iPod Touch official review: Still awesome

Another little detail Apple forgot to mention about the third-generation Touch: The screen quality has improved.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

OK, I know a lot of you out there are beside yourselves with disappointment over the fact that Apple neglected to grace its latest iPod Touch with a video camera. I feel your pain. As a tech journalist and gadget nerd, I'd love nothing more than to gush about how the iPod Touch can record your toddler in HD or bring augmented reality to apps and games. Well, it can't.

It's annoying when wishes don't come true. To objectively write my review, I had to go though all my stages of grief. I stood on the roof of CNET and shouted, "I forgive you, Steve, for not giving the iPod Touch a camera." Well, not really--but I thought about it.

The truth is, the iPod Touch is still the best portable media player out there. No other product is going to give you games, e-mail, Voice Control, video rentals, Bluetooth, Internet radio, YouTube, podcasts, music downloads, video downloads, app downloads, voice memos, and the nearly limitless extensibility provided through apps (including subscription music) and third-party hardware. If you can't find something to love about the iPod Touch, you've seriously have a screw loose.

So, here's my full review of the third-generation iPod Touch. If it looks like the same score I gave last year, you're right...sort of. My score for the 8GB model is a half-star lower to reflect the fact that it lacks the same capabilities as the 32GB and 64GB models. Also take note that I haven't handed down an Editors' Choice award. It still might happen, but I want to see the full extent of what Zune and Archos are cooking up before I start handing out ribbons.

Are you still irate over Apple's unspectacular refresh of the iPod Touch and the unrealized potential of a Touch camera? Pour your pain into the comments section. Just be sure to read my affectionate Zune HD posts before calling me out as some kind of Apple-loving, commie, OK?

Apple iPod Touch (third generation)

[tipoo_]

So will Iphones and Ipod touchs that dont use the new CPU + GPU combination be left behind for some apps?

[TechnoMan475392]

Yes.

[Rod Roddy]

LET'S START THE ZUNE HD CHANT :-D ZUNE HD, ZUNE HD, ALL TOGETHER NOW, ZUNE HD, YOU TOO GRANDA MA, ZUNE HD...

[1812dave]

As a second gen Touch owner, it's simple: Apple won't be getting a few hundred bucks from me for a 3rd gen because there's no compelling reason. If it had a camera (still AND video), high def output, GPS, I'd be all over it in a minute and since my wife pretty much gets whatever I get, that would have been another $800 in Apple's coffers. But noooo....they didn't come through. Their loss, more than mine. I don't NEED to buy a new Touch, but Apple NEEDS to sell new product or their bottom line suffers, their employees and stock holders will suffer. But hey, that's Apple for you. Arrogant at ever. They love marching to their own pied piper, Mr. Jobs.

[iparadisebeach]

I feel you through your frustration your missing the point to the overall reason and theme to what Apple is doing this year. Everything from product to OS software is a refresh of the base product. This can be summed up in three reasons:

Cost: This is one of the largest. By not throwing a countless number of profit into design and completely new product development Apple saves the amount of money where they spend the most enabling the company to better withstand the continuing downfall of our nation's economy.

Add new customers while not alienating existing ones: Apple learned with the first rollout of the iPhone that simply lowering the price of the exact same spec'd product would cause a personal attack on customers who paid more. So the perfect solution is to up the specs to the same product and lower it's price. And Apple doesn't care about you not spending $399 on a replacement device because that's not what this was done for. Apple wants to ADD new customers to it's AppStore not replace your device. That is a one-time purchase revenue. Apple doubled the iPhone customer base just by doing this exact same system and now collects revenue on it's contract with AT&T and it's devs from AppStore.

The hurt customer: As with any great company Apple understands it's customer. I feel that is the number one reason why they have become so idolized. And understanding that the hurt economy is not their hurt economy it's their customers as well. Employing a totally new device would be a downfall and end up becoming brand damaging in the long run even through a company that is based on highend devices for highend customers. If you really think about it this is probably the best situation for the company and the customer.

[cvaldes1831]

Sorry 1812dave, your opinion doesn't count for much.

