Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Firewire-Charging Portable Audio System for iPod (Black)

On July 18, 2009, in mp3 players, by admin
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Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Firewire-Charging Portable Audio System for iPod (Black)

To day I find introduce you this Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Firewire-Charging Portable Audio System for iPod (Black) I will think This Interesting ,and you can see that

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The Beat of a Different Drummer: 3 Way Ipod Dock Comparison4
Three Way Comparison, Bose SoundDock vs. Griffin Amplifi vs. Altec Lansing IM600:
Design and Features:
Bose Sound Dock: Cabinet made of plastic. Appears to have two 2.5″ acoustic suspension (enclosed) drivers under a metallic grill, with a whole bunch of added physical structures that look to be waveguides and / or signal processors. Bose keeps details on this pretty much obscured, but wattage estimates I’ve seen on the net put power output at roughly 50-60 watts and based on my own comparative experience, I would agree. Some commentators think the unit has four drivers rather than two, but I see only two beneath the grill and I am not going to disassemble the unit. Some Bose haters on the net claim frequency response on the SD is capped at a mere 10,000 kHz, which I personally doubt, as treble rich music I’ve played on this sounds fine, and no reliable net source makes this claim. Ipod docks in a front-mounted bay. My 5.5 G 30 GB feels rather loosely supported, but no major issues.
No line-in or out. Indeed, no console controls at all except a volume up and volume down button. Simple remote, though very reliable and with good range. The power wart is bizarrely large and bulky, plus is also in two sections, making it seem like you’re going to be powering up a railgun or supercollider rather than a relatively low powered music player. The design is sturdy and attractive overall, but the lack of any special features whatsoever is dismaying, perhaps symptomatic of Bose’s condescending “electronics for idiots” philosophy. Charges Ipod as long as it is docked, when playing or when off.
Griffin Amplifi: Cabinet made of wood, looks like small shoebox. Has two 2.75″ drivers front mounted and a bottom mounted 5″ woofer with a bass port. Griffin in the worst Bose tradition refuses to disclose many tech statistics on their unit, but my power estimate puts this at about 30-40 watts, not really much different from the Bose. (To sound twice as loud needs a 10 times (1000%) increase in wattage, so the Bose advantage of maybe 33% more power should not really give much real world benefit.) Frequency response per mfgr is 50-16,000 kHz which seems a bit unbelievable on the low end, but feasible enough on the higher end. Ipod docks on top and sticks awkwardly out of the unit like a control tower, but fit is snugger than on Sound Dock which makes me feel more reassured.
There is a line-in and not much more. Big blue-lit knob controls on-off and volume. Remote is a copy of the Bose’s with the same simple functions. Range and aiming tolerance is inferior to both the Bose and the Altec, but certainly adequate. Annoyingly, the Amplifi only charges an Ipod docked in it when the Amplifi is on; if the Ipod is docked and the Griffin is turned off, no charging. Either Griffin’s engineers are idiots, or they decided to save a few pennies in the design.
Altec Lansing IM600: Smallest unit, with plastic cabinet and cool fold up dock that also has on / off switch. Has two 2″ acoustic suspension drivers, and a separate subwoofer out line that I did not use. Also has video out and line-in ports, plus a decent FM tuner and telescoping antenna. Tons and tons of features in comparison to our other competitors. Plus unit has an internal rechargeable battery which lasts for roughly 7 hours, and an “SFX” stereo expander DSP switch. Altec is honest enough to give the power stats on the unit of 14 watts. Though this is less than either other dock, as stated above the actual volume difference is not reflected in the numbers. Frequency range is not specified, but it seems to go as high as either of the other competitors, with perhaps less bass extension. Front mounted dock that gently leans the Ipod against a reinforced acoustically neutralized spot on the unit so vibrations will not affect the Ipod during playback.
IM600 also has a beautiful backlit display which stays lit while the unit is plugged in to AC power. The Altec charges Ipods as long as there is an AC connection, whether or not the Altec is turned on. The IM600 does not charge Ipods when the dock is running on its own rechargeable battery. The remote is also IR like the others in the test, and is somewhere between the Bose and Griffin in terms of range and responsiveness. Remote lets you control SFX mode and access four radio presets. (Though if you lose the remote, you will have no preset control at all, so try not to do that.)
Sound:
Bose: Excellent deep bass, controlled and accurate, never boomy. Mid-range is emphasized, so guitars and vocals sound especially fine. Treble appears a bit less impressive, but trebly stuff like Vivaldi and Tallis sounds just fine. The Bose sounds better with rock and jazz than with classical, but not dramatically so. The Bose sounds equally good at both low and high end, and the unit can be played at max volume with no distortion, probably due to Bose’s manipulation of the source signal. Nevertheless, the Bose sounds very good at all volumes and with virtually any type of music. The Bose can also fill up any small or medium room with sound, and can even be a decent sound system for a reasonably quiet large room. Stereo separation was the best of all three speakers, unimpressive when compared to a formal stereo with speakers a couple of yards apart, but certainly very much a feat from speakers separated from each other by less than a foot. Detail is excellent with many-layered music like works by Nine Inch Nails and Dead Can Dance being expertly and precisely performed.
I am no fan of Bose, finding the sound from their home theater systems to be artificial, inaccurate, compromised, pricey, and over-hyped. However, in the case of the SoundDock, with the goal of creating generally acceptable sound from lossy sources, Bose has executed the concept impeccably well. The music as played may not be dead-on accurate, but it is not noticeably deficient and sounds loud, detailed, and clear at any volume. Kind of like McDonald’s fries, the SoundDock is by far the jewel in the rather uneven portfolio of Bose equipment. Even if you hate the idea of Bose, or have disliked their other audio products, the SoundDock may well amaze you.
Griffin: Bass is about as good as the SoundDock, maybe lower extension, but roughly the same precision and balance. Griffin is to be commended for not going crazy and letting the big 5″ woofer run roughshod over the sound of the Amplifi. The big woofer does not make the Amplifi sound better than the Bose at the low end, but on the other hand it doesn’t sound worse, and it is also much cheaper. Griffin was not aiming to beat the Bose here, but rather to equal it with a lower price and simpler design. Mid-range is another strong point here, and treble is also a bit lacking, like in the Bose, but not too much so. Classical pieces still sound very good on the Griffin.
Where the Amplifi does lose ground to Bose is in the fancy stuff. Stereo separation is non-existent, and detail is nowhere near as precise as on the Bose. This sounds like a big loud mono speaker. Low volumes especially lose a lot of fine subtlety, and distortion is heard at the very highest volumes (though to be fair, no one would really play this unit that loud, as it is probably 100 dB or more.) The acoustically tuned all wood cabinet adds little to the sound signature of the Amplif vis a vis the plastic cabinet of the Bose. The lack of stereo separation, detail, and full clarity throughout all volume ranges is where the added cost of the Bose is most evident and justifiable. Most users will like the Griffin though; it mimics the sound signature of the Bose convincingly, has a retro wood cabinet design, and has at least one important feature that the Bose lacks, a line-in, all of this at a street value of 1/3rd of what the Bose goes for. This will make the Amplif a great solution for most users, especially those on a budget. However, the added price of the Bose does create a noticeably superior sound in at least some aspects.
Altec Lansing: The IM600 takes a different path than its rivals, aiming for a more treble oriented sound, with adequate bass and very good mids. The IM600 sounds crisp and detailed, but lacks the low end punch of the Bose or Griffin. The 600 has a separate subwoofer out line and a 3″ sub is available separately from Altec Lansing for $50. No idea how it sounds. This is the best of these three units for classical music reproduction, but most music sounds fine on it. Even bass heavy music is more than acceptable for most listeners; you just don’t feel the low end as prominently as you do with the other two docks, but depending on your expectations, this may be just fine.
Stereo separation is not especially strong on the Altec, to be expected when the drivers are all of 7″ apart. The SFX mode is helpful in this regard, and does give some stereo sound effect, and really does not hurt sound reproduction in any way, so I normally leave the effect on. Stereo is far more noticeable than the Griffin, but less pronounced than the Bose. (However, even the Bose offers far less stereo than one might get from properly placed PC satellite speakers, let alone a true home stereo system…) Clarity and detail on the IM600 is excellent, rivaling the Bose in many cases. Brass and drums sound a bit more real and crisp on the Bose, and this plus the better low end will give the nod to the SoundDock over the IM600 for most listeners, unless you listen to nothing but classical. The IM600 distorts a bit at maximum volume, but not terribly so. It sounds as good at low volumes as it does at normal (medium level) settings.
Value:
Bose: Normally listed at $300 and almost never discounted. The new “portable” SoundDock just came out as of this writing and sells for $400. If Bose can maintain this exceptionally high price for the newer model, SoundDock prices may stay at $300, but if the newer unit needs some price adjustment, the original SoundDock may fall in price (or even be discontinued.). I purchased my Bose as a reconditioned by the factory model for $250 and then caught a sale at the Bose store for an added 10% off, $225 total. I think Bose stores are the only place where you can get the “factory renewed” models for the lower price.

