170 of 176 people found the following review helpful:
Beyond All Expectations!
First off, I ordered this on a Monday and it came on Wednesday....using free shipping. Wow! Thanks amazon.
Now onto the product....simple, sleek, amazing. Set up out of the box could not have been easier. Make sure you have the most updated version of itunes onyour computer, plug in the USB cord and you're up and running. Give it a full 3-4 hour charge first...
43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
Would be perfect, except...
I've had this for a week - it's very fun and easy to use. My primary plan is for this to be my MP3 player to listen to podcasts. 8 GB is plenty for me to hold all my music and queue of podcasts, plus some photos and PDA data.
However, there is one design oversight that drives me crazy about it - the lack of a play/pause button and volume up/down buttons. With...
This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
First off, I ordered this on a Monday and it came on Wednesday....using free shipping. Wow! Thanks amazon.
Now onto the product....simple, sleek, amazing. Set up out of the box could not have been easier. Make sure you have the most updated version of itunes onyour computer, plug in the USB cord and you're up and running. Give it a full 3-4 hour charge first time through. Load up your music, pictures, videos. The software is simplicty defined. If you can use a toaster over, you can use this device. The wi-fi immediatley found my home network (and my neighbor's). Setting up email: simple. Surfing the web: simple. And, oh yeah, using it to listen to music (ostensibly what it is for): a lifting and beautiful experience.
Might as well buy this newer version with the new software loaded. With amazon's discount, it only a few dollars more than the old version without the upgrade after you pay for it and upload it youself. Save yourself the hassle and get the new version.
So you know, this thing will get fingerprinted fast. I got a Griffin leather hard shell case with a protective screen cover for about $20.00. A bit pricey but worth it to protect your investment.
I went with the 8 gig verion for a few reasons and it's more than enough space. I am a music nut...I loaded it with more music that I can digest in two weeks and there's still 3 gigs free. Sure I'll eventually fill it (I guess...) but I really don't mind swapping music out for fresh music thereby making my ipod new and fresh again. I also thought if I somehow lose the thing, I'd be out a lot more money with the 16 or 32 gig version. But honestly, it's more than enough space for me.
The one caveat I discovered the hard way: shut off the wi-fi connection when you're not using it. I charged it up, thought I turned it off, and then went to bed. In the morning, the battery was fully drained. Instead of turning off, I only put the unit to sleep. (To turn off, you need to press and hold the sleep button until the power off slider comes on-screen and you turn it off fully.) And while it was in sleep mode with the wi-fi still on, it kept checking my email, etc, thus draining the battery. Just turn off wi-fi when you're not using it and you're battery will keep running.
Concluding, I love this thing, and don't know how I got by without it.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
For those who may be interested in acquiring an iPod Touch as a replacement for a PDA, I have found it to be quite useful. The primary function used in this regard is syncing with Microsoft Outlook, which works flawlessly. Now I can check appointments and find those phone numbers for early morning conference calls without waiting 10 minutes for my laptop to boot up.
The new software improves the functionality by adding the notes capability, and I even find myself frequently viewing video podcasts - something I never thought I would use.
The most important functions for me in a portable device are calendar, music, notes, photos, and Audible book playback, all of which this iPod handles very nicely. I have also used the maps feature for driving directions - load it up while on the home WiFi network, then the directions are retained for reference - in a much more useful format than if you print out the directions on Google. Just bring along a navigator, as I would not recommend trying to read the iPod while driving. The same applies to paper maps, of course.
