Review of new iPod touch 2

Different new iPod touch:
New iPod touch 2 gets new volume control buttons, full Nike+ integration and a built-in loudspeaker. It's not a radical change, but it's better.

First Look: iPod touch 2

When Apple first released the iPod touch, it was with its Wi-Fi capabilities and touchscreen interface - much more than an iPod. With new iPod software updates, Apple brought the apple iPod touch 2’s applications in line with the iPhone.

And there is also third party iPod software update as new iPod apps: Wondershare iPod Video Suite, which convert DVD and all popular video formats to iPod Nano new, new iPod Touch, iPod Classic and iPhone.

 

Price:
The latest iPod touch 2 model:
8GB capacities for $229;
16GB costs $299;
32GB costs $399
They also ship with the latest iPod touch 2.1 software.

 

Nike+ iPod integration:
First and foremost I love the Nike+ iPod integration.
The iPod touch 2 is quite thin and would work well as a small waist - or arm-banded device for workouts and not having to have a tiny little dongle hanging off the end is excellent.
Apple will also be selling the little Nike+ pucks separately now.

 

New iPod touch 2 game:
The second chance is gaming. This is a great opportunity for Apple to enter the casual handheld gaming market as a winner, not an also ran. Some of the other Apps are hit or miss, but it’s nice to have choice.

 

Volume controls and built-in speaker:

 

Volume controls

Press the top of the rocker switch and the volume goes up. A press at the bottom of the switch causes the volume to decrease. Apple’s headphones that carry the Play/Pause switch and microphone— the Play/Pause switch works with new iPod touch 2. (It doesn’t on older iPod touches, even with the new 2.1 software.)

 

Built-in speaker

As Steve Jobs said, this speaker is for “casual listening.” It clearly sits on the bottom left of the device and is fairly directional, the sound from the iPod touch 2 comes from no particular location—it seems to just seep out of any holes on the device.

 

In the Sound setting, where you can find the addition of the New Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts, Lock Sounds, and Keyboard Clicks entries. You can also hear a camera sound when you take a screenshot of the display by pressing Home and Sleep/Wake. It's less springy, more plasticky, and noisier.

 

The Genius playlist:

 

What’s Genius playlist

Genius playlist is one of the marquee features of the new iPod nano and iPod touch 2. It is a scheme for selecting a track in iTunes library or iPod and intelligently creating a playlist of related music. The Genius feature is also available from within the Now Playing screen.
You can read more about the Genius feature in this first look at iTunes 8.

 

There is a list of all the songs on your iPod touch, when you first invoke the Genius playlist. Tap the Music icon at the bottom of the Home screen, tap Playlists, and at the top of the Playlists screen you can see a Genius entry. Tap a track and the iPod creates a list of 25 related tracks and starts playing the track you originally selected.

 

Create Genius playlist?

How to create a different Genius playlist based on that same track?
Just tap Refresh and the playlist is created. And you can also select this playlist and edit it by tapping the Edit button. How much the playlist is refreshed depends on the tracks on your iPod touch 2.

Note: The new iPod touch is possible to stump the Genius.

 

After creating a Genius playlist you can refresh it with new material based on the same source song or start over by tapping New.

When you sync your iPod with your computer, any Genius playlists you’ve created are synced to the computer and appear under the Playlists heading in iTunes’ Source list.

 

The new iPod apps:
The new iPod touch 2 includes the iPod touch 2.1 software, which is a free update for those who’ve purchased the 2.0 software update and a $10 update for those running the older 1.x update.

It’s availables for both the original iPod touch and the new iPod touch 2, software 2.1.1 introduces the Genius automatic playlist generator to the device, as well as complete Nike+ integration.

 

More:
Apple claims that the 2G iPod touch offers better battery life than the original touch. I haven’t had the 2G iPod touch long enough to test its alleged audio playback time of 36 hours and video playback of 6 hours, but will as I delve deeper into the device in preparation for my full review.