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: BEST iPod to date!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had read that the speakers on the new 2nd generation iTouch was really lacking so my expectations were low. However, these speakers rock. Granted, if you're in a loud surrounding they are not loud enough but then again if you're in a loud surrounding it would be rude to have speakers that are loud enough to hear over other noises in my opinion. There's nothing I hate more than music on the subway from someones boom box or gadget when it's not music I would choose to listen to. So for those that are complaining about the speakers you need to understand that they are perfect for you personally....just not for everyone else around you.....that's why there are great little portable speaker setups out there to purchase just for those times when you wish to annoy others...or listen on the beach....and other louder surroundings.
Everything about my iTouch is great. The graphics are great. The ease of using iTunes to upload is great. Can't say that the help staff at Apple are useful....actually quite rude and have the elitest attitude. However, that does not change the greatness of the new 2nd generation iTouch.
The new added speakers as I stated above are perfect for me. I use my iTouch during the day at work at my desk and I can hear it perfectly but I'm not disturbing others in their work centers...it's great.
The fact that I can get on the Internet anytime I am in a wireless area is perfect. I did not wish to upgrade my phone quite yet to the iPhone due to the extra cost of all those fees that AT&T requires you to sign up for weather you want to use it or not. With my iTouch I get to decide when I want to sign on and surf the Internet for a phone number, address or even check my email....and at no extra cost each month!
I originally thought of waiting for the next version of the iPhone so I could get the Nike sensor addition (assuming Apple adds it to the next upgraded version)....but I wanted to use the Nike sensor and did not want to buy the new Nano to use it. For just a little bit more money than the new Nano I am able to surf the Internet, keep my contacts and address book with me at all times.....and many other cool features that I would miss out on with the Nano. IMHO why pay the cost of a Nano if all your're getting is a music storage device? Why not get the iTouch and get gadget after gadget included. Of course I have always been a Palm Pilot geek so this was the new age step up for me.....bascially it was a win win situation.
The Nike sensor added to the iTouch was a sweeeeet option. If you haven't checked that out you really should. It is a great motivator to get out there and exercise. With the Nike sensor you can track your miles walked, calories burned, etc and graph it online at the Nike website. AND.....if you start getting lazy and haven't uploaded your data in awhile....or even worse...haven't gotten out there and exercised....you will even receive an email encouraging you to not give up...it's great...and motivating.
In a nutshell....you can't go wrong with the new 2nd generation iTouch.
Customer Review: Not a good MP3 player, but great for everything else
Summary: 4 Stars
I got my iPod Touch the day before they Skype app came out, and I want to be clear that I would not get one before I knew there was a Skype app, and I bought it to use as my Skype phone way from home.
If you are looking for a great PDA, portable game station, or Skype phone - look no further. They Skype app works great, but it is still new, 1.0.1, so all the features of Skype are not there. I can make calls, but I can't receive them. Skype logs you out when you go to do anything else. So at this point, don't let that be the only reason, like I did.
The touch makes a great PDA. I am able to make appointments, check my gmail account and take notes. The keypad is really good. It does not sync up with Thunderbird. That is a pain, as it has my Google calender, so I have to pick one or update both.
If you are buying this to use a an MP3 player, I give it 2 stars, and the MP3 player is why I only gave this product 4 starts. If the MP3 player were as good as my Creative Zen, I would have given the iPod touch 5 stars - no question.
My Zen can play more video types, or at least it re-codes them to be Zen capable. None of my videos play on my Touch, or at least I do not know how to re-code them to work on it. Zen's program just does it for me. iTunes tells my they won't play on my Touch.
The Zen has the ability to add an SD card, so I can take my kids movies or music with me for them (they are all 4 and under) without messing up my stuff (selfish, I know). With the iPod Touch, I take up my hard drive space and the time to make a play list etc...
With the Zen I can delete songs/videos/pics I do not want from the card or the hard drive without connecting to the computer. If I want to upload songs/videos/pics from the card I can do so. If I am at a friends and forget my USB cable I can use a SD card to add stuff to my Zen.