On the downside, the battery life has not been great - less than two hours if actively using WiFi.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
I almost bought an iPhone, but decided that I wasn't quite ready to ditch my Treo as a primary email device. I'm happy with that decision. The things which put me off the iPhone - the really crappy virtual keyboard and the current lack of applications - are the Cons to the iPod Touch experience too. The keyboard really is awful - I wouldn't type anything of more than three words. It drives me nuts, but maybe my fingers are just too big. And there just aren't enough applications available yet - not even a Task List. But having said all that, the iPod Touch is a beautiful piece of work and incorporates all of the great things which will eventually make the iPhone irresistable. Music functionality is still central, of course, and now with the added bonus that you can download songs directly from iTunes if the mood takes you in Starbucks or sitting on the toilet or wherever you happen to be using this thing within range of a WiFi signal. Video playback is awesome, light years ahead of the tiny screen on other iPods. I'm watching more video podcasts now than I ever did before. Reading email is also great, even though the aforementioned keyboard makes this a better email reader than an email writer. It's very convenient to be able to quickly check your email without having to boot up the computer or rely on your cellphone's slow download speed (WiFi is of course much faster than cellphone data speeds). There's a YouTube application which has a surprisingly large amount of content and can help to kill the time. There are also nifty applications for checking the weather and stocks, and which are hopefully a preview of the same kind of applications to come when Apple allows it. There's also an application for making notes, but for me this is useless unless I want to go nuts trying to use the keyboard. The battery life isn't great, but that's hardly a flaw of this device, more of battery technology in general (and it reminds me of another reason to stay away from the iPhone for now - make a few calls in the airport and wave goodbye to watching that movie on the plane). But overall I give this four stars. The design is simply superb, and it performs most of its core tasks quite excellently. It's not quite ready to replace my PDA yet, let alone my phone, but it's a great little gadget and plaything. If and when there are lots of applications available, and they figure out some kind of alternative to that ridiculous keyboard, and maybe add the ability to swap out batteries, then the Touch or iPhone will defnitely be ready to take over the world. And it goes without saying, this thing is Way cooler than a BlackBerry will ever be.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
You will not regret buying the Touch with the software update - I am very, very happy with mine. Bright screen, world-class fit and finish, pretty good battery life and tons of functionality. Your photos will look great, Gmail is easy, and I have already downloaded a lot of map coverage (which cannot be "synced" onto the Touch as far as I can tell - you have to connect the Touch to the internet thru your wireless). I connected it to my laptop and all of my old iPod Nano music synced onto the Touch in a matter of minutes. Music, photos, e-mail, notes for (eg) a journal plus stocks and weather - the software update Touch has a lot to offer. OK - I do have one complaint and one suggestion - I wish they would have made the backside matte-finished instead of polished - it is really a finger-print magnet. And, I would prefer it to be just a little bigger to make some things (like maps) easier to read. Kudos to J&R Music and Computer too - I ordered this from Amazon but J&R sold and shipped it - it was in Iraq eight days after I placed the order!!
Edited on 03/03/2008 to add: The Touch continues to impress me. You can't really "save" maps on it - but if you place a bookmark at a location then that area and map scale is preserved to use when you are not on-line. G-mail continues to work like a charm. The Touch has easily replaced my old PDA and offers much more functionality.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
I've had this for a week - it's very fun and easy to use. My primary plan is for this to be my MP3 player to listen to podcasts. 8 GB is plenty for me to hold all my music and queue of podcasts, plus some photos and PDA data.
However, there is one design oversight that drives me crazy about it - the lack of a play/pause button and volume up/down buttons. With any other MP3 player, if I need to quickly pause, or to adjust the volume, I could just slip my hand in the pocket holding the player, and easily find the button.
On the Touch, you have to first turn on the screen, then look to see where the button you need is, then touch it. This is a MAJOR pain for an MP3 player. This product desperately needs three hardkeys on the side: play/pause, vol up, and vol down. If it had that, I would rate it five stars. But not having those really detracts from my enjoyment of it.
I'm thinking I might have been happier with the Nano.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
The current (older) 8GB model Amazon sells is only $254. You can buy the iPod software upgrade from Apple on their website for only $20. Total cost of $274.
The devices are the same, just this one comes preloaded with the software upgrade.
A new 32GB model is also available for those who need more space.