[...]

Summary:
Bose: Probably not worth $300, the price I paid of $225 feels like about what the SoundDock is worth. The sound is audibly better quality here, though probably not two to three times better than the Griffin or the Altec, which is what the pricing would indicate. The lack of a decent feature set makes the Bose seem like even less of a value. Again though, if style, quality, simplicity, and excellent sound is your goal, and price does not matter that much, the Bose is a fine choice. Special note to all the Bose haters: take a listen to this before lumping it in with such atrocities as the Acoustimass and StereoEverywhere technology. The SoundDock sounds unusually good, does not mangle realism of the sound unpleasantly, and is really the cutting edge of what can be done with reproducing Ipod sound from a small one-piece unit.
Griffin: Aims for the SoundDock’s sound signature, and generally succeeds. Lacks a bit of polish in both physical and sonic characteristics, but overall is an excellent value. If you want Bose, but can’t afford it, the Amplifi will not leave you with many regrets. The wooden cabinet and big bass driver are not utilized very distinctively, but there are no glaring missteps here either. However, if you can afford the SoundDock, the Griffin has no real advantages as its clone philosophy and minimal feature set offer no advantage over Bose except cost. The bigger and better sound of the SoundDock justifies the added cost as long as price is not the main consideration.
Altec Lansing: The excellent design, wonderful feature set, and portability of this unit distinguishes and separates it from the other two. Sound is generally well done, crisp and appealing, and the treble emphasis gives the Altec its own sonic niche. The power difference in watts is not really noticeable except if you are trying to fill up a big room with sound, and why would you be doing that with a wee tiny Ipod dock anyway? Most users will be very happy with the IM600’s sound and the quality FM tuner is just the icing on the cake. If you are on a budget, I would say get the Altec as it sells for roughly the same price as the Amplifi, and has many more features including portability. The IM600 has somewhat less bass than the Griffin, but better stereo sound and detail clarity.

fits the bill perfectly5
Like others, I looked at many models. I bought this unit along with IPod for traveling to my weekend cabin, hoping to replace the bulkiness of my SONY CD player and three cases of disks. It is exceptionally portable, plugs into wall or goes outside on battery, has FM receiver so my wife can listen to college football on weekends, and we attach it to her computer/DVD to watch movies in the evening. The sound quality is excellent, filling the living/dining area for movies or music. Definitely competes with the old bulky system with no compromise. Plus Amazon price was incredible. For our needs, this could not be better. I am planning to take it on vacation with us this winter.

