PRODUCT REVIEW
10 Days With the Sleek New iPod Touch

We've already seen the basic shape and function of the iPod touch -- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) introduced the first version of the device a year ago, and its overall shape and wide touchscreen design also reflect the popular iPhone. The company could have left the iPod touch alone, at least through the rest of this holiday season, with little risk that any other media player could seriously challenge it. Instead, Apple added several nice physical refinements, some major software-focused upgrades, and then dropped the price.

On their own, none of these changes scream "buy me now," but taken as a whole, the new iPod touch is becoming surprisingly compelling -- even to those who already use an iPhone. Here's why.

It's Sleeker Than Ever

At 8.5 mm, the new iPod touch is actually half a millimeter thicker than the original -- yet it feels thinner than ever. By contouring the edges, Apple's design team has struck upon a "trick of light" for the sensation of touch: if you make the edges thin, the whole thing will seem sleeker in the hand.

For iPhone owners, the iPod touch will likely seem impossibly thin, but its sturdy design with a new stainless steel back lends it some credibility against breakage.

Apple also added external volume controls to the side -- a critical feature for any media player -- and a real speaker. While most users will listen via headphones, the "external" speaker is hidden somewhere inside the iPod touch. There's no noticable speaker port; sounds just emanate from within. The quality isn't designed for listening pleasure, really, but now the iPod touch can be used as an alarm clock on its own, and applications and games can provide feedback without earphones.

The new iPod touch also features built-in Nike + iPod support, but users have to already own or buy a Nike + iPod sensor accessory to place in their Nike + shoe to seamlessly connect with the new iPod touch. The setup then lets you track the distance you've run or sync with the latest gym equipment.

Beefier Battery Life

While you still can't replace your own battery, Apple increased the music playback from 22 hours on a full charge to 36 hours -- a very nice gain. Video has jumped, too, from 5 to 6 hours of playback time.

The gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display still delivers 480 by 320 pixels, and the unit comes in 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB flash drive configurations, which can respectively hold about 1,750, 3,500 or 7,000 songs. Put another way, they'll hold 10, 20, or 40 hours of video, though most users will mix up the content.

Most importantly, Apple has dropped the price by US$70 for the 8 GB, which now retails for about $229. The 16 GB now goes for $299 and the 32GB for $399 -- savings of $100 over the previous generation price points.

Connecting With the Inner Genius

To sync with a Mac or PC, the iPod touch needs Apple's newest version of iTunes, version 8, which is free -- and iTunes 8, it turns out, is the foundation from which things get really interesting with the iPod touch.

First, there's Apple's new Genius feature, which generates playlists of songs that complement other songs. To create a new playlist, all you have to do is select a song, then select the new Genius function, and you're on your way to listening to 25 songs that go well together. Apple has some special algorithm or artificial intelligence cooped up in Cupertino that pays attention to all the opt-in Genius/iTunes users in the world, and apparently it's learning more every day. Either way, in my experience, Genius was pretty smart. If I selected a moody rock tune, I got a playlist of moody rock tunes. A rockin' country song generated a playlist of other rockin' country songs. It did not once, for example, give me an alternative music playlist and accidentally slip in a Christmas song.

Genius is wicked cool. In iTunes 8, it even recommends songs that you might like to buy to add to your collection. It has not only revitalized my music library, it's also led me a to a few new musical gems.

The Killer App -- Thousands of Them

The iPod touch comes with a suite of excellent built-in, mostly self-explanatory applications, like a Mail, a mobile Safari Web browser, Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Weather, Stocks, YouTube, Notes, a photo viewer, a calculator, and of course, music and video playing apps.

This is all well and good, but it's the easy integration -- via a WiFi connection -- to Apple's App Store that sets the iPod touch apart from all other iPods and from the media-playing competition. Many of the thousands of apps and games that run on the popular iPhone also run on the iPod touch. The multitouch interface makes tapping and swiping easy enough, and the built-in accelerometer brings games to life, turning the entire iPod touch into, for example, a steering wheel for racing games.

It is, as Apple says, "the funnest iPod ever."

The App Store is built right into the iPod touch, making it easy to browse and download games -- provided that you've got a WiFi connection. For anyone on the fence when it comes to buying an iPod touch, they should simply check out the App Store in iTunes. There's a great chance they'll find some compelling applications that'll change their perspective on the power of a media player.

Of course, for those who already have iPhones, the iPod touch brings a whole different set of compelling reasons to have one.

The biggest reason is that the iPod touch is not your phone. The iPhone is fantastic with its versatility, but sometimes you don't want to fuss around with taking calls or Airplane Mode, and all you want is a device that plays music, plugs into your home or car stereo system, or lets you watch a movie in peace. Sometimes it nice to walk away from an iPhone and still have the best media player around.

The Touch Is Not an iPhone

While Apple did pull a switcheroo by moving an audio-in connection to the headphone port of the iPod touch, it's not yet designed to function like a phone. At some point in the future, Apple may introduce a WiFi calling feature, but the company either isn't ready with the technology, or it's not ready to irritate its brand-new iPhone cellular service partners. But all that is just a side note. The point is, the iPod touch is missing two major features that the latest iPhone enjoys -- built-in GPS and telecom-based mobile data services. The GPS can pinpoint your location, whereas WiFi can only poke at the general spot. And roaming takes on a whole new meaning when you're out in the middle of nowhere and can still download e-mail through a cellular service provider's tower.

The iPod touch also doesn't have a built-in camera, but this isn't such a big deal considering the fact that the iPhone's piddling 2 megapixel camera sucks so badly.

But still, those are the key differences.

Overall, the iPod touch's thin and lightweight size make it a surprisingly capable workout companion, and the large screen turns it into an amazingly fun to use media player. On top of all this, it'll run enterprise-class business applications ... and games from old-school "Ms. Pac-Man" to "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed." The touchscreen is intuitive, the price is a heckuva lot more palatable, and you can turn it into a killer remote for iTunes and your Apple TV.

Like the iPhone, the iPod touch is not really just a device -- it allows you to add up pieces of the Apple universe and create something customizable to meet your needs and interests. The iPod touch is so much more than the sum of its parts, and with the new third-party cases coming out for it, you really can't go wrong with one.