same was true of writing a note in the Notes function. As far as the calendar feature, it was great to see the days of the month, but not for inputing information unless it was entered on your laptop first and then sync'd. The two games I purchased in my giddy frenzy looked terrific on the screen. But honestly, the same "fat finger" problem existed that interfered with play and even seeing what I was doing. The movie viewing feature looked promising though I didn't get that far. The glass screen was elegant but wound up smudged and greasy looking and had to be cleaned perpetually and the chrome back while beautiful would have been scratched beyond recognition in no time as others have documented and is assumed by now by all. I have a Kindle 2 which I love and imagined this would be an extension of that service. But the app doesn't work well and is clumsy and crude. Mail...here was a great feature that worked wonderfully...as long as you are in a hot spot of course. So my personal and unbiased opinion is that the itouch has wonderful promise and is very sexy and elegant. But if you want to enjoy music, it's a dismal failure. If you want to surf the web, a new "net book" is small, costs the same and is far superior for that and several of the other touted functions. I know that comparison is apples and oranges, but my advise as a consumer who looks for genuine utility as more important than, "gee wiz, this thing is so cool"; the itouch may satisfy the needs of some people, but in all honesty, it really does few things really well or even average.