EDIT: As of 02-10-2008, Amazon has increased the price of the current 8GB model to $279. The software upgrade will costs $20. Do the math and see which model is cheaper after final total when you go to purchase as the price seems to flucuate daily.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
The Touch is wonderful for web browsing and email on the go with the Apps 2.0 upgrade. Really I cant fault it there. It would be nice if the battery lasted longer when wireless is enabled but that's the worst thing I can say about this device's impressive internet functionality. But for portable music, I went running back to my COWON D2 player. Why? Its impossible to adjust volume or skip tracks without taking the player out and tapping on the screen. Now try doing that while walking around a busy subway at rush-hour. Some mention that you can buy 3rd party headphones that have buttons on the wire, but Apple isnt offering that out of the box. For me this is a major flaw in the design of a portable player. I should mention that the iPhone has buttons for volume. C'mon Apple -- that's not making a lot of sense. At 300 bucks, the Touch is 100 bucks too much, especially since there is no ability to add memory cards to the device to expand storage. It _is_ a cool device for internet but there are better music players out there and they cost less.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
Before my iPod touch, I had a Palm Tungsten E, which worked well enough. But after using my iPod touch, the Tungsten feels like the stone ages!
The touch's interface is snappy and snazzy, and it can do a lot as long as you have access to a wireless hotspot. Google maps can pinpoint your location to within a 100 yards, and can route you to your destination, and even has traffic information!
All your contact and calendar information is identical to what's on your Mac (along with photos), and you can also read and write email. And of course you can surf the web too.
How amazing is all this in a tiny package with a reasonable price?
Not everything is perfect though. It'd be nice to have a To-Do list, be able to rate songs, search through contacts, have all applications handle both landscape and portrait display modes (it's a little annoying to be forced into one display mode or another), and yes, hardware volume controls would have been convenient. But overall, I'm really impressed (tickled really) buy how "magical" the experience of using the touch is. 5 stars.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
Apple iPod Touch 8GB Review (Firmware 1.1.5)
In my quest for a modern Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), I evaluated several models including the HP Ipaq, Asus, and the Palm Zire Z22. I discovered that PDA's are all but extinct in 2008, being as they are rapidly replaced by versatile smart phones such as RIM's Blackberry and its competitors including the Apple iPhone 3G and Nokia/Motorola offerings. I also came across the iPod Touch only because of recommendations made by Apple iPod users. I assumed the iPod Touch was more of a portable media player due to the "iPod" designation, rather than a minicomputer or even a PDA. My generalization was very wrong.
I soon discovered the iPod Touch was essentially an iPhone/3G without the phone, digital camera, or Bluetooth systems. The iPod still retained the touch interface, and was actually manufactured in a slightly smaller package. It was capable of playing videos, music, and even browsing the web using the WiFi network adapter. Apple is selling a firmware update for 2.0.x for $9.95 on iTunes, which adds many more features to the iPod. Since my iPod came with 1.1.5, it already met all of my expectations and I did not see the need to pay $10 to use lousy apps at the time. I may upgrade in the future if I see the need, but for now - on to the meat and potatoes of the review.
From the exterior, the Touch is slightly larger than a credit card and about as thick as a stack of credit cards (8mm). There are only two mechanical buttons on the outside of the unit. One is to turn the unit off, put it to sleep, or to wake it. The other is the "home" button, labeled with a simplistic square icon. The back of the Touch is polished metal. Many users complain that it gets easily smudged or scratched. I find that it makes it rather attractive and possibly adds some heat abatement capability for the battery during charging. Even though it has a Li-ion battery pack, batteries in general like to be kept cool during operation and charging. I never owned a regular iPod other than the Shuffle, but I was told the Touch uses the same cable as the regular iPod. There is also a 3.5mm stereo jack on the lower right of the Touch. I am amazed at the amount of stuff Apple was able to cram into the tiny Touch. The battery life was not that impressive though. When WiFi is enabled, the battery life drops dramatically especially while being used. Apple claims up to 22 hours of operation for listening to music, and up to 5 hours of operation while watching a video and I tend to agree with this. If you want to maximize battery life, I recommend turning off the WiFi until you need it.
The first time you connect the Touch to your computer, it asks you to load up iTunes to register the Touch. The main menu shows 12 icons on the top, and 4 icons on the bottom. They are self-explanatory, but the key features are the Safari web browser, mail, calendar, and settings icons. You can use iTunes to synchronize the contacts list with your Outlook or Gmail contacts. You can also use iTunes to synchronize the calendar with Outlook or iCal. The Touch also allows you to check your Gmail account, Yahoo account, or even set up a custom mailbox. The Google maps and Yahoo Stocks applets also come in handy when you have access to open WiFi.
