So, I got a shiny new 16GB iPod touch for myself, after I found myself iPod-less a few weeks ago. It’s wonderful - it’s such a great portable media device. For some reason, cover flow makes it more fun to explore my music library. It’s helped me rediscover old songs that I haven’t heard in a while and listen to new stuff I forgot I put on there.
It’s nice being able to watch videos on the bus too. It’s annoying to have to convert videos before they’re iPod-ready, but HandBrake makes it easy. I really wish it didn’t take so long to convert videos. If the touch could play DivX and XviD, I would be so happy.
I jailbroke my touch so that I could install applications on it, but haven’t really done much with that yet. Aside from a couple games, I don’t think there’s anything really compelling to install. Why would I want to install Apache on this thing?
I love being able to surf the Internet with it. I can check my email (and, ahem, Facebook) on the go and even watch YouTube videos. It’s amazing how far the iPod has come since I bought my monochrome fourth-generation iPod three years ago.
My only beef with the iPod touch is that there is no tactile feedback. Because all the controls (except the power and home buttons) are virtual, the screen can change to contain the controls you need for whatever you are currently doing, but the downside to this is that you never really know where things will be. Also, you can’t control your iPod without looking directly at all.
I usually keep my iPod in my pocket and when I get to a song I don’t like, I can usually find the forward button to skip ahead, without even looking. With the touch, I have to take it out, unlock it, look for the button and press it. It probably doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it feels like it has gone backwards a bit in this use case, which is a bit annoying.
I’ll live with it though. Overall, the iPod touch is freaking awesome. I’m excited to see the iPhone come to Canada … I am seriously considering getting one.
