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 $114.98 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) [Previous Model]
Customer Review: Excellent Multimedia Device!
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros:
-Multi-touch navigation
-Incredible thinness
-Nice, 3-inch screen
-Wi-Fi
-Great video quality
-YouTube
-Mobile OS X
-18 Languages Supported
-Thousands of applications at App Store
-Average sound quality
-Great iTunes software
-Speakers
Cons:
-Ultra fingerprint-prone aluminum backing
-Terribly scratch-able backing
-Hard to use keyboard
-Speakers have under OK audio quality, but too quiet
-Apps are very expensive at times
Summary: I had purchased my first generation Touch a week before this new second generation was released, but I was able to return it to my local Target.
Physical Specs
The entire front is just a beautiful, big, 3 in. screen. There are only three buttons, a small circular home button on the front, useful volume controls on the left side, and a power button on the top. It is only 8.5 mm thin, 4.3 in. in height, 2.4 in. in width, and 4.05 oz. Although thicker than the first generation, the contoured edges and curves, it feels even thinner and feels better to grasp. On the back there is Apple's signature aluminum backing that wraps around the front for a nice chrome bezel. I was disappointed at first for replacing the nice dark rim, but the new rim is thinner and looks better than the iPhone. On the upper left there is a newly shaped Wi-Fi antenna. It is shaped like a oval and is more attention grabbing to me. Although you can see yourself with the reflective backing, after a week of use, you won't be able to. Even putting it on any surface, the back will gain a couple scratches. Coupled with the greasy smudges produced by your fingers, the backing is a sight for sore eyes after a month of use. I suggest an invisible shield.
I remember watching scratch test videos online for the indestructible first generation screen. I was amazed. I was soon amazed with the screen so I never put a screen protector on. There were no scratches. Unfortunately after a week I got the second generation iPod Touch, there was already a scratch. No biggie, right? It's very small and all, but if you go to a bright graphic, it clearly deteriorated the screen around it. The home button also has a much cheaper feel. The click feels completely different, and the sound it produces does not sound good.
On the side there are volume controls that are quite helpful. Unfortunately, they are not very easy to click. Interestingly, if the iPod is switched to landscape mode, the volume controls don't switch with the direction. In other words, when tilted, the left volume control would raise the volume, and the right volume control lowers it. I wouldn't think of it as a bad thing though, just personal preference.
At the bottom there is a USB connector for syncing and charging, and one headphone jack. There is also an internal speaker that seems to have audio coming from the USB connector.
Software and Performance
With a mobile version of OS X, it is just like the iPhone without the phone features. Released with the new product was software version 2.1. Everything is done by navigating with touch, and is very simple and fun to use. Multi-touch is also possible on the BEAUTIFUL screen made of glass. Audio is average by headphones, but only if the dreadful provided earbuds are replaced. The internal speaker doesn't sound like complete crap, but is so quiet, the only way to hear it is to have no ambient noise. Video quality is beautiful and sharp. Movies, TV shows, and music videos can be bought from iTunes at reasonable prices.
An Application store was released from software version 2.0, and allows further customization with applications such as games, utilities, and many other possibilities. Official game licenses release games, like EA, THQ, and Namco. Games are full-length, and sometimes look very nice. The Accelerometer is sometimes used to a fun advantage, and touch is mostly how everything is done. Applications range from many types, such as:
Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Games, Healthcare and Fitness, Lifestyle, Music, Navigation, News, Photography, Productivity, Reference, Social Networking, Sports, Travel, Utilities, and Weather.
Unfortunately, developers of these applications can only configure things inside the application, and nothing to change the actual operation of anything outside the application. These apps definitely make this a deal-maker.
Battery life is very good, rated life of 36 hours of audio, and 6 hours for video. There are also preloaded applications, such as: Mail, Calender, Clock, YouTube, Photos, Weather, Maps, Stocks, Calculator, Notes, Contacts, The App Store, and the iTunes Store. All do what their names inform you of. Safari is very useful, but only if you have a Wi-Fi connection. Mail is just POP or IMAP email that is OK, but is not viewable by landscape. YouTube is just YouTube, but doesn't feature EVERY SINGLE video. Although I'd say 99% of YouTube's database of videos will be found on this Wi-Fi application. iTunes Store is a Wi-Fi music store, and the App Store is the mobile Application Store.
