iPod Touch - Apple Has Made Everything Fast And Easy

In the portable media space, for years nothing has even close to the iPod Touch. It's astoundingly thin, has access to the full catalogue of hundreds of thousands of App Store apps, and what do you know, it even does a great job at playing music. The screen isn't quite as great as what you'll get on an iPhone 4 or 4S, but unless you listen to your music on your phone or absolutely require your entire 1,000 album music library with you at all times, just buy an iPod touch.

There's a new white model, which is white on the front face and mirrored on the back, but the touch retains its 2010 dimensions: 4.4 by 2.3 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and 3.6 ounces even Apple iPod Touch repair parts are easily available in market. Apple's custom A4 chip powers the device, and the super-sharp Retina display remains 3.5 diagonal inches and 960-by-640 pixels (at 326 pixels per inch). The touch's left-hand panel houses two Volume buttons. A headphone jack, a speaker, and a 30-pin connector for USB computer syncing are on the bottom of the player. With the inclusion of iOS 5, the iPod touch now becomes a messaging device. It can also use the new iCloud function, which features iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, and Documents in the Cloud, so you can share content wirelessly between your computer, your iPod touch, your iPhone, and your iPad.

The Now Playing view is a showcase for album art, and you can play music while you surf the Web, view photos, or even play games. By itself, the iPod touch is a fine audio device—plug in a pair of good-quality headphones and you won't be disappointed with the frequency range and overall audio quality.

The rear-facing camera records video in HD (720p), up to 30fps, capturing audio through the rear panel mic. Still photos max out at 960 by 720 pixels. The front-facing camera, intended for FaceTime video chat, offers lower resolutions: VGA-quality for photos and videos, again, up to 30fps.

iOS 5 brings iMessage to the iPod touch. If you use an iPhone, the difference between an iMessage and a text message is pretty much undetectable—they appear the same in your Messages app. However, iMessage uses Wi-Fi rather than a carrier's signal, which means that Wi-Fi devices, like the iPod touch, are invited to the party. Not invited: Devices not running iOS 5. Still, any friends of yours with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad can now be sent virtual texts via iMessage—all you need is a wireless signal. This means you can send them photo and video straight from your iPod touch, too. With iOS 5, Game Center gets a few new features, like the ability to purchase new games from within the app and add photos to your profile.
Surfing in Safari on the iPod touch is a great experience. Now that the Zune HD, which was also a strong Internet device, is officially a relic, the iPod touch offers the strongest Web experience on any device this size that isn't a mobile phone. Still, there are some annoyances.

Apple rates the battery life for the iPod touch at an impressive 40 hours for audio and seven hours for video. We ran two different battery rundown tests. Playing music with Wi-Fi off and Auto-Lock set to one minute, we got a great result: 47 hours and 25 minutes. Playing video with Wi-Fi on and the screen set to full brightness, we got 5 hours, 32 minutes of video playback. At half brightness, we got more than eight hours. That's enough for a good day's worth of use.

The only real problem with the touch is its high price—especially if you want a decent amount of storage. But with an entry point of $199, you do get a camera, HD video recording, messaging and video chat, a music and video player, portable gaming, the Web, email, and apps all in one slick, pocket-size package. It was true when it first debuted, and even more so now: No other portable media player can compete with the iPod touch.