Introduction:

its hard to believe that the ipod came out almost 7 years ago (exactly too! i think it was late october 2001 when it first was launched). 5GB-10GB in the first model, with slowly yet steady increases in the capacity and decreases in the thickness all while increasing battery life. im sure most people were (and still are) completely satisfied with the ipod lineup. if you wanted a player with capacity, you went with the ipod classic; if you wanted a much smaller ipod but with a bit less space yet maintaining the same functionality, you bought an ipod nano (or mini at the time), and if you just wanted a mp3 player to listen to a few songs with, the shuffle was a good pick…

but people wanted more then that.

playing music, video, viewing pictures, and playing solitaire or music quiz got old pretty fast (or using the ipod to cheat during quizzes, and yes i know some of you people out there have done it before). people wanted their ipod to have bluetooth (for A2DP), wifi, use the internet, and have a MUCH bigger display that is also a touchscreen…they basically wanted an all-in-one device, and in january 2007, everyone got their wish; because the iphone came out and pretty much revolutionized the phone, music/ipod, and mobile internet industry. but some people didnt want the phone function of the iphone…they were left wondering when and if apple would ever release an “iphone without the phone”. so during september 2007, apple released the ipod touch. they claimed it was a “brand new” product that has never been seen before. steve jobs thought it was the best ipod they’ve ever released and frankly, i agreed with him………..right up until the moment i saw the price and features they obviously left out from the iphone. the first generation ipod touch is complete and utter crap because the second generation ipod touch is probably the best all-in-one device on the market today, hands down.

Looks:

no one can deny that it looks really good, ESPECIALLY compared to the horrid first generation ipod touch. the chromed outline surrounding the screen really compliments the player and i like the way how it doesnt feel as plasticky as the last one. everything feels like it was designed right, with no sign of cheapness anywhere. the previous generation felt as if it was designed in 20 minutes just to appeal to customers “dying” for a ipod touch. even the antenna on this years model looks WAY better and in-place, as opposed to last years randomly and awkwardly placed antenna. the 3.5″ screen is pretty damn good too, even though it is glossy (which i hate), but i can deal with it because its NOT a computer display. the screen is VERY bright even in the lowest conditions and can detect when to turn down (or turn up). the bad thing is that this thing is (as always) still a fingerprint and scratch magnet on the front and especially in the back. you’ll probably want to get a screen protector and case immediately, which again, costs more money. just bundle a case for it apple, or make both sides less prone to scratching and fingerprints.

Sound:

WAYYY better than any ipod ive heard. i dont know if its because my music is all encoded in 320kbps or higher, but nonetheless it sounds great. movies and applications sound great as well. i do wish i had a full adjustable EQ though, compared to the built in ipod/itunes gives you, but im sure since apple only cares about the consumers and not its pro users, they’ll never even bother/consider putting it in.

Interface:

easy to use, very responsive. think of the iphone interface minus the phone. anyone who hates this interface must either A: be a PC person and just feel like hating apple, B: be podar and hate anything apple or samsung related, or C: you are completely arrogant and/or resistant to change. i dont care what the reason is, but this interface is the best out there.

Functionality:

its basically a computer. it has the app store, and/or you can jailbreak the device so you can add and customize it however you want, and with wifi, it just gets even easier to connect to anything. NOTHING out there can compete with this (right now at least). game console emulators? check. SSH into a computer? check. VOIP so the ipod touch is basically turned into an iphone? check. hackable? oh yes.

Drawbacks:

FM radio. okay apple, even the zune has this, and even some cheap mp3 players do too. why the HELL do you need to charge extra for it? if you can fit a nike + ipod transmitter in the touch, you could have easily taken that out (or added alongside) and put in an FM radio instead. why you didnt do that is easy – you want more money. and whats up with charging people extra money for software updates, and leaving the iphone users gloating about it? i have yet to hear a solid explanation, aside from “software updates were included in the purchase price of an iphone”. what the hell does that mean? luckily some VERY generous people posted the 2.0 firmware on torrents so no extra money is needed. the prices for the ipod touch are much better than last year too, which i have almost no complains about except for the fact that 32GB is a little too expensive for everyone (although im sure that wont be the case next year when the prices of 32GB chips drop). lastly, why did you decide to put flash in here? why not put a hard drive version for those people who want the functionality of an ipod touch, but with the storage capacity of an ipod classic? im DEFINITELY sure people wouldnt mind the extra thickness or less battery life either.

Why is this second generation model better than the first generation:

cheaper prices by $80-$100? check.
side mounted volume controls? check.
integrated speaker? check.
nike + ipod built in? check.
genius? check.
WAY more battery life? check.
absolutely nothing removed from the previous generation models except improving on it? check.

Bottom line:

the second generation ipod touch is the best all-in-one device and mp3 player on the market today. with its touchscreen (that’s widescreen thank god) capabilities to how amazing it looks (with a much cheaper price to boot), the second generation ipod touch is what the first generation ipod touch should have been. its just a culmination of all these little things that other companies have done before (including apple itself), but its that extra 10-20% that apple does to make it SO much better.

9.5/10 if it werent for the fingerprint/scratch magnet, STILL no FM radio, charging people for software updates that should be free, but 99% of people wont care, because the device itself is just simply amazing.