Conclusion
If you have the iPod Classic and have the money, I would still definitely recommend this media device. With so many features, I wouldn't consider it as just an MP3 player. Although it does have some build faults, I REALLY recommend the 2nd generation iPod Touch.
It is a totally unique iPod with a plethora of features, combining simplicity and innovation to a revolutionary level.
Customer Review: The search for the perfect portable radio
Summary: 5 Stars
Summary:
Xm & Sirius great but personal portable radio models are way too expensive for the technology you get. Slacker G2 good concept but too new with inadequate support and bugs not worked out. iPhone/iTouch I am the happiest. Read on for more detail:
I first started with satellite radio xm to be exact.
What I like: unlike an iPod you can unlimited streaming music. And a selection of 100's of radio stations to choose from. And what was really great was based on what model of handheld you have you could store your favorite songs and make playlists right from the unit. And you get all this for a quarterly fee of under $40. Also depending on the model you can transfer your own MP3 songs to the unit.
What I didn't like: The portable radios where extremely expensive and low tech compared to an iTouch, or Slacker personal radio. I have owned several models through the years starting Pioneer XM2Go original model which was good. Then bought the Samsung Helix which was more small and compact with more features however lost the tuner cartridge which you needed to get satellite radio and it was just too many pieces to have and lose to make it work. Then my final purchase was the Delphi SkiFi radio. If you are reading this DO NOT BUY THIS! It was complete junk. It constantly froze up worked 25% of the time. Tried updating the software and it did not take. Sat on the phone for 1 hour for tech support and was still on hold. And the reception was horrible in the vehicle. And for paying over $150 and having it less then a year I had enough.
This then brought me to the store to shop for a new xm or Sirius radio. I then was introduced to Slacker radio G2.
What I like: Is that you had streaming music just like satellite radio. However you didn't need a separate receiver to make this happen it runs off wifi. So if you have a wifi connection your good to go and if you didn't have a connection if you where traveling etc. it has 15 hours stored of music for you to listen to. And what was cool was you can make customized radio stations. All you had to do was type in an artist you liked for example Madonna and it would add similar artists you might like such as Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilar, Pink, etc. This was all for free and if you wanted to pay extra you can store songs to and create play lists.
What I didn't like: Of course I wanted it all so I bought the premium plus subscription. What I didn't know was that the G2 was not compatible with Apple computers so if wanted to download my MP3, create playlist, etc. that was not possible with an Apple computer. That's o.k. I had two other Windows based computers. However the firmware that you need with from Slacker would not download on either one of those computers. I tried contacting the tech support however you can only do it via e-mail or chat which is only available during the weekdays. And trying to solve a problem that way can be quite frustrating. I paid close to $180 and for that I should get the service I deserve. I feel the concept of this is good however it's so new and there problems have not been worked out yet and they do not have adequate support. I was at my friend's house and saw her iTouch and for what she paid was close to the Slacker but more function in addition to radio.
So I returned my Slacker G2 because it did not do what it said it was to do and exchanged it for an iPhone.
What I like: It does everything and anytime anywhere no additional gizmos needed. Keep this in mind the difference between the iPhone and iTouch is that the phone of course is a phone but you can get internet wherever you can get phone service and phone plans have a fee. iTouch has all the same options but you need wifi to do any internet functions. I just bought the iPhone because I needed a new phone too. So in addition to streaming radio you can get other applications like facebook, podcasts, games, etc. There are so many to choose from, some of them are free, some of the are not. It's virtually a personal computer in the palm of your hand.
What I didn't like: I can still use Slacker streaming radio however you can't save or store songs you have to purchase them from iTunes then make a playlist. And battery life isn't the longest but what do you expect with all you get?
Customer Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
There are numerous extremely well-written and thorough reviews of this device on here, so I'll keep this brief. I'm basing this on my iPod 2nd Generation 16GB model that I purchased.
The Good: Although I purchased this device to use solely for music, its online capabilities, and a couple of games, I've ended up having a freakin' blast with this thing! It's intuitive and extremely easy to navigate. Being a musician, I had no idea how many cool apps were out there for this thing! Virtual guitar, keyboard, drum, etc. applications that - while you can't use them like their full-blown relatives - allow you to expand on an idea or just see how one works out when you're out and about, sans instrument! This - in and of itself - is worth its weight in gold. I won't go into all the applications there are, because I'd be here all day. Case and point, the appliations make this device worth so much more than I could've imagined. Although I could certainly have leveraged 32GB (I'm one of those guys with about 4TB of data between movies, games, music, etc.), I've found 16GB to suffice quite nicely! Oh, and jailbreaking the device is really simple, so long as you make sure you know what you're doing. Although I work in tech. support and am a very tech-savvy individual, I read up on it for an hour or two prior to doing it (on Vista x64, no less, which is the least optimal environment at the moment for jailbreaking, lol).