Great Sound, Light, Folds Up Nicely5
I tested about 8 different brands and models of these type of systems in a store at high volume. For its size and price, this one got the loudest before distorting, with excellent sound balance. The FM receiver is handy. It is very lightweight and folds up into a convenient carrying shape. Highly recommended.

About Altec Lansing inMotion iM600 Firewire-Charging Portable Audio System for iPod (Black) detail

  • Brand: Altec Lansing
  • Model: iM600
  • Dimensions: 6.00″ h x 2.00″ w x 11.00″ l, 3.35 pounds

Features

  • Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod classic 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G; iPod touch 1G; auxiliary input connects to any CD, DVD, or MP3 player using a stereo mini-plug
  • inMotion system offers big, crystal-clear sound for iPods
  • Dual 2-inch neodymium drivers optimized for high-frequency sound; Expanded Sound Stage (ESS) technology for greater stereophonic image
  • Distinctive thin and elegant glossy-black look to match iPod design; rechargeable battery offers 7 hours of continuous play; includes AC adapter
  • Measures 11 x 1.7 x 6 inches (W x D x H); weighs 2.1 pounds; 1-year warranty ]

List Price: $149.95
Amazon Price: $139.99

Source From ipod-love-20
Have a great day everybody!
Cheers

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description–Posted October 14, 2008
With its well-regarded inMotion system, Altec Lansing has raised the bar again with the iM600. Featuring a myriad of new technologies, the iM600 offers big, crystal-clear sound, and it folds up compactly for easy portability.

The Altec Lansing inMotion iM600:

  • offers incredible musicality and clarity with deep bass;
  • folds up compactly to offer great portability;
  • provides a dock for your iPod, charging it while playing music; and
  • features a built-in FM tuner.

With Expanded Sound Stage technology, the speakers sound further apart than they really are for a bigger soundstage. View larger. View Remote.

Superior Sound in a Small Package
Employing dual two-inch neodymium drivers that are optimized for high-frequency sound, the iM600 offers unmatched musicality and clarity. Despite its compact size, the bass is punchy and has good extension, and with Altec Lansing’s Expanded Sound Stage (ESS) technology, the speakers will sound further apart than they actually are, for a greater stereophonic image.

Elegant Design Matches the iPod
The iM600 sports a distinctive thin and elegant glossy-black look. A spring-loaded button deploys the speaker’s stand and reveals the iPod dock, power button, and volume controls.

Your iPod perches front and center, resting at an angle to display the current track information and album art while recharging. If your iPod model has the alarm clock and sleep timer features, they will work seamlessly with the iM600.

Various docking adapters are included, making the iM600 compatible with most iPods. Also, an auxiliary input lets you connect any CD, DVD, or MP3 player using a stereo mini-plug.

Built-in FM Tuner
If you get bored with the songs on your iPod, the iM600 has a built-in FM tuner, letting you listen to your favorite music and talk radio. Near the top of the unit is an LCD that displays the current FM frequency; buttons on top provide tuning controls. The tuner also features a memory for four presets and a telescoping antenna for better reception.

Change the Music from Across the Room
A small remote control is included, letting you change the musical selection from across the room. A storage slot built into the system itself makes it easy to store the remote, preventing you from losing it behind couch cushions and other inconvenient places.

Take Your Music To-Go
With a compact size that folds closed to a mere 11 x 1.7 x 6 inches (W x D x H), and weighing only 2.1 pounds, the iM600 is easy to take with you to the beach, on vacation, or wherever you else you’re going. The built-in rechargeable Li-Ion battery lets you listen to more than 7 hours of continuous play. An AC adapter is included for connected listening and recharging the battery.

The Altec Lansing iM600 is backed by a one-year warranty.

What’s in the Box
iM600 speaker system, wireless remote, iPod docking adapters, power supply, user’s guide and quick connect instructions.

The iM600 will provide enough big sound to keep your party rocki

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Apple iPod nano 8 GB Pink (4th Generation)

On July 18, 2009, in mp3 players, by admin
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Apple iPod nano 8 GB Pink (4th Generation) LATEST MODEL

To day I find introduce you this Apple iPod nano 8 GB Pink (4th Generation) LATEST MODEL I will think This Interesting ,and you can see that

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Some nice improvement but incompatible with Bose…3
Having 16GB of storage is a huge plus for the new version of the Nano.

The control wheel seems a bit “stiff” and it is not as responsive as past versions but it works fine.

The menus and setup choices have been improved. These are nice but don’t make a major difference. “Shake” shuffle is a bit silly (in my opinion it is just as easy to push the advance on the control wheel) but it can easily be turned off.