To do anything, other than play music or videos, in the Touch I have to plug in to iTunes. That is annoying. I do not buy songs from the iStore, as i can get the same music for a fraction of the price ($2.99 for an album compared to $0.99 per song) elsewhere, or even better, Creative Commons music from Jamendo.com for free (legally).
I also find the Zen more intuitive. I picked it up, and knew how it worked because it worked the way I have always thought an MP3 player should. That is a me thing though.
The iPod Touch does not play oggs, I do not like that, but I already re-coded my library for my Zen so that is not a big deal at this point.
I think the bottom line for me is that I can do more of what I want to do on the Zen with my music than I can with the iPod. The Zen also came with better headphones, tho both are lower quality.
I also want to point out again that I love my iPod Touch, I just do not see it as an MP3 player with extra stuff, I see it as a PDA/etc... with a generic MP3 player. If not for the Skype app, I never would have bought one. Maybe they should call it SkyPod now ;)
Customer Review: My permanent handbag fixture
Summary: 5 Stars
I was going to wait til I had owned this iPod for a while to review it, but I decided it didn't matter: when you love it, you love it.
This thing is going everywhere with me. I have only owned 1 iPod before this one, a 3rd Generation nano, which I loved at first sight and still love to this day. I am keeping my nano for pocket use for things including housework, outdoor exercise and docking in my speakers in the bathroom. I'm too protective of my new touch to expose it to possible harm. In fact, I was afraid to touch it for a few days after it arrived. I knew about the horrible fingerprints and scratches the back can get after my nano. But I got a case for it today and now I can't put it down.
I had some money for a special present for myself, and one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a new iPod. My 8G nano was just slightly lacking in capacity for my use. Besides a lot of music, I like a movie or two and some of my TV show episodes on it for car rides, etc. I was researching the touch a LOT because it had the capacity I wanted, PLUS the idea of wireless internet access in my handbag really appealed to me. But this iPod far surpassed my expectations since the day it arrived. I wasn't sure about the internet use with how tiny the screen, but the zooming and scrolling is so simple, the difference from a laptop is a few seconds time, tops. I can hardly believe how I can click my "mail" icon and be in my inbox in a matter of seconds. So the music, video and Safari features are absolutely wonderful, and addicting. I also love the photo feature. It's nice being able to keep so many pictures of my toddler on me at one time. I figured right away that I wouldn't ever use the apps option - I'm not a gamer. But after a few minutes of browsing, just to rule it out, I found several I wanted! For $2.99 I found a wonderful pregnancy application which helps me follow exactly where I am daily in my pregnancy. Plus I discovered that a food and activity tracking website I use had a touch app! And that was free! It's wonderful.
I'm still playing and learning, and just keep finding more to love. As I mentioned, I don't care for the back which easily draws scratches and fingerprints, but a case takes care of that. I love the volume control on the side. And as mentioned by other reviewers, the external speakers aren't really something to consider buying for. (Doesn't matter - plenty of other reasons to buy it!) They are VERY quiet at best. I have to hold the touch up to my ear to hear unless the room is 100% quiet. But as far as showing someone a song or YouTube video without loaning them your earbuds, it's handy.
All in all, this sucker is a computer in your pocket. It does everything I want. I even use the calendar on it. I wasn't interested in iPhone because 1) I don't like the extra fees involved and 2) I LOVE my BlackBerry. But I couldn't be happier that I purchased this touch. It's absolutely incredible.
Customer Review: I love my iPod Touch!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the 16GB iPod Touch as a replacement for a Creative ZEN Vision:M. I went from 30GB to 16GB and while I was concerned I still have room left over on the iPod Touch.
The best feature in my opinion is the multi-touch screen. No more clicking buttons or navigating through menus with a tactile control. It just makes sense to have a touch screen.