Apple rightfully bases most of its decision making on what the mass market wants (they have ample data on that). An $800 uber-iPod touch with everything but the kitchen sink won't attract enough buyers like you to make this a worthwhile investment. The engineering costs woudl be too high, the margins too low.

As a first-generation iPod touch owner, I'm glad that you purchased the second generation because you helped drive innovation. I see your $300-400 as R&D for this new model.

Am I going to buy it? Probably not. I was expecting more (the tech press has already covered this at length and at least one site has teardown photos hinting that a camera was forecasted but removed.

As to your laundry list of wishes (GPS -- despite the fact the iPod touch doesn't have an always-on Internet connection; HD output, etc.), that's a little much to expect after twelve months since your device came out.

It's nice to see that you're passionate about Apple's behavior though. As a shareholder, I count on people like you to post these sort of rantings on public bboards with the hope that Apple marketing folks are reading this.

[EvanSei]

I agree with you I am not updating my touch this year, and I would have if it had a camera, and would be 100% on upgrading if it had an FM tuner and GPS.

[eeee]

So people are starting to understand how they kept seeing the carrot and kept walking like donkies everytime Apple added a small improvement to their initally purposely crippled devices.
Verizon has been doing the same to their stuff (LG EnV EnV2 Env3 and Verizon does not give you the cable and makes that optional or they just activate new features and sell the 2 or the 3 version to new gullibles and some older gullibles)
It is a marketing and money grabbing game

Borgs drones and slaves is what we have beceome as a society tied to these things
For what: to go onto Twitter and see Scwhartzenegger's Conan sword on his twitter??: who cares !!!
Why is any of this important? It aint and hats off to Apple in how they have swayed and droned generations of consumers out of more disposal income..
Peace

[nate0511SrA]

@eeee

At least you didnt copy and paste this time.

BTW you really like Star Trek dont you?

[Jeremy Chappell]

OK, but do you think everyone in the world has a 2nd Gen iPod Touch? There are a lot of people who don't, and might quite like one of these, you know, slight bump to the specs and slightly lower prices - it can kinda make the case for people. So Apple didn't give you a compelling reason to update your player. Isn't that a good thing; $'s still sat in your pocket next to your 2nd gen iPod Touch? I don't quite understand your beef. My advice? Enjoy that 2nd gen iPod Touch until Apple DO give you a compelling reason to upgrade (and they will).

[rangel28]

The Touch does a lot of things, and does a lot of things well, but sound-wise, there are still a number of other MP3 players that are far superior (Samsung, Sony, Cowon, Sansa, etc.). That being said, I love the fact that this has 64 GB and I am hoping the other manufacturers will now come out with 64 GB flash MP3 players.

[capiendo]

Apple needs a worthy competitor to keep them on their toes. Seriously looking at Creative's Zii Egg http://zii.com , it has 2 cameras and 1 of them is HD! +GPS! +SD slot! I think Palm should also get into the game.

[Jeremy Chappell]

Err, are you a developer? If you're an end user then forget it, the device is only part baked. They still seem unsure which OS they're backing (which let's face it, is a bad sign) and what exactly it's for (Is it a Sat Nav on steroids? It is a next gen PDA? Is it a gaming device?)

Does the Zii Egg look exciting? Yeah, looks really exciting, but it needs longer in the oven. This is no iPod killer yet.

[iamwho]

Shrug. Some of us don't need an all-singing, all-dancing, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink device. Me, I just want to listen to music and occasionally watch a SHORT video (watching anything too long on a too small screen is semi-ridiculous). In picking the Creative Zen X-Fi 2, which I pre-ordered from Amazon, while I wish the 3.0" screen was as big as the Touch's, the fact that it offers 32GB for less $$$$$ less than anything Apple (or Sony) offers was the primary driver.

[cvaldes1831]

Yeah, the iPod nano or iPod classic from two years ago would have sufficed for you.

That's fine. "Strictly MP3 players" are dinosaurs in this age, like dedicated word processors were in the early Nineties. Very retro.

