Apple iPod Touch (second generation, 8GB)

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iPod Touch (second generation)

As the less-gifted sibling of Apple's celebrated iPhone, the iPod Touch has had to work hard to prove itself. Now in its second generation, Apple has finally given the iPod Touch a chance to shine by lowering its price (an 8GB model now runs $229), improving the hardware, and practically doubling the features from last year's original model.

Minor improvements aside, the second-generation iPod Touch hardware is largely unchanged. Both the first- and second-generation iPod Touch share the same dimensions (4.3 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.31 inch), same glass-covered screen (3.5 inch), and same arrangement of headphone jack, dock connector, sleep button, and home button.

Apple's Cover Flow music menu is a bit useless on the smaller screens of the iPod Nano and iPod Classic, but it's a fantastic way to browse music on the iPod Touch.

Features
Priced at $229 (8GB), $299 (16GB), and $399 (32GB), the second-generation iPod Touch still commands a fairly high price compared with other MP3 players with similar capacities. When you weigh the price of the iPod Touch against its features, however, the device becomes much more attractive. Out of the box, the second-generation iPod Touch includes an amazing music player, podcast support, video playback (including iTunes rentals and a YouTube player), a Safari Web browser, photo viewer, an e-mail reader (compatible with Outlook, Exchange, MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or any POP e-mail service), an integrated Wi-Fi music store, and a host of smaller utilities (weather, calendar, maps, stocks, notes, clock, contacts, and calculator). Provided you can become proficient with its touch-screen keyboard, the iPod Touch is more pocket PC than MP3 player.

As of version 2.0 of Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch firmware, the device's stock features are just the beginning. The new iTunes App Store, accessible from your computer or directly from the iPod Touch, lets users download and install thousands of applications, including Internet radio players, games, voice recorders, and social-networking tools. You can also extend the capabilities of the iPod Touch using third-party "Made for iPod" hardware accessories such as Bluetooth transmitters, audio/video docks, external battery packs, and speaker systems.

The second-generation of the iPod Touch also introduces Apple's new Genius feature, which lets you create an instant 25-song playlists based on the musical characteristics of a single song. The Genius feature is easy to use, and the results are fun, provided your music collection holds enough songs to make interesting connections. You can create and save Genius playlists directly onto your iPod Touch, and with automatic syncing enabled in iTunes you can also transfer them back to your computer. Oddly, the Touch's Genius feature won't work if you haven't enabled Genius on your computer's iTunes software. If you find iTunes' Genius feature too demanding on your computer's resources or too invasive of your privacy (the feature reports your listening habits to Apple), then you'll need to live without the feature on your iPod as well.

Competing MP3 players like the Samsung P2 (right) do an admirable job emulating Apple's touch-screen control. But when push comes to shove, it's easy to tell which of the two companies has more experience with software design.

If you own a first-generation iPod Touch, you can spend $10 to upgrade its firmware to include all of the software capabilities (including Genius playlists) found on the second-generation model. There are three features, however, that you're only going to get on the second-generation Touch: a built-in speaker, Nike+ support, and headphone jack microphone input. The speaker included on the second-generation iPod Touch isn't visible from the outside and its sound quality is far from spectacular. Despite its poor quality, the addition of a speaker makes it easier to play games or listen to your morning podcasts without hunting down your headphones. We're also happy to see the inclusion of Nike+ functionality considering the popularity of MP3 players as workout companions. And if you're interested in making voice memos, an investment in a compatible iPod microphone headset (due out in October) will allow you to make voice recordings directly to the iPod Touch, provided that third-party developers begin creating voice applications specific to the Touch.