BIG MINUS – Apple un-necessarily changed the plug on this version of the Nano. The unit will not charge using my older iPod chargers. The bigger issue is that my Bose and other expensive speaker units will play this Nano but they won’t charge it.

Apple is beginning to act more and more like Microsoft – forcing its customers to make un-necessary software upgrades and expensive hardware changes in order to use their latest product versions.

Anyway – the Nano is a great product. If you already have a Nano the only justification I can find to upgrade would be the need for more storage or the desire to play video on a very small screen.

If you don’t need the video or more music storage you should stick with your older Nano.

4th generation of a standard setting device4
this is my 6th portable digital music device so far, and i tried to avoid ipods because they always got bad reviews for malfunctioning and lacking features. this on is a different story. not only is this ipod the thinnest ipod ever made (you can stop here, apple, any further and it will vanish), its made smart, and so far its a pretty good buy for me. unlike everyone thinks cover flow cant be turned off, it can. instantly after i connected my ipod for the first time to itunes a new firmware update popped up, and one of the updates was an option to turn off cover flow, among other things.

+ pros
-incredibly thin. i cant even tell its in my pocket
-aluminum casing and glass screen offer excellent scratch resistence
-very light
-very competitive pricing – 16 gb for what the nano offers is the most affordble nano ever. the apple reputation has never been so attainable.
- accelerometer – this adds a few fun touches to operate without pressing buttons, is very useful for rotation on the screen when viewing pictures or watching videos. games are now actually very interesting
- screen clarity
-simplicity of use
-lots of colours to choose from

- cons
ITUNES – although itunes is the gold standard in today’s media players, it has a tendency to use a massive amount of resources on any pc, and runs without question parallel to quicktime. if any quirks manage to occur, renstallation is required
- battery life – other than uninterrupted music playback very disappointing, especially while playing games
-everything is automated – this pertains to 1, the fact the ipod will turn on when i put in headphones, and the rest to itunes, which tries to sync entire libraries worth of music onto foreign ipods, like friends’ and family
-Apple decided to require either their brand or certification to all ipod accessories, so to anyone that has bose or othere expensive docks and such, this might be a deal breaker

er, then i suppose theres a “both” category
-genius- theres something i havent noticed people mention, or if they do, its complaints. Genius is an absolutely worthless feature when used on the ipod. It works with only about 25% of PURCHASES. And it doesn’t make a very satisfying playlist even when it does work. But honestly who should expect that? When you use genius on, itunes, yeah it still sucks at making playlists, and it is frustrating, but it’s an excellent tool for finding new music, because it reccomends a huge list of new songs and different artists that usually appeal to your taste.

overall a big improvement compared to other ipods ive seen. the pricing and compactness, features and ease of use stand out, though the battery life and new accesory restrictions leave something to be desired. (get the 16 gb if you really want movies, or go for the classic or touch, which are both equally appealing) i give the nano ****.

Good Ideas, Poor Execution2
With introductions like the accelerometer, genius, redesigned interface, and an even smaller package, who couldn’t love Apple’s new Ipod nano? While these sound like great additions, they really don’t result in a better ipod. While the new interface, genius, and size, don’t hurt, the accelerometer really ruins the whole package. The accelerometer might work well in the iphone and ipod touch, in the nano it is just really annoying. It is way to sensitive and causes problems with simple things like volume. The accelerometer often changes the now playing screen to the cover flow which keeps the volume from being changed without the ipod being pulled out and flipped. The shake to shuffle also causes problems, it is to sensitive as well and will activate when it is not intended to. At least the shake to shuffle can be turned off, I just wish the the accelerometer as a whole could be turned off. If it had that capacity this review could have easily turned from a 2 to a 5.

About Apple iPod nano 8 GB Pink (4th Generation) LATEST MODEL detail

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #138 in Consumer Electronics
  • Size: 8 GB
  • Color: Pink
  • Brand: Apple
  • Model: MB735LL/A
  • Dimensions: 4.00″ h x 1.80″ w x 2.20″ l, 2.00 pounds
  • Display size: 2

Features

  • 8 GB capacity for 2,000 songs, 7,000 photos, or 8 hours of video
  • Up to 24 hours of music playback or 4 hours of video playback when fully charged
  • 2-inch LCD with blue-white LED backlight and 320-by-240-pixel resolution
  • Supported audio formats: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
  • Supported video formats: H.264, MPEG-4; Supported image file types: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG

List Price: $149.99
Amazon Price: $133.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Source From ipod-love-20
Have a COOL !
Cheers

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description–Posted September 9, 2008
With eight amazing colors, a new curved design, and great new features, iPod nano rocks like never before. The Genius Playlist feature finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a playlist for you. With its built-in accelerometer, iPod nano is made to move. Give it a shake, and it shuffles to a different song in your library. Turn it on its side to flip through your album art in Cover Flow. And tilt, move, and play accelerometer-inspired games (games available separately). Watching movies, TV shows, and video is even more fun on the sharp 2-inch screen. And your photos (up to 7,000 of them) look great in portrait or landscape view. Available in 8 GB and 16 GB models, the 8 GB iPod nano puts up to 2,000 songs or 8 hours of video in your pocket.

With a new curved design and great new features, iPod nano rocks like never before. Click to enlarge.
Up to 2,000 songs, 8 hours of video, or 7,000 photos in your pocket. Click to enlarge.
Just under a quarter-inch deep. Click to enlarge.
Available in nine amazing colors; the (PRODUCT)RED nano is available exclusively through Apple. Click to enlarge.
Enjoy album art in Cover Flow, games, videos, and photos in landscape mode. (Green nano shown here.)