[alterwilliam]

you know something, there are so many people on these forums that talk like they're apple representatives. it's kinda weird and creepy. sure, i admire them for their innovation and design etc etc but i don't come to their defense, like cvaldes1831. remember, at the end of the day, they're a giant corporation (has become one) and us, the consumers, should always be criticizing them. and no, by buying its product alone like blind sheep and praising it to high heavens is, if anything, counterproductive. on another note, i am disappointed by the lack of a camera in touch while the nano got a major update. i understand their strategy or maybe it was some sort of production problem but altogether disappointing. however, i still think i am going to buy it just because my 60gb ipod is dying (sooner or later).

[Jeremy Chappell]

I think more and more people want a music player that's got a "zero footprint" that is one that's integrated into something they already carry - a phone. We saw this with the PDA, and we're seeing it again with the music player. Last time I didn't want a PDA on my phone, but you know what? Most people do.

[PeteyBrian]

Consumers have such high expectations of Apple that when they don't make a major improvement to a product iPod Touch, they're more easily disappointed. Price and capacity improvements... Always nice, but definitely no wow factor. It's not like there's any competition, though!

Gotta like the new Nano - FM, 30 fps video, audio recording. Nice. I'd been wanting to pick one up - was considering the new Zune - but the FM and video is enticing me to do so! I hope the next iPhone picks up the FM feature...

[shellcodes_coder]

Waiting for Zune HD, don't want this crap

[Jeremy Chappell]

You'll hate that screen. Seriously, compare them side by side in bright lighting.

[Charbax]

"The truth of the matter is that the iPod Touch is still the best portable media player out there."

As a portable media player reviewer, I wouldn't want to offend you, but you suck.

"No other product is going to give you games, e-mail, (...) voice memos, and the nearly limitless extensibility provided through apps and third-party hardware."

How about VIDEO CODECS for a portable media player! And how about STORAGE for that media! And how about not paying for some overpriced piece of ****.

As an industry analyst, you should know, that ipod touch costs Apple about 100 dollars to manufacture in the slave factories they have in China, and they are selling the crap for up to 400 bucks. Ergo, it's an overpriced piece of crap.

"If you can't find something to love about the iPod Touch, you've seriously got a screw loose."

It does nice multi-touch animations and has some nice fart/beer/star wars animated applications at $1.99 a piece, I give you that.

[audiodonald]

Charbax, I totally hear you on the codec point. But even though I totally wish the Touch could play my "hypothetical" DivX torrents, I'm not going to look past the fact that no other device offers so many streaming video apps or the same breadth of options for direct-download videos, video podcasts, and movie rentals. For most people, the fact that you can download an MLB app to the Touch and stream all the baseball games you want, is drastically more important than Apple's reluctance to support FLAC and MKV.

[hgalal]

You neglected to mention that up until the now imminent release of the Zune HD 32gb @ $279, did Apple charge $399 for the same capacity iTouch (without an OLED screen, top-of-the-line nVidia processor, HD Radio, and HD output).

I've never cared much for Apple's products, in the belief that they were sold at inflated prices. Their recent price drop, on the iTouch, is proof positive.

[b_baggins]

Inflated price is a purely subjective comment. What is inflated to you is reasonable to someone else. This stupid moralizing over what a "proper" price should be is simply an expression of the general economic ignorance that runs rampant through our society today. No wonder people are falling for the moronic "chicken in every pot" and "greedy burgeois" rhetoric coming from our political leaders today. They've been properly primed in ignorance for years to swallow the bilge.

[4dthinker]

So true, yet so boring. Not your post, Donald. It's the Touch that just doesn't thrill me anymore. If only they had improved the codec support for both audio and video. It's the perfect Jack of all trades, master of none device. It may be the funnest player, but it's far from the best music/video/photo device.

[4dthinker]

Well put, Donald.

[shiningdevil]

Why couldn't Apple just sell the 16GB for $229 and drop the 8GB instead? I still don't get it.

[bobbyfly16]

I just want color options, or better etches like the zune gets instead of putting a couple of sentences on the back.

[1812dave]

by cvaldes1831 September 11, 2009 10:15 PM PDT
" Sorry 1812dave, your opinion doesn't count for much.