The Bad: As far as the device itself goes, the only, "bad" thing I can think of is an issue I've noticed others have had: applications randomly quit working. You'll go to load a purchased application and just before it starts loading its data, it'll kick you back to the home screen. Solution: After you've synced your applications in iTunes, delete the applications you've downloaded (on the home-screen, press and hold on any icon until they all start wiggling, then click the X's with circles around them to delete) that are effected, then re-sync your iPod with iTunes and they should reinstall and work just fine!
You can't create playlists within the device; you have to do it from iTunes. I don't really leverage playlists, though, so I have no isssues with this. My problems from here on out have nothing to do with the device itself, but rather, iTunes. First of all, it can take FOR-EVER to transfer MP3's to your iPod, due to iTunes', "feature" where it makes it so that songs have gapless playback. It pisses me off that Apple doesn't allow that functionality to be disabled, but I'm just one in a long line of people on that bandwagon. Also, I've noticed iTunes hangs a LOT for no apparent reason. I've even given ALL Apple processes running the highest priority below, "realtime" and it STILL hangs! This is on a powerhouse dual-core x64 machine with 4GB RAM, so I have the resources.
Anyway, my main gripe is with iTunes and its interaction with the iPod.
The Beautiful: The device itself. The interface, its usability, its exterior... Apple tries hard to focus on the UI and UX of its products and this device is exemplary of how they succeed.
Overall: 5 Stars! I'm a technophile, so I'm used to the notion that not all devices coming off the same production line will act exactly the same in any and every scenario. Though I've had the application issue once and iTunes is a fairly horrid application most of the time, I don't deem either to be a reason to rate this any less than 5 stars. Why? Because the good WAY outweighs the bad... for me, at least.
This rating has been brought to you by an avid Microsoft fan. I don't partake in the OS Wars (I think they're stupid; use what works for you and I'll use what works for me and we're all happy), so I'm giving Apple credit where credit is certainly due. I absolutely love my Zune, but I think I'll start calling it, "Woody" and my iPod touch, "Buzz Lightyear". lol. (Toy Story reference, if you have no idea what I'm referencing)
-Stephen
http://www.uxevangelist.net
Customer Review: My very first 5 Stars
I just lost my iPod virginity. I was never a fan of Apple. I thought that Apple was a complete rip off, too expensive, and too restricted. That all changed when I bought the 16gb. I gave in to the whole iPod mania. It is an extraordinary piece of technology. I would recommend buying the 16gb or 32bg, because during setup it uses 1.5gbs.The look and feel of the Touch is great. Fits perfectly in your hand. Its very light weight and the screen size is perfect. Now yes, it is a smudge magnet. I've read some of the other reviews and the same thing everyone complained about is that it smudges too much. Of course it does, if you have dirty greasy fingers, its gonna leave finger prints all over the screen. Apple included a cleaning cloth. Wipe it off and stop bitching about. I would recommend a case for the Touch, it does scratch very easily.
The sound is great. Some of the other reviews said its not the best, I beg to differ. It sounds like any other mp3 player. I have the Creative Zen, (which is great if your looking for a very basic mp3 player) and it sounds exactly the same. I don't know what some of the other reviewers were expecting, the sound is good enough for me. Now, the speaker. Its pretty umm, not good, I don't wanna say bad, its just the speaker isn't useful for playing music. I wouldn't use it for playing music because its not loud enough, it sounds like its going to bust, and its very distorted. Its good for the alarm, email alerts, games, but its not good enough to play music on.
The music is great. The way the player is setup is something ive never seen. Tilt the screen sideways, you have coverflow, just slide through album covers. Tilt it upwards, you can scroll through songs, or artists, or play lists. The genius play list I don't care for. There's no point of it. I don't need it to randomly pick songs when im listening to one song. Its seem to be a version of the shuffle feature. The volume buttons are on the side, you can use it whenever your browsing through the Touch. No need to go to the player page and adjust the volume on the screen, just use the button on the side.