A Musical Genius
Say you’re listening to a song you really like and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. The Genius Playlist feature finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. It’s like having your own highly intelligent, personal DJ.

Find Your Music Faster
It’s even easier to find the song you want to hear. Now you can view your album art in Cover Flow. Or just press and hold the Center button to browse by album or artist. When you find the right song, press the Center button to add it to your on-the-go playlist.

Rock and Roll Over
Tilt or turn iPod nano on its side, and you’ll listen, watch, and play in new ways. You can flip through your album art with Cover Flow. Or, vertically speaking, see more albums and artists on the screen at one time.

Shake Your Groove Thing
Sometimes, we could all use a little unpredictability. And now you can shake to change your music. Just give iPod nano a shake, and it shuffles to a different song in your music library. You’ll always be surprised by what you’ll hear.

Let the Games Begin
Now you can get in on games made especially for iPod nano and the accelerometer. They respond to the way you move, so they’re immersive, addictive, and a blast. The iPod nano comes with Maze, which lets you work your way through vast mazes by tilting and moving. You can find even more games on the iTunes Store.

Even Your Photos Rock
Pull hundreds of photos from your pocket and share them wherever you go. Hold iPod nano upright and see your photos in portrait view. Turn the player on its side to see them in landscape. Your photos look beautiful in their proper aspect ratio on the vibrant, 320-by-240-resolution display.

The World’s Biggest Small Screen
Watching movies, TV shows, and videos is big fun on iPod nano. And the high-resolution picture looks crisp and vivid on the 2-inch widescreen display. So you can always have a little video with you.

Reduced Environmental Impact
The iPod nano embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:

  • Arsenic-free glass
  • Brominated flame retardant-free
  • Mercury-free
  • PVC-free
  • Highly recyclable aluminum enclosure

What’s in the Box
iPod nano, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, dock adapter, quick start guide

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Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation)

On July 18, 2009, in mp3 players, by admin
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Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) LATEST MODEL

Now I find Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) LATEST MODEL You can see Now!

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Almost “Untouchable”5
One year ago I purchased the 16GB original iPod Touch. At that time, I found that even though it had some flaws, the over-all package made it one of the best iPods available. Now, one year later, Apple has released the next generation Touch. I’ve now had it for a few days, and here’s what I found: the second gen iPod Touch is a marked improvement over the the first gen, and comes even closer to perfection. Keeping this in mind, this review will show one big, and a number of smaller shortcomings. It may also be difficult to justify upgrading from the 1st to 2nd gen unless you simply must have one of the few hardware improvements, and can live with the fact that you may have to re-purchase some of your accessories.

Size and Dimensions
The iPod Touch now sports a more rounded design on the back, making it look slightly thinner and more like the iPhone than the original did (it is not really thinner than it’s predecessor, just looks that way). Unfortunately, the back plate is still made from stainless steel, and this plate attacts fingerprints and scratches almost magically. After one year of near-constant use the backplate of my first gen Touch looks a bit like a wild etch-a-sketch (I carry the Touch in my pocket). Interestingly, the glass on the front appears (after one year of heavy use) to be absolutely scratch-resistant. It’s the backside (that also carries the custom engraving) that quickly becomes blemished. I would have preferred a brushed metal/aluminium backplate. I had to look it up, but the new Touch is slightly lighter (a few grams) – but it looks thinner (thanks to the tapered edge design). The rounded edges make it fit my palm slightly better, making it feel just right (to be honest, the original Touch was already very, very good in this respect). Other than that the outside dimensions exactly match that of the original Touch. The most visible change from the front is that the steel from the backplate now frames the glass much like it did on the original iPhone.

Touch Screen and Controls
The screen is simply gorgeous. It’s bright, crisp, has great contrast, and can adapt it’s brightness to the ambient light. In direct sunlight, much like it’s predecessor it becomes difficult to read correctly. In shade it’s perfectly readable — a feat considering how bright a display has to be to achieve that. Color temperature of the display has shifted slightly downwards (or, to sound less pompuous: the display’s colors have shifted slightly from a blueish to a golden tinge, something you wouldn’t notice unless you have the two devices side by side).

The touch screen is very responsive, and as I stated before, absolutely scratch-resistant. Surviving a full year in my pocket along with metallic objects such as my keys is a testament to it’s durability (looking at the stainles steel backside is a constant reminder just how badly it could have been scratched). As with the original Touch, the same problems occur when you try to control the device ‘blind’ (i.e. while it is in your pocket): without looking at it, you simply can’t. Fortunately, Apple has addressed the most important drawback with this design: a hardware volume control. The screen’s resolution remains at 480×320, which is very good (certainly better than my iPod Classic’s). Interestingly, I’ve found out that ripping videos to this resolution does not necessarily yield noticeably better results than for the iPod classic’s (320×240) screen, so I now rip to that resolution, conserving some memory.

iPod / iTunes
After one year of owning the original Touch I have to remind myself that this device originally is an iPod — or rather a digital music player. As it turns out, although I also use it for music playing, this function has more and more been relegated to a background task — a task, nontheless, that it handles really well. The coverflow, browsing and display functionality has evolved nicely from the original (1.0 and 2.0) versions, and are still the best in the market. The interface improvements support nice touches such as displaying a song’s lyrics on single tap, bringing up the volume/cue controls on double-tap of the home button, an alphabetic slide rule when browsing titles, etc. Still missing is a search function, though. And, especially in light of the gorgeous display capabilities and the recent addition of a new visualitzer (in additional to the existing ones in iTunes), I would have loved to see a visualizer on the Touch as well. The biggest (and in my oppinion delibarate (as in spiteful)) omission is this: you still can’t enable ‘hard drive mode’, i.e. use the Touch as a mass storage device. The biggest boon is improved battery life.

