Review Product I Review Smartphone I Apple iPod Touch 64GB 1st Generation Review

When I was an Apple lover (I am now an Apple loather.) I have always, since owning an iPod touch considered it to be one of our most pointless gadgets in the house. I am going to explain why. In 3 words... iPhone and Android. These 2 devices have to be the reasons why I so detest this device....

Sound Quality: We have a very expensive Bose sound system connected to this device and VIA the Bose the sound clarity is very good, being clear and crisp. Sadly with the earphones the sound quality is ruined they are plastically and cheap, disappointing for a luxury brand, in my opinion. The earphones kept falling out and eventually, I binned them and used my iLuv earphones- which improved sound quality (and comfort no end!) 

Ease of Use+ iTunes and Apple ID. The touchscreen itself, is very nice to use. The touch screen is very good, as it is a capacitive touch screen, meaning it uses electrical charges to detect movement on a touchscreen as opposed to a resistive touchscreen which uses a horrible pressure pad. The screen is easy to navigate, as even I admit the interface is rather lovely, as all applications are on "start" screen itself as opposed to being in a separate folder in on Android device. I must say I do like the home button on the iPod, as it makes getting lost in the device easy to manage, as it will take you straight back to the home screen.

Sadly from that point the iPod fails to deliver. I HATE iTunes and Apple ID. iTunes is an Apple designed music store, that one can pay around £0.99 for 1 track of music, which to my mind is stupidly priced, after spending £450 on a music player- you would have thought it would be FREE!!!! iTunes is fairly simple to navigate however, as you are able, much like Apple's Application store, to hunt for the most popular, albums and single tracks at the point in time. Sadly I hate Apple ID, which you must enter to download anything, for security purposes, something you don't need to do with an Android. The Apple ID number also requires a certain number of keys such as a capital and an actual number- it is over the top and highly irritating. Naturally when it comes to software updates- iTunes is where it takes place. Luckily after rambling through Apple security, the computer will tell you if there is an update ready and once you agree to download, it remains simple. Applications can be downloaded VIA Wi-Fi. 

Look, design and durability: I very much dislike the design of the 4th generation iPod. For starters the power on button is now angled away from ones finger, so I often find I am pressing on the hard and rather sharp rim around the iPod. It is also therefore, quite horrible to hold, compared to my LG smartphone (soon to be the Lumia 920, or perhaps a Samsung Galaxy Note 2.) The volume buttons on the side of the iPod are stiff and again angled. The metal rear, very much encourages sweaty hands, in hot weather, and therefore smudges the rear of the iPod; this means a case is essential (something else you will need to buy, on top of the £350!) The device also only weighs 88 grams, it is also very thin... This means, I often panic when I can't feel the device in my pocket...

The durability of the iPod Touch is horrific. If you drop it, then according to drop tests on Youtube, the screen will almost certainly crack. Even if it doesn't the rear metal casing, will scratch up very quickly. This sadly ruins the look of the device. The screen does not come with a scratch protector either, but to be fair, the screen in the scratch department is durable. 

The Keyboard: The keyboard for me is far too small. Not only is the keys quite closed in the physical look of them is simply too small to read, though the screen clarity is crisp and bright. I make many mistakes on the pathetic keyboard, meaning I never really use the Internet browser on the device! The keys are however responsive as the touchscreen is good. 

Camera: This topic makes me laugh to be honest. Apple really ruined the device to the point of me actually asking why they bothered sticking a camera on this thing in the first place. The camera is truly terrible. ANY "shots" taken come out blurry and pixelated, which is strange, because my cousin’s iPad 3 has a very good camera. The iPod does not come with flash- so it is obviously useless in the dark, as it is in daylight.

Facetime: Facetime is actually a useful feature; it allows you to talk to other Apple product users, free. It works like Skype, it uses the adequate front camera too allow you to communicate with friends, who may use there iPad, iPod, MacBook, to talk to you. 

Good applications?

Naturally there are some good applications for the iPod as it is not just for music, games such as Angry Birds are free and are a must try- I won't explain the game concept as it is very well known! Safari- the Internet browser, is good, though I do feel 3.5 inches of screen is way too small (as is the pathetic keyboard,) to play games on the iPod in comfort. The best thing about the iPod is that you can watch videos and movies (from iTunes) which are useful for plane journeys etc., particularly as the iPod is small enough to put into ones pocket. It is also useful that it can connect to Wi-Fi, meaning you can receive emails, by connecting them to the mail server. The mail application which is pre built into the device, is good as it receives emails quickly, while being organised, but again it is too small to reply and in some cases read them, though the pinch the screen to zoom feature helps this. 

Storage: We bought the top spec 64GB model, designed for people with allot of music and applications. Naturally this is the most expensive model at £450. Personally I would choose a 32GB (gun to my head that is as I would never buy one again!) 7000 song storage is more than enough- naturally our one doubles this.

Booting and Battery: battery life is rubbish. Luckily our Bose system keeps it charges. Minus this, it lasts for 5 hours from personal experience. This is not good enough, as charging the device takes a long time- up to 2 hours I have found! Booting the device takes around 10 seconds, which is slower than my older LG Smartphone, which takes 6-7 seconds to boot. 

Warranty: We are actually in the process of suing Apple over warranty issues over my MacBook. Apple gives a sub-standard 1 year warranty (Samsung gives 2 years on their Galaxy Music player and other mobile devices.) Even by EU standards this is not long enough, as it fails to comply with EU trading standards, then- I am taking it down to just 1 star- the cherry on the big fat ZERO stars is the below reasons. 

In all why would you get an iPod???? Let’s look at the bottom possibilities below. If you want/are about to buy an iPhone...

So you have/are getting an iPhone: Well then- why buy an iPod touch? The iPhone is also perfectly capable of storing music, applications and videos- it just has a higher price tag- so if you can't afford one then why not save for one or simply get one of eBay? 

EVEN BETTER? You have an Android? I know this is down to opinion iFans! But music is free with an Android Smartphone. It is also priced the same as an iPod Touch and even if for example 16GB is not enough storage space, then you can always expand it...

iPad? SUPER! The iPad, known as a tablet PC, is a good device and though costs a bit more, than the iPod, it is a far superior device. Like the iPod, it can be connected to a sound system to play music. The iPad is much more user friendly as the screen is bigger. It is also much faster, the current model hosting a Quad core processor. I also find it much more comfortable to watch movies on the plane with the iPad. It is also superb at emails, if just short of my current BlackBerry PlayBook.

I don’t want to save for an iPhone/iPad/Android?

Then why not get the iPod classic or the shuffle- they still play music AND they are much more durable!

The Verdict: Why buy an iPod? I don't know why I did. It is poorly made, horrible on the eyes and slow compared to other devices. It is also pointless to my mind... As mentioned the iPhone is an iPod, which can make phone calls and send real texts, with a usable camera, the iPad, is faster and more comfortable to use, for the same sort of money, if you shop carefully. It can also take better photos and can also be connected to a sound system anyway. The Android device also, to my mind makes an iPod all the more pointless as it can again, take better photos, is the same price and can naturally make phone calls, and collect FREE music, VIA Google Play.

Advantages:
Good sound quality using the Bose system, initially an attractive device 

Disadvantages:
SCRATCHES, horrible earphones, pointless if you have a Smartphone, terrible camera .  .  . 

Source : http://www.ciao.co.uk/Apple_iPod_touch_64_GB__Review_6078298