[sandbag1]

They both have a 3.5" screen.

[neil74]

I have been pretty scathing over the lack of memory in the touch but now the dust has settled I am looking at it a little more objectively. I have been focussing on September as the time I would be updating my pod and was expecting a widescreen one with ample storage. I was disappointed and still am.
I still think that 16gb is not enough but when you look at the other options assuming there is nothing else due to launch it still looks the best bet for the next year at least.
So despite my initial disappointment I may still buy a touch and if I do I will have to change how I manage my music and video and maybe remove all the filler tracks when I sync and only upload the movies/TV shows as I need them. I would however probably keep my 5.5 g pod too and may end up having nominal music on the touch and keeping all of my music on my old pod.

[smax013]

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They both have a 3.5" screen.

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First of all, both having a 3.5" screen does NOT mean that they have the same screen. The 3.5" screen means that the diagonal measurement is 3.5 inches. It does not mean that the length and width are the same. As an example, look at current 20" "widescreen" format monitors and compare it with a traditional 20" monitor. They are both 20" monitors, but a physically different in length and height (and thus, screen aspect ratio).
Second, I will note that both screens are listed as 3.5" screens with the same 480x320 resolution, but the iPhone is listed at 160 dpi while the iPod Touch is listed at 163 dpi. Thus, if they both have the same resolution, then the iPhone has a screen area of about 6 sq. in. and the iPod Touch has a screen area of about 5.78 sq. in. The point is that they certainly appear to NOT be the same size screen, but very close in size...but still not interchangeable.

[smax013]

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I have been pretty scathing over the lack of memory in the touch but now the dust has settled I am looking at it a little more objectively. I have been focussing on September as the time I would be updating my pod and was expecting a widescreen one with ample storage. I was disappointed and still am.
I still think that 16gb is not enough but when you look at the other options assuming there is nothing else due to launch it still looks the best bet for the next year at least.
So despite my initial disappointment I may still buy a touch and if I do I will have to change how I manage my music and video and maybe remove all the filler tracks when I sync and only upload the movies/TV shows as I need them. I would however probably keep my 5.5 g pod too and may end up having nominal music on the touch and keeping all of my music on my old pod.

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People should not get me wrong. I think the iPod Touch is a darn good device. If I were in the market for a new iPod, I would be rather tempted by it. I am merely pointing out that it is disappointing and strange that Apple choose to use the more limiting memory storage medium of flash memory for a device that is by far aimed more at the video watching market than the other iPods when you consider that video is a MUCH more storage intensive medium than music files. It kind of seems like taking a .22 (OK, maybe a 30-30) to go hunting elephants when you should be taking an elephant gun.

[neil74]

I do totally agree but it does seem that I am in the minority in wanting to have my whole record collection and space for movies in one device, most seem happy managing their libraries through itunes, assuming they are not under-cover apple staff that is!
Personally I need (well Ok I don't really need but you know what I mean) a video device for my travels as I travel a lot for work. I have been persevering with the 5.5g pod (which imo only has a 2" screen as almost everything is in wide screen format) but waiting and expecting a new wide screen pod this year.
After looking at it despite it's memory limitations the touch still looks the best fit for me even if I will have to alter how I manage my files (or rather start managing them rather than just dumping them on my pod and forgetting about them) My options really were:
- Buy a large card or 2 and start using my PSP for video. Problem is the battery life is not good enough and the hassle of getting stuff on there is a barrier. Plus IMO the screen is not as sharp as I would like. Having said that this is still an option and I have not written it off yet.
- Carry on with my 5.5g 80gb pod. May have to book myself into specsavers though as those widescreen films and US TV shows do strain your eyes!
- The Creative zen. Too big imo.
As I say despite the lack of memory the touch compares favourably to these options imo.

[smax013]

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But Apple is a form over function company. Their products are rarely the leaders in raw technical specifications. Power takes a back seat to style and usability.
It is a bit surprising there are so many subtle differences between the iPod Touch and the iPhone. That said, perhaps they are minor production revisions that will work their way into future iPhones "unannounced."

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There is a point, however, when form over function becomes a liability. If you get a nice form but have NO "function", then being pretty does not mean squat. To date, Apple has be rather good at not allowing the form to so drive things that function really suffers in a measureable way. While they may not be the fastest or greatest tech spec wise all the time, they tend to still put of rather function devices. The iPod Touch is getting close to that line of crossing over to letting form too much dominate function...I say close, but no over...it is still very functional device, but could have been better for the market that it is kind of aimed at.

[smax013]

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I do totally agree but it does seem that I am in the minority in wanting to have my whole record collection and space for movies in one device, most seem happy managing their libraries through itunes, assuming they are not under-cover apple staff that is!
Personally I need (well Ok I don't really need but you know what I mean) a video device for my travels as I travel a lot for work. I have been persevering with the 5.5g pod (which imo only has a 2" screen as almost everything is in wide screen format) but waiting and expecting a new wide screen pod this year.
After looking at it despite it's memory limitations the touch still looks the best fit for me even if I will have to alter how I manage my files (or rather start managing them rather than just dumping them on my pod and forgetting about them) My options really were:
- Buy a large card or 2 and start using my PSP for video. Problem is the battery life is not good enough and the hassle of getting stuff on there is a barrier. Plus IMO the screen is not as sharp as I would like. Having said that this is still an option and I have not written it off yet.
- Carry on with my 5.5g 80gb pod. May have to book myself into specsavers though as those widescreen films and US TV shows do strain your eyes!
- The Creative zen. Too big imo.
As I say despite the lack of memory the touch compares favourably to these options imo.