Video is crisp (still no contrast control, though), and audio playback is just as you expect (again: I’m no audiophile. I’m absolutely happy with most player’s audio capabilities). Again I’m not using the Apple-provided white and quite sub-par headphones. I’m using separately purchased ones. New for the second gen is a built-in speaker. Audio quality here is not actually terrible, but close. The sound is tinny, weak, and just somehow comes out of the iPod (mono, of course). I believe that the addition of the speaker has a specific reason different from HiFi: it makes playing games on the Touch without headphones so much more enjoyable. But for listening to music I would prefer headphones or active speakers. To be honest, I prefer not listening to music from that speaker.

iTunes integration is top-notch as before. Some sort of bug-fix now has made data backup much faster, and both iTunes and the Touch now sport a new kind of smart playlist that is called ‘Genius’. Initially, I wasn’t impressed by this feature. Although iTunes 8 has had this feature I regarded it primarily as a well executed new way to sell song and hence didn’t use it. On my iPod, however (which only carries a subset of my library due to memory contraints), this feature literally rocks. On my first day alone it had me re-discover five songs I never knew I had (much less liked).

On the downside, the Touch still does not support playlist groups, which is a constant annoyance to me. I’m also disappointed to see that the Touch still can’t synch wirelessly, nor can it be used to access shared playlists (other than downloading them, of course). An application in the App store offers this functionality, albeit only for non-DRM’d titles, proving the point that this is possible.

Images (from iPhoto) can also be synched to the Touch, and nothing is more fun than showing off your iPod’s capabilities using a nice picture and ‘pinch’ and ’swipe’. Interestingly (or rather: unfortunately), iTunes appears to down-sample large images to a smaller resolution, probably to conserve memory. This may make sense, but I would like to be able to have more control over this feature (i.e. decide myself what the image’s resolution on the iPod should be).

Accessories – the Big Bad Ugly
Unfortunately, Apple has changed the pin-out (*again*) for the iPod connector. As a result, some ‘made for iPod’ accessories either don’t work, or don’t work fully any more. For example, my Altec Lansing active speakers can’t charge the Touch any more (it was able to charge the 1st gen Touch). This is truly, truly annoying as you don’t know if your iPod works with your ‘made for iPod’ devices any longer, and makes purchasing new accessories a game of chance. My car has a (hideously expensive) iPod integration that luckily still works (including re-charging). Still, the iPod connector compatibility (or lack thereof) is becoming a big mess. Just imagine you want to buy an accessory for your kid or friend, and too late find out that it does not work with it.

WiFi / Internet
A year ago I purchased an iPod, and got a fully integrated web accesory kit. As it turned out, the addition of WiFi and full internet access is a killer feature to me. The web browser (a mobile version of Safari) is very capable. Much has been said about the fact that Mobile Safari does not support Flash. This is annoying if you visit sites that use it. The pinch/slide gesture-based interface works so well that I regularely use the Touch for normal web surfing. The general experience has increased over the past few month, no doubt in no small amounts due to the fact that many sites have beed re-designed with the iPhone in mind. Since the Touch’s browser is exactly the same, it inherits the benefit. WiFi speed is good (although it still uses the 802.11b/g, not the n variant) – and mostly depends on the hotspot you are connected to. It remembers the hotspots it has connected to (much like a laptop would), and can also connect using WPA. There are other Web enabled applications that come with the iPod (Maps, which can pinpoint your location by the position of hotspots close to you), Stocks, YouTube, and Weather, which are nice, but remarkable. WiFi reception range is average, but definitely below that of some PC laptops.

Then, the Touch also comes with Mail, Calendar and Adressboock, and these do become killer fieatures, especially when coupled with an Exchange server or (as Apple would prefer) MobileMe. Mail supports ‘push’ technology, meaning that (almost) as soon an there is an incoming mail (and your Touch is connected to a hotspot), you are notified by a little discreep ‘bleep’. Reading emails, including mails with rich content works very well. Composing any but the shortes emails, on the other hand, is bothersome, verging on annoying due to the small virtual keyboard). Still, simply being able to do this makes all the difference. Live Calender updates have saved my bacon a few times already, as you do not have to remember to actively synch your iPod after you have made a change to the calender.

Integration with Exchange (at the point of writing) remains a tad spotty, with no messages appearing for s few hours, and then suddenly many appearing at once (I initially suspected a configuration issue on the Exchange Server, but this appears not to be the case). Depending upon how you configure MobileMe on your Mac, the results are similar to what you can expect from Exchange (with the difference, of course, that Apple is running the servers for you). Unfortunately, MobileMe currently does not synch your Notes.

Nicely executed is the integrated iTunes store. While possibly just another mechanism to generate sales, I simply love the fact that if I hear or remember a song, I can almost always instantly purchase it and have it on my touch within seconds. Songs purchased on the Touch synchronize back to your main library in iTunes (into a rather silly ‘Purchased on Touch’ playlist). If a download has to discontinue because the network connection was lost (or for any other reasons), it will continue as soon as the connection to the Internet is restored.

