Apple Online StoreApple’s new iPod touch “isn’t magical or revolutionary, or even unfamiliar,” Joshua Topolsky reports for Engadget. “What it is, however, is a product without a peer; a media player that does far more than media playing.”

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Besides the smaller screen real estate, the touch might be better compared to a tablet or netbook — it has many of the same functions (more, in some cases),” Topolsky reports. So you’re not just dropping $229 (8GB), $299 (32GB), or $399 (64GB, also, ouch) on a music and video player — you’re buying into a mini-computer, a video camera, and a game system all with a massive ecosystem.”

Topolsky reports, “If you’re already carrying around a smartphone with the above functions, maybe the iPod touch doesn’t make sense, but for the legions of buyers out there who have yet to make the jump (or are stuck with an outdated handset), this device’s appeal is hard to deny… With the addition of HD video shooting, the new Retina Display, and a faster A4 processor, the touch has just gone from ‘nice to have’ to nearly irresistible.”

Full article here.