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I am not necessarily thinking that the iPod Touch needed to have a HUGE hard drive so that I could have ALL my music and ALL my videos on it. Sure, that would be nice. To me, it is more a matter that 16 gb is just a little bit too little. It is kind of on the boardline between being definitely too small and being about right as a minimum amount of memory. The 8 gb of the iPhone was too small in my opinion if you wanted to do any serious video files and not be swapping in and out video files all the time...which is another reason why the iPhone did not appeal enough to me. 16 gb is definitely better. You could have a pretty impressive music collection that takes up about 5 or 6 gb and still have room for about 10 or so movies (depending at what rate their were ripped/created) or maybe a full season or so of a TV show. But, if you are going to be gone for a long period of time and won't have access to your computer to sync in different stuff, that could be not enough. And it is still bordering on the rather frequent need to be swapping in and swapping out content. On the plus side, iTunes does make it rather easy to swap in and out stuff...it is just a function time...and that is where videos present the other slight challenge. It will take decent amounts of time if you are swapping in and out videos (i.e. syncing much more data).
I agree that it is a rather neat little device. As I said, if I was in the market for a new iPod, I would be rather tempted, even if the 16 gb seems limiting. Maybe by the time I am ready for a new iPod, the iPod Touch will have been updated to some more reasonable storage capacity. Until then, I will trudge along with a generation 5.5 iPod Video with its 2 in screen. I suppose if watching video on the iPod is THAT important to me, then I could get some of those little TV/virtual world type glasses that work with the iPod...or get a larger screen accessory that the iPod can work with to give me a 5" to 7" screen. But, I don't travel enough to warrant such things (although the goggles/glasses thing looks really neat and I am tempted being a person that likes electronic toys...boys and their toy! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif ).

[RichL]

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Would I highly prefer and pay up to $100 extra for a 32GB iPod touch? It wouldn't be a "no." I think, I will be happy with the 16GB until my next upgrade ( purchase ).

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So I guess you are buying an iTouch??
I have the cash...waiting and reading.
I wish it was 32GB...that would have made all the diff to me.
RichL

[PITBULL831]

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Would I highly prefer and pay up to $100 extra for a 32GB iPod touch? It wouldn't be a "no." I think, I will be happy with the 16GB until my next upgrade ( purchase ).

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So I guess you are buying an iTouch??
I have the cash...waiting and reading.
I wish it was 32GB...that would have made all the diff to me.
RichL

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Yeah im the same way right now ... I want to buy the iTouch , but there are a few things in the back of my head that makes me think twice ...
1. The memory is on fact 32GBs would have been perfect , and the fact that this is the first iTouch to hit the market I would really hate myself buying it now and have APPLE come out with a new one 3 to 4 months later ...
2. There are a few features that the iPhone has that APPLE didn't put in the iTouch that i felt that would have been perfect for the iTouch . With out those features and with out knowing if apple would support adding features later on with the iTouch makes it harder to choose what to get ...
I guess if Apple added Widgets and where you culd add APPOINTMENTS in the iCal app. It would have been allot easier to make up my mind ... Or at least add in notes while on the go ...

[neil74]

Wow, pretty scathing review over at ilounge, the screen issues could be a show stopper.
I now find myself very frustrated, I want a better portable video solution than my 5.5g pod offers but feel that the touch may have too many crosses and not enough ticks. The problem is that Apple's strategy is clearly flash based with focus on the thinner the better so I doubt they would fatten it up slightly to give us more storage and better batterey life.
It could be that I am now waiting for a non-apple alternative.......

[smax013]

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Wow, pretty scathing review over at ilounge, the screen issues could be a show stopper.
I now find myself very frustrated, I want a better portable video solution than my 5.5g pod offers but feel that the touch may have too many crosses and not enough ticks. The problem is that Apple's strategy is clearly flash based with focus on the thinner the better so I doubt they would fatten it up slightly to give us more storage and better batterey life.
It could be that I am now waiting for a non-apple alternative.......

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Interesting review...thanks. It further reinforces why I am not interested in an iPod Touch at this point.

[neil74]

The sad thing is that despite all of this I will still find it hard to resist!one
Sony where are you when I need you?

[smax013]

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The sad thing is that despite all of this I will still find it hard to resist!one
Sony where are you when I need you?

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I found that actually trying one out at the Apple Store this weekend helped me resist. I was NOT that impressed with the screen and did not really like the on screen keyboard. Couple that with my already disappointment with the storage capacity and I was not tempted too much after that visit. If I had a more constant need to watch video on a such a small device, I might be more tempted. But, my rather infrequent use of video on my current 5.5 iPod Video definitely causes me to not be too tempted. I find the iPod Touch a nice idea, but rather poor execution in the end.
And the visit to the Apple Store definitely reinforced to me that my decision to upgrade my Treo 650 to a 755p rather than an iPhone to be the right choice for me. My dislike for the on-screen keyboard of the iPod Touch helped make that clear...in addition to my previous disappointment in not having third party apps for the iPhone or an user swappable battery or use as a modem for a laptop.
So, I will stick with my Treo 755p for my smartphone and my 5.5 iPod Video for my iPod/MP3 player and be rather happy with my decision.
Now, if I had cash to burn, then I would likely get an iPod Touch...more because I am a tech toy junkie! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[RichL]

I think I'll take a wait and see attitude...I admit it's tough. I have the cash and have been waiting for a true video iPod.
The screen thing worries me....