Interestingly, the touch sports (I’m a sucker for lame puns) the required hardware to connect to the ‘Nike + iPod’ sports accessories built-in (i.e. you do not have to connect the dongle). I say interestingly because these devices utilize the bluetooth frequency band, yet the Touch does not support bluetooth devices (headphones, mikes, car integration and printers come to mind). Since I use a shuffle for work-out, this is not a must-have feature for me.

Applications/App Store
If Mail, Calendar and Browser are killer apps, Apple has added another killer feature to the Touch (and iPhone) that expands the device’s usability (and customizability) by orders of magnitude: the App store. In appearance similar to the iTunes Store, here you can choose from literally hundrets of applictions (of greatly varying quality, though), purchase and install them instantly. Prices run from free to roughly 10 USD (there are some more expensive titles, but the majority are priced at a couple of USD). The apps are presented in three different ways (‘featured’, ‘top’, browse by category), plus you have the ability to search for keywords.

Although the ’signal to noise’ ratio isn’t that great (there are quite a lot of useless or awfully executed applications), there are some jaw-droppingly good apps that truly enhance your Touch. Among the first to mention is Apple’s own (free) ‘Remote’ app, which allows you to remote-control iTunes on your Mac or Apple TV – with real-time full visual feedback, and full search capability (allegedly, it is also a real boon for Apple TV users, as it provides a virtual keyboard as input means. Not having Apple TV, I can’t comment on this). Then there is an application that allows you to stream all your music (well, the unprotecte at least) to your Touch – over the Internet to wherever you are (interestingly, this App was not produced by Apple).

Greatly enhancing the Touch’s usability are eBook readers (the Touch is almost perfect for rading books, giving you that ‘Star Trek’ info pad feeling) as well as off-line news readers. Another important category are applications that enable you to easily transfer (and view) files from your Mac/PC to the Touch. I would have expected Apple to integrate this feature into iTunes (perhaps rudimentary support for PDF), but third party providers are more than happy to bridge this gap for you. And for the geeks there are VNC and SSH clients that finally allow them to control their server cluster using an iPod.

For those who want radio, there are lots of offerings for IP radios. Of course this means that your iPod must remain in range of a hotspot to use this feature. Mine does, so I alos now have radio — and re-discovered just why I never missed it. I’m simply not a radio guy, I guess. I do know that many people miss it, and wish apple had gone the last mile and also added an FM tuner.

Two Apps I’m sure that will arrive soon at the App store is due to another addition to the Touch: support for extenal microphones. Apple’s hi-end earphones have both a remote and mike built in, and are said to be compatible with the 2nd (and only 2nd) gen Touch. Audio note pads, and VoIP apps (a la Skype) that allows phone functionality over WiFi are sure to follow soon (note: I have seen these apps available in the US stores; sadly they are not yet available here in Switzerland Also, I interpret Apple’s docs that the 2nd gen Touch supports external microphones, as they have not yet shipped the combined mike/remote headphones to me).

And then there are games. They currently are the biggest category of all applications. The Touch, with it’s integrated accelerometer, 480×320 color screen and touch interface makes a nice gaming device, and developers have come up with some truly fun and innovative games (‘Toy Bot’ may serve as a great example). Apple may have realized that this is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the Touch: the Gen 2 device sports a speaker that makes little sense – except to improve the gaming experience (believe me: playing an accelerometer-based game with headphones on can be verry little fun when it gets exciting). And improving the experience it does. The Touch is ill suited for classic ‘control pad’ based games (e.g. Tetris, Pac Man), and most of their Touch adaptations suffer accordingly. Other games, however, adapt nicely to touch/accelerometer input (Monkey Ball, Crash Cart etc), or are a natural fit (Labyrinth, Sudoku, Solitair, Othello)

Super-geeks can also download the iPhone/Touch SDK and create their own applications. This is not for the faint of heart, as you first download a few gigabytes (Apple’s XCode development environment), and then will have to code in Objective-C (an extension to standard C) and use the Cocoa framework. Plus, you’ll need a Mac to do so. The environment is actually very good, and includes an iPhone simulator to test your software before deployment.

I should mention that most of the improvements (with the exception of the hardware upgrades: mike support, built-in nike support, volume buttons and battery life) can be had for free on your 1st gen Touch (if you have the 2.0 Update), or a couple of bucks if you havn’t upgraded yet. Unless you (like me) want the larger memory (my first gen only has 16GB), the decision to upgrade to 2nd gen may be difficult.

Summary:
The 2nd generation iPod Touch is an almost perfect device. It combines top-notch video/audio, world-class UI, great casual gaming, hundrets of apps, and full access to the Internet into a single, beautiful package. To sum it up neatly: Untouchable. Well — almost. It has one big flaw if you have invested in accessories: it may not be compatible with them, as Apple has changed the iPod connector pin-out (again). With those reservations, I recommend the Touch to anyone. Also great: owners of the 1st gen Touch can get most of these goodies with a simple, inexpensive software upgrade.

