Apple iPod Touch

I really like most elements of the touch interface. It's like working with butter. But I do have a wish list of future software upgrades. Hopefully someone in the flag ship will read this;

- Better interface for moving backward and forward while listening to audio tracks. I really miss the ease of doing this with the Nano. When listening to podcasts or audio books I sometimes like to move back slightly to hear something again. With my fat fingers, it's a crap shoot getting to were I want to go.

-better volume adustment control. Again, fat fingers make that little handle jump all over the fricken' place.

-some settings should be inside whatever program you're using. ie..Equilizer should be a button on the audio screen.

You guys are all idiots. So what, they didn't put speakers on the iPod Touch. Go buy a piece of crap Sandisk MP3 Player if you don't like it. Apple is, by far, THE BEST electronics distributer on the market. Also, you couldn't add calendar items because you didn't wait a week for the update! You guys are impatient, ignorant idiots. Show a little respect for what these guys make. Its not like you can make something even remotely close to this piece of technology...

Got my Touch two days ago. I am loving it! So what if it doesn't have email?

David: Would you buy the iPod touch if it didnt have Wifi?

All I initially hopped for was an iPod with the wide screen touch interface the iPhone has. I feel the WIfi was a big bonus and opens the door for much more.

We all know Wifi was added to simply add access to the new Wifi Music Store. The browser added to login to secure locations. Should we be that disappointed Apple didnt add email and the other software features the iPhone has? I THINK YES!!! Now that we have Wifi, let it set us free!

The browser was mainly put on the device to access Secure wifi hotspots!

Many wifi hotspots require you to login via. web browser. Some require information, others just open a default "You are online at Panera Bread!" page.

Without the browser, its very difficult or impossible to access hotspots at many locations.

Im extremely confident we will see an email application along with 3rd party application development for this device in the near future. Maybe not directly from Apple Inc. but from the iPod touch DEV Team.

Speakers: Will be an add-on device like other iPods

Fortunately my laptop weighs 5 lbs. and my girlfriend's tablet laptop weighs only 4.5 lbs. It's never been a problem for either of us.

It most certainly is a benefit when your laptop is a 17" monster that weighs over 9lbs. A 3.2ghz powerhouse, but is killer on the lap. I love surfing wifi on my wifes' iPhone just to see what's going on, make a quick post, or check other sports scores.

As for email, it is important to understand that this is a evolution of the media player, not meant to be a data device. Like I said, if you absolutely need to check email while sitting on the couch, use the browser and navigate to your providers web page. Works great.

"Regarding why put a browser on the media player, I think it was done as an added bonus to the iTunes WiFi capacity that was implemented."

I do not see how my opinion above supports the notion that a media player should be used as a laptop or desktop replacement for a home or office location, but I can assert that this is NOT what I meant.

To elaborate, my suggestion about the browser being an added bonus was with reference to being exclusively out and about. To me, it is not an added bonus when one is home or at office as there is waaaay to much easy access to browsers with FULL functionality and waaaay faster internet to mungle around with a portable browser that has a fraction of the speed of a laptop or destop for Internet browsing and a fraction of the functionality. That is just my opinion though, as I stated earlier.

I do agree with your other points though, especially when you look at the price-point that this device is comming in at.

Regarding why put a browser on the media player, I think it was done as an added bonus to the iTunes WiFi capacity that was implemented.


CASE POINT

No problem Dave. One would be surprised as to just how dependent all technology is on Physics. (100% dependent =O) Contrary to popular belief, it was Physicists who were the true fathers of the Internet not Al Gore. lol (Internet as we know it was created by Physicists at CERN in 1990)

Regarding why put a browser on the media player, I think it was done as an added bonus to the iTunes WiFi capacity that was implemented. This is something that MS missed out on BIGTIME. They could have been true innovators and had the Zune Marketplace accessible via a WiFi internet connection way back when... I mean for craps sake, they all ready implemented the WiFi in the device, how much more would it have taken software-wise to achieve that goal? It is odd that MS appears to be taking a backseat to innovation and only jumping on the bandwagon after other companies forge the way. (Kind of frustrating considering their capacity to actually come forth with innovations of their own!)

My only gripe is the price-point for this device. Again, just waaaay to expensive for its amount of features in comparison to other technologies out there with similar price-points and a bundle of more features. That's my take on it.

Regarding extra software features, email client etc...Chris put it exactly as I would have. It is just a media player. This device is not a laptop replacement, how much can you expect it to do? Why would anyone who is at home need to use an iPod or iPhone for Internet if they have a laptop??? Does not make sense to me to loose all of that functionality for just a couple of rooms (if even that much) worth of traveling. I mean these devices are made to give functionality when one is out and about, not to be laptop or desktop replacements for office or home bases. ;P

Regarding the speaker, I would say that iPods have never had speakers so as far as people looking to upgrade or even consider this device against most media players it is not a loss at all.

I agree with JN regarding the cover flo rotation point, from what I understand the accelerometer is designed to work with gravity. That would mean that it is not going to work properly if the plane of rotation is not as close as possible to being perpendicular to the ground. The more the plane of rotation is parallel to the ground the less likely the device will be able to pick up the rotation. The only way to get around that would be to have some mini gyroscope implementation inside so that you could have a 3D reference point to determine when the device is being rotated in any given plane.

phys thanks for your physics lesson.

Also on your comment about the laptop then why put safari on the media player...

I like the look of the Touch i have to say but the speaker is a bad ommission in my opinion. Also yeah an email client would have been great but its a media player at the end of the day so its not that bad.

While I can understand why a speaker was left out, (after all look how damn thin that thing is), I can't understand why there was no physical volume controls. Dave, you should have shown in the review Apple's method of double (or triple) clicking the home button even from suspend mode to bring up the volume controls. That feature will almost certainly be brought over to the iPhone.

As for the email, I don't really care for that feature, regardless of whether or not it has wifi. If you really want email, go to the providers web client to view it. As for weather and stocks, no big deal either. If anything, I am positive that the hacking community will find ways of adding that in the future.

Also Dave, your display of the cover art was a bit misleading. Not even the iPhone rotates the cover art when the device is laying flat on a table.

Well it is definitely the best iPod out there. Leaves the previous version in the dust. I would say that this media player is what a true upgrade is all about. (Not just one, but many steps forward.)

Wow, you would think they would improve from the iPhone and not actually go backwards.....