AT A GLANCE
- Retina display (same as iPhone 4)
- HD video recording
- Game Center
- 8GB (but available also in 16 & 32GB sizes)
When I first got my hands on the iPod touch a few years back I thought it would be very difficult to improve on it. How do you better something that's already so close to perfection? The iPod touch already had a reputation for being an incredibly good-looking portable media player (music, photos and video) that doubles as Internet device that's also capable of web-browsing as well as offering access to the applications that make Apple gadgets so popular - all of which is tied together with the brilliant touch screen experience that Apple fans cant seem to get enough of.
So it was a bit of a surprise that the fourth generation iPod touch completely overwhelmed me with its new spec and feature list – it somehow manages to be slimmer in looks than ever before, yet Apple has managed to cram more functionality into this device than I thought was possible.
The latest iPod touch has the same display qualities as the new iPhone 4, and you'll be dazzled by the Retina display, made up of a 960×640 pixel resolution viewing-estate. This means that whatever you're viewing on your iPod (be it photographs, web pages, videos or games) the visual affair will be eye-pleasing. This little media player also runs the same A4 Apple processor as the iPhone 4, which makes it capable of high-powered tasks like recording 720p HD video and burning through apps and games with ease.
There's been a lot of fuss about the Touch having camera capability and it seems like the idea of an iPod with a camera has been a long time coming. The iPod Touch has a rear camera that's capable of 720p video - and you should just note that this means that its maximum resolution is 1280 x 720 -- and when it's used for still photos, that resolution becomes 960 x 720 (that's a 720p at a 4:3 ratio). The camera is also fixed-focus rather than auto-focus, and I was disappointed to see a lack of flash. But the fact that there's built-in basic editing and the ability to share to YouTube instantly is no small consolation prize.
Just in case you thought that was all, there's also a second camera around the front – a VGA camera that's similar to that of the iPhone, and it's perfect for on-the-spot snaps. Obviously video quality is more impressive than stills, but this could have been due to the added element of novelty that was the video chat facility. FaceTime feels natural and useful on an iPod Touch and it's a nice alternative to keeping in touch with distant family or travelling spouses, as this is an easy virtual face-to-face communication solution that doesn't require Skype or USB webcams.
Much hype has also been made about the Game Center on iPod Touch. That A4 processor combined with the Retina Display makes the iPod Touch the ideal portable gaming device. The three-axis gyroscope and multi-touch support makes for an incredible hands-on gaming experience and with access to thousands of apps and games in the App Store, you'll soon have very busy gaming fingers.
I'm thinking of getting myself one of these, purely because I love the camera apps for iPhone and iPod, and I don't think I can be persuaded to choose an iPhone over a BlackBerry - so the iPod touch will give me everything I need, which is basically the iPhone 4, without the Phone.
Turn ons:
- Same processor as the iPhone 4, which makes everything run smoothly
- Video chat (Face Time) is well executed and very useful
- Retina display is simply superb
Turn offs:
- The chrome-finish backplate that attracts smudges, fingerprints and scratches by just looking at it
- Still photographs are not as high-quality as those we've seen taken with the iPhone
Impressive specs:
- Super-fast A4 processor
- 960 x 640 Retina Display
- 720p HD video recording
- 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