Hits
+ great display
+ good audio
+ gesture-based interface
+ accelerometer for controls
+ great integration with your music library (via iTunes)
+ long battery life
+ wireless music store
+ wireless App store (killer feature)
+ Speaker for gaming
+ Mail, Calendar and Address book with Push
+ WiFi Internet (killer feature)
+ Remote App (free) for your PC/Mac’s iTunes/AppleTV
+ SDK freely available for anyone
+ Microphone and remote support
+ Nike + iPod without dongle

Misses
- incompatibility with ‘made for iPod’ devices (bad, bad, bad)
- stainless steel backplate (fingerprints and scratches easily)
- no wireless synching
- no wireless playback of streamed iTunes content (an Appstore application can stream unprotected content, though)
- no visualizer
- no search function
- no playlist groups (why, oh why?)
- no GPS nor FM radio
- Notes not synched with MobileMe
- no hard drive mode
- no synching documents (except third party Apps)
- downsampling of photos
- currently tops out at 32GB (would have preferred 64)
- no bluetooth

Updated iPod Touch Delivers Nice New Features5
The iPod Touch debuted only one year ago, and this is the first update. I was excited to pick up the new iPod Touch at the Apple Store because I had never owned a first generation, though I do own iPhones.

I want to concentrate primarily on the new features:

First, physical volume buttons are now placed on the side of the iPod Touch as they are on the iPhone. This is very convenient. It allows you to adjust the volume of your music, without having to pull the entire device out of your pocket and activate the screen. A time saver.

Second, many people requested a built-in speaker for the iPod Touch like is available on the iPhone. Apple listened. However, there is one important point to make on this! The iPod Touch is incredibly small, and Apple is forced to put an incredibly small speaker. The speaker in the iPod Touch sounds worst than the speaker in the iPhone. I have compared it side by side, and it’s fairly significant, and the iPhone speaker isn’t that great to begin with. However, in a quiet room, the speaker is still useful for previewing a song you might want to buy, or for playing games. However, still, if you want great sound, you need to connect your headphones.

Genius – This new feature is really surprisingly good. When you’re listening to a song you enjoy, select the genius option. It will create a playlist for you, with songs that go together nicely with the one you started with. It helps you rediscover great music from your collection with a playlist suited to the mood you’re in. I didn’t think it would do a good job compiling this list, but it has been quite impressive.

Applications – It’s great to have the ability to buy (or get some free) applications right on the iPod Touch. Furthermore, with the software update this new iPod Touch comes with, the Application installation process is so much smoother than it had been even on my iPhone. It now works how you want it to, seamlessly. I like having a weather application that includes doppler radar images, and that is free. I also have several games on it. There is a great variety of applications available from hundreds of third-parties right on the iPod itself, so you are certain to find something that interests you. I really like the new release of Spore, for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Apple is really pushing the games and quietly suggest they are challenging Nintendo and Sony. They are innovative and interesting games, but I think they have a ways to go, to challenge those game makers.

Nike + is now built in too, so if you have the shoes and the puck, the iPod Touch is ready to receive the data from it. Battery life is improved to 36 hours audio and 6 hours video according to Apple. I find the audio number fairly accurate if you don’t light up the display much, but the video number is a slight bit harder to achieve.

Of course, the new ipod Touch does look and feel even better than the first generation, from my small experiences with the previous one. I also think it feels cooler than my iPhones, but obviously your interpretation may very. I like the metal back on the iPod Touch. It looks classy, though it is prone to scratches.

One of my favorite features continues to be, when in my home on Wi-Fi, to reach down for the Touch, use Safari web browser and look something up. It’s great.

Overall, it was a solid update for the iPod Touch. I wish the speaker could be better on it, but I believe that is due to the physical restrictions of the small device. I could have knocked it to four stars for that, but I think most people realize a built in speaker isn’t the way you want to listen to most audio on an iPod to begin with. I’m impressed by the second generation iPod Touch, and I think with the third party applications getting better and becoming more popular, more people will consider the Touch.

Hope you live in a temperate climate…1
Obviously from all these other reviews this is by far the most functional product out there, and I’m not disputing that at all, I loved my Ipod touch, but they have a ridiculously short lifespan. The kicker is that if you as much as sweat on it or expose it to rapidly changing temperatures (as is common in the upper midwest) your warranty is voided and your Ipod might not last long at all.

I just lost an Ipod touch due to moister condensation from taking it from 30 degree weather to 70 degree weather. That created enough condensation to trip the water marker inside the Ipod which voids the warranty and shorted out the screen. To top it off; that one was actually a replacement for another Ipod touch because the first one I got had a phone jack that broke within a month of normal use, and then this one had a faulty screen due to “water damage” and now Apple conveniently doesn’t have to replace it anymore.

Just read some of the discussions on Apples site about Ipods and water damage, it literally takes just one drop of water to short it out and void the warranty.

So if your getting one my advice is to live somewhere that doesn’t get too cold or put you in situations that allow moisture condensation to happen.

About Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation) LATEST MODEL detail

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #6 in Consumer Electronics
  • Size: 16 GB
  • Color: black
  • Brand: Apple
  • Model: MB531LL/A
  • Dimensions: 4.10″ h x .33″ w x 2.40″ l, .50 pounds
  • Display size: 3.5

Features

  • This player is the iPod touch, not the Apple iPhone
  • 16 GB capacity for 3,500 songs, 10,000 photos, or 20 hours of video
  • Up to 36 hours of music playback or 6 hours of video playback when fully charged
  • 3.5-inch widescreen multi-touch display with 480-by-320-pixel resolution
  • Supported audio formats: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV; supported video formats: H.264, MPEG-4; supported image file types: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG

List Price: $299.99
Amazon Price: $274.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Source From ipod-love-20
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