The touch interface is EXTREMELY intuitive and easy to use. The only complaint I have is that I tend to tap the wrong key on the virtual keyboard while trying to input text. A stylus would make it very precise, but I think Steve Jobs wanted an all-inclusive portable minicomputer that did not require external apparatus for inputting data and I feel he accomplished this feat. You can flip the Touch sideways in most modes and it will automatically rotate the screen. The virtual keyboard also becomes wider in this mode.
You can set a pass code for unlocking the Touch in the event you want to prevent prying eyes at the office or in your home from viewing your information. The compact size and minimal weight of the Touch makes it extremely portable. I highly recommend it for people who travel a lot, since it is easier to handle through airports and offers the bulk of what you need to maintain contact with the rest of the world: your schedule, email, web access, YouTube, weather, and contacts list. Granted you do not have an optical drive, applications like Microsoft Office or other software you would need to conduct business, it still allows you to communicate with people as long as you are in an open WiFi area. Many hotels, airports, and even municipalities now offer free WiFi access. I visited a contracted work site and was able to request guest access to their WiFi, allowing me to send emails and search for topics on Wikipedia all without having to schlep around a 3-6 lb notebook computer.
The video quality, resolution, and speed were astounding. Watching YouTube clips shows how powerful the Touch is, especially for such a small device. Overall, I feel that the Blackberry and similar smart phones will become obsolete in the near future as they are replaced by the iPhone 3G and similar devices that offer superior usability and intuitive user interfaces. The navigation wheel and keyboard on the Blackberry is so 2000s, the iPod Touch and iPhone 3G just blow them away.
Apple wants $10 to upgrade the firmware to 2.0.x, and you may want a $20-$30 travel charger that can charge the iPod through 12 VDC (auto) or 120/240 VAC (home), along with a $10-$30 case. It's easy to get nickel and dimed with the iPod, but some argue that since you can afford a $300+ device, you can afford $60+ in accessories. I personally couldn't find any incentive to upgrade to 2.0.x from 1.1.5 since it does everything I want. The app store is a neat feature, but I garner most of the apps are about as useful as most of the addons for Mozilla (rubbish with few exceptions). Money CNN did an article on the iPod app store and found that the bulk of the apps saw little continuous use, meaning people bought them and just stopped using them.
The battery life is rather short even on standby, and I found that this is the case due to WiFi being enabled. Disabling WiFi saves a LOT of power consumption, so I recommend disabling it while traveling unless you need to use it at the moment.
Pros: Extremely compact, sleek, stylish, easy to carry around especially through airports. Perfect for the traveler, commuter, and office worker. It does the job of a PDA and a small computer when in the vicinity of a WiFi signal; otherwise, it still performs superbly as a PDA especially with its intuitive Touch interface.
Cons: Apple wants $10 to upgrade the firmware to 2.0.x, and you may want a $20-$30 travel charger that can charge the iPod through 12 VDC (auto) or 120/240 VAC (home), along with a $10-$30 case. The screen and metal case is easily smudged. The virtual keyboard keys might be too small for people with large fingers, although the widescreen keyboard is easier to use. Battery life is quite impressive but still drops dramatically when being used and with WiFi enabled. Li-Ion chemistry also means the battery itself has maybe 2-3 years tops before you have to replace it due to the chemistry breaking down.
Overall: The ultimate in modern PDAs and is not just a media player. If you want a cellphone, digital camera, and Bluetooth capability, look at getting an iPhone 3G instead. The HP Ipaq and Asus "PDAs" are huge compared to the iPod Touch and I feel the Blackberry is obsoleted by the iPhone 3G.
Note: I make comparisons between the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch because they are quite similar in many respects such as the user interface and overall appearance.
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This review is from: Apple iPod touch 8 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL (Electronics)
I do agree with what most people have said for and against the iTouch. However, Apple batteries are real lousy. I didn't use my iTouch for over 1 week. To my surprise, the battery was dead!! For the prices Apple charges, they could have done better with their batteries.
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