Apple rightfully bases most of its decision making on what the mass market wants (they have ample data on that). An $800 uber-iPod touch with everything but the kitchen sink won't attract enough buyers like you to make this a worthwhile investment. The engineering costs woudl be too high, the margins too low."

You misunderstood. I meant they lost my $800 by my choosing not to buy TWO Touchs this year--one for me and one for my wife. Nice try though--you expended a of effort arguing against something I never said in the first place!

[b_baggins]

They lost $800 from you and probably gained $30,000 from others. Net gain: $28,200.

If your $800 in lost sales was representative of a large enough segment of the consumer market, Apple would have addressed your concerns.

So, while you may feel morally superior in thinking you are sticking it to Apple, the fact is, you are counted in the group of consumers that fall into the group of "cost of sales is too high"

[Connie_1947]

I am happy Steve Jobs is back. However, he was told Touch is for games.
There is a market for the Touch and games. But think about it. $299 $399
The real market is to grown-ups who want a great PDA, who may also have a game or a puzzle.
I have the education, and the experience, to know there are basically two markets: iPhone for cell phone users and iPod Touch for VoIP, GPS, PDA users.
I am a VoIP, GPS, PDA user.
I know cell phones are "radio" and I know VoIP can be made reasonably secure for business.
I say, the iPhone and iPod Touch should be "fully featured" and let people purchase their preference.

[sjeh04]

I am in shock. A Nano has everything that should have been put into the iTouch iPod. Games? Give the rest of us adults a break. Its the apps, the music, the everything with games as option. I agree: give the customers the choice. Let us choose. I'd take FM and video way before games. I'd take GPS before FM. Maybe Jobs needs to get back in touch himself before he listens to the zunies he has working for him.

[massaad1394]

I'm not really sure the world is ready for touches to have cameras yet though . . .thats almost "too soon"

People still dont' grasp the power of htis incredible device yet.

[mattytechfreak77]

i am a zune fan and i am tirelessly waiting for the release of the zune hd.

yes, the ipod touch is impressive with its touch screen abilities, its application disturbution and video and email possibilities.

HOWEVER what i believe is that because of its early introduction to the world (not even the ipod touch but the ipod itself) it has grown onto those who want an mp3/mp4 player. dare i say this is the main reason that it is even so popular and hold a reputation to those entering the music world.

the reason i am a zune fan is because of, 1) my friend who introuduced it to me and 2) its outstanding underdog status. i DID NOT want to be one of the crowd (as most ipod users are) but yet i wanted to be able to enjoy my music in a unique way.

if i sound stupid, go ahead, critisize me. my feelings towards the zune family are the same as my passion towards soccer: so strong as if it is a part of me. and so i say, good luck you ipod fans!

[feoysolo]

Well I just have to put this out there. I am unashamedly against buying Apple products, not because they don't make excellent products (which they certainly do) but because I don't want to have only one option for a feature ("smart") phone or mp3 player. It seems that Apple has done so well in the mp3 player and phone markets that their products are virtually omnipresent. I want options.

Therefore I will wait patiently (until my patience very nearly reaches its limit) for a real viable alternative to an Apple product and then I will buy it as well as encourage anyone I know to do the same. I am currently awaiting my Zune HD and will buy a Palm Pre and switch to Sprint when my contract with T-Mobile finally ends.

Apple has enough people buying its products. I just want to do what I can to support the competition to help ensure that there is competition and therefore a healthier marketplace both in variety of options and quality of products.

Sorry for the rant...

[mattytechfreak77]

btw is there going to be and sales of the zune hd or zune marketplace availability in other parts of the world like jamaica?

[yrogory]

no, it will not be immediately available outside of the US. It might show up in a slightly modified form in the not too distant future. But for now, Microsoft has stated there is no firm schedule as yet.

[doubleout]

I'm not sure but i think this new version has a built in mifi like tech and it will be available on a new upgrade download soon. Just like the 2nd gent touch which suddenly has the stereo bluetooth. Hmmm. I just wonder..

[FrozenChozen]

I don't know about anyone else but I have been waiting for the camera option, just that, to be the final straw. As soon as one comes out with a camera I will be buying it.