Wifi. If you really wanna enjoy the whole experience of the Touch, you have to have wifi!! I know some people who don't have wifi, and only use it for the music, which makes no sense. You need a router, you don't have one, get one before buying the Touch. The wifi is probably the most important feature in the Touch. You can do so much with it. Email, Youtube, Safari, AppStore, itunes store, Maps, Weather. Without wifi, you will have a very boring and pointless Touch.
Safari is really good. You can stroll through all websites. It doesn't support Flash, which sucks, that would have been great. Maybe the generation of Touches. Not much to say about the safari, its just the internet. Youtube! Works very well. Search any video as you normally would on the computer, watch anything you want on youtube. Email, check email, sent or receive. I have aol email setup on the Touch and its pretty damn good.
Now App Store and iTunes music store. I would recommend buying a prepaid itunes gift card. You will get addicted to buying songs and games on the Touch. Limit yourself when searching the iTunes store. The whole entire library of music is in your hands. Downloading music is very fast and again, addictive. There are tons of FREE apps available in the App Store. I have Myspace mobile, Facebook, AOL radio, (yes real streaming radio, and it has local radio stations) iTv, and sooo much more. Tons of games, a lot of them are free.
I don't know what else to say I know im leaving out a lot, (Nike, if you don't have the right Nike shoes and don't run, then there's no point of the Nike feature) and probably most of you didn't read the whole review. It's a great mp3 player that does everything.
In simple words for those looking for an extraordinary mp3 player:
iPhone - AT&T = iPod Touch.
Customer Review: Solid New Features + More Affordable
Summary: 5 Stars
The iPod Touch debuted only one year ago, and this is the first update. I was excited to pick up the new iPod Touch at the Apple Store because I had never owned a first generation, though I do own iPhones.
I want to concentrate primarily on the new features:
First, physical volume buttons are now placed on the side of the iPod Touch as they are on the iPhone. This is very convenient. It allows you to adjust the volume of your music, without having to pull the entire device out of your pocket and activate the screen. A time saver.
Second, many people requested a built-in speaker for the iPod Touch like is available on the iPhone. Apple listened. However, there is one important point to make on this! The iPod Touch is incredibly small, and Apple is forced to put an incredibly small speaker. The speaker in the iPod Touch sounds worst than the speaker in the iPhone. I have compared it side by side, and it's fairly significant, and the iPhone speaker isn't that great to begin with. However, in a quiet room, the speaker is still useful for previewing a song you might want to buy, or for playing games. However, still, if you want great sound, you need to connect your headphones.
Genius - This new feature is really surprisingly good. When you're listening to a song you enjoy, select the genius option. It will create a playlist for you, with songs that go together nicely with the one you started with. It helps you rediscover great music from your collection with a playlist suited to the mood you're in. I didn't think it would do a good job compiling this list, but it has been quite impressive.
Applications - It's great to have the ability to buy (or get some free) applications right on the iPod Touch. Furthermore, with the software update this new iPod Touch comes with, the Application installation process is so much smoother than it had been even on my iPhone. It now works how you want it to, seamlessly. I like having a weather application that includes doppler radar images, and that is free. I also have several games on it. There is a great variety of applications available from hundreds of third-parties right on the iPod itself, so you are certain to find something that interests you. I really like the new release of Spore, for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Apple is really pushing the games and quietly suggest they are challenging Nintendo and Sony. They are innovative and interesting games, but I think they have a ways to go, to challenge those game makers.
Nike + is now built in too, so if you have the shoes and the puck, the iPod Touch is ready to receive the data from it. Battery life is improved to 36 hours audio and 6 hours video according to Apple. I find the audio number fairly accurate if you don't light up the display much, but the video number is a slight bit harder to achieve.
Of course, the new ipod Touch does look and feel even better than the first generation, from my small experiences with the previous one. I also think it feels cooler than my iPhones, but obviously your interpretation may very. I like the metal back on the iPod Touch. It looks classy, though it is prone to scratches.
One of my favorite features continues to be, when in my home on Wi-Fi, to reach down for the Touch, use Safari web browser and look something up. It's great.
Overall, it was a solid update for the iPod Touch. I wish the speaker could be better on it, but I believe that is due to the physical restrictions of the small device. I could have knocked it to four stars for that, but I think most people realize a built in speaker isn't the way you want to listen to most audio on an iPod to begin with. I'm impressed by the second generation iPod Touch, and I think with the third party applications getting better and becoming more popular, more people will consider the Touch.