We're still disappointed that the iPod Touch still can't stream Flash video or audio content through its Safari browser; however, many of the Web's more popular content providers are working around the problem by creating specific App Store applications for their content (Pandora Radio and vSnax video are prime examples). We also can't help but crave the camera and GPS capabilities included on the Touch's close relative, the iPhone 3G. With any luck, a third-party manufacturer will step in with some clever accessories.

iTunes Wi-Fi
Both the iPod Touch and iPhone let users browse, preview, purchase, and download music from the new iTunes Wi-Fi music store. The store is limited strictly to music downloads--no movies, TV shows, podcasts, or games--at least, not yet. You'll have to hop onto an available Wi-Fi Internet connection to take advantage of the wireless music store, but once connected, you can search for any artist, album, or song in the iTunes catalog, as well as browse by genre, top sellers, featured artists, and new releases. Store purchases require you to enter your iTunes password as a security measure. Once the download is complete, the song is immediately available to listen to and will transfer to your computer's iTunes music library the next time you sync the device. The feature seems to work without any kinks. Even interrupted downloads pick up once a Wi-Fi connection is re-established.

Taking some design cues from the Apple iPhone 3G, the second-generation iPod Touch has a rounded back and includes a rocker switch for volume adjustments.

Performance
Having handled our share of touch-screen iPod and iPhone imitators this past year, we've yet to find a product that measures up to the responsiveness of Apple's multitouch technology. Granted, some Web-based applications need a few seconds to warm up, but the majority of the features on the iPod Touch react with an uncanny immediacy and fluidness. Small things such as album cover art that flips over to reveal track listings, menus that scroll with artificial momentum, and photos that resize with a pinch of your fingers, all illustrate an attention to detail not offered by the iPod's competitors.

For reasons known only to Apple, the obsessive detail poured into the iPod's design doesn't translate into audio performance. The barrage of sound enhancement settings packed into MP3 players from Sony, Cowon, and Samsung, are in stark contrast to the unchanged and marginally useful list of EQ presets included on the iPod. That said, the balanced and smooth audio quality of the iPod Touch is likely to satisfy the majority of listeners, despite the limited scope of its audio control. Like all iPods, the second-generation iPod Touch supports playback for MP3, AAC (including protected files), Audible, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless. There's still no support for WMA music files, but you can always convert your WMA tracks to MP3 within Apple's iTunes software.

If you are looking for a way to take video on-the-go, the iPod Touch has a lot to offer. You can load the iPod Touch with video podcasts, TV shows, and iTunes movie rentals, or watch endless amounts of free video clips using the included YouTube widget. Viewing angles on the second-generation iPod Touch seem better than the previous model, while color balance and brightness seem about the same.

Apple rates the new iPod Touch at 36 hours for music (up from the first-generation's 22 hours) and 6 hours of video (up from 5 hours). Our CNET Labs found the second-generation iPod Touch realistically capable of 38 hours of music playback when Wi-Fi is turned off, or 35 hours with Wi-Fi turned on.

Video battery life test results for the iPod Touch are harder to nail down, because of the product's unique auto-brightness sensor and battery management features. Bearing this in mind, our lab team tested the iPod Touch with Wi-Fi switched off, screen brightness set at half, and the auto-brightness sensor deactivated, and reached around 4.5 hours of video playback before the screen went to sleep. After waking the screen and resuming the video, the iPod Touch made it to 5 hours before giving its first low battery warning. Then, after tolerating a few more low battery messages and narcoleptic screens, the labs team finally clawed their way to about 5.8 total hours of video playback.

The iTunes factor
Before you run off to buy an iPod Touch, consider this caveat: those who use the Touch (or any iPod) will be required to install and use iTunes. No other piece of software has equaled iTunes in both praise and scorn from CNET's users. Some argue that iTunes is a top-notch media library tool and online music store, while others become infuriated by the software's insatiable demand for system resources and frequent updates.

Whatever side of the iTunes debate you take, know that iTunes 8 is a mandatory install for the second-generation iPod Touch. If you haven't used iTunes before or haven't upgraded the software in a while, we strongly recommend giving the new software a spin before committing to a new iPod.

Is it worth the upgrade?
We think the second-generation iPod Touch is one of the best iPod's ever made. Inside and out, the iPod Touch is in a league of its own in the world of portable entertainment. If you have an old, worn-out iPod, and you're ready to upgrade, we think the second-generation iPod Touch should be your first consideration.

That said, if you already own an iPhone or an original iPod Touch, it would be hard to justify buying the second-generation Touch. Also, if all you really want is a no-frills portable music player, the iPod Touch is probably overkill.

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