Audio quality was a concern because while I'm not an audiophile I do expect decent sound quality and the iPod Touch delivers. No hissing. No crackling. Just pure, crisp sound with enough bass that should please most people. The integrated speaker is great for games or just casual listening(as Steve Jobs said) it comes in handy. You can share music, videos and games with people around you. I think it's a fantastic feature!
Video quality/screen quality is very good. Not great, simply for the fact I would prefer a little more contrast but it's definitely watchable and looks fantastic. The 3.5 inch screen is a full inch larger than the one on my ZEN and is widescreen which is nice. Movies are more enjoyable to watch.
The only annoying thing I can find with the iPod Touch is teh fact you can't sync full size images. iTunes "optimizes" each photo to around 640x480 which means all detail is lost when you zoom in. Because of the format iTunes uses to optimize them with, 16-bit BITMAP, the images also have a terrible grainy and blurry look to them even if you zoom in only slightly. Full size images from a digital SLR would be too large, obviously, but a size around 1440x900 would be perfect and make better use of the pinch and zoom feature. Apple, please give us the option!
I haven't been able to try out the wifi features. Kind of strange I know since some of the iPod Touch's best features require it. I love my iPod Touch and wouldn't trade it for any other player on the market. The web browser, YouTube and Google Maps apps are just extras that make it even more desirable but the things you expect an iPod to do it does well.
As my first iPod I was a little nervous using iTunes, which by the way, still crashed a lot on Vista 64-bit. I sync to my iPod and it crashes. I download a podcast and it crashes. I change a song's info and it crashes. It isn't so terrible that it would make me not want to use my iPod though. Hopefully the next update will make it more stable but I doubt it. It's obvious Windows compatibility isn't first priority for Apple and iTunes. When it works, its a great program for managing all of you media.
This is my first iPod and I couldn't be happier with it. I feel my money was well spent. It isn't cheap but if you can afford it go for it.
Customer Review: Improved In All The Ways That Count!
Summary: 5 Stars
I wrote a length review for the first-generation iPod touch, and I stick by that review... With a disclaimer. There was no way I could know at the time that Apple would put out the same awesome product with a lighter, thinner form factor, a built-in speaker, physical volume controls, and a big price drop.
With all those things in mind, I have to say THIS is the best iPod I've ever owned. The only things I'd ask for now would be a non-aluminum back (something that doesn't scratch, please!), a built-in microphone (for taking notes and using some Apps), and more storage space (eagerly awaiting the 64GB model's inevitable release...)
I love the new touch. With the built-in speaker, you can do a lot of stuff on the go and you don't need to carry around headphones. YouTube, videos, music, and games can be experiences without earbuds now!
The physical volume control is a nice thing to have. Now you can reach in your pocket and blindly turn it down (or up!) without needing to interact with the touch screen. It really should have been on the first generation.
The form factor is largely the same, but it's much thinner than the previous model, and a little more tapered at the ends. This makes it a lot easier to carry in your pocket, and if you're the type to put a case on it, it makes it a manageable size even with an extra few millimeters of plastic accessory protecting it.
The App Store just keeps getting better. Prices are fair (usually) and a lot of really great stuff is completely free. You can even shop Amazon with a free App!
As my original review said, this is not just an iPod, nor is it a "crippled iPhone" -- It's an Internet-capable computer in your pocket. This is as close as you'll get to having a palm-sized, full-featured Mac. The OS is even a variation of OS X, and it shows. It's slick and easy to use.
Apple was a decade ahead of their time when they made the Newton, and unfortunately it didn't fare so well. Now we have the iPod touch, and the promise of an easy-to-use, touch-based computer that fits in a space smaller than a deck of cards has finally come! The iPod touch is the kind of gadget that you hoped and wished for in "the future" when you were watching all those sci-fi movies as a kid. This thing is straight out of the 21st century, and it looks like it. THIS is the cool tech we were expecting as kids in the 20th century! THIS is what we were waiting for!
Well, this and the flying car. Who knows? Maybe some day Apple will go into the automotive business.
Until that day, enjoy your slice of future tech in the form of the iPod touch. This is the best thing since sliced bacon.