“I’ve been testing the newest member of the iPod family, the big-screen iPod touch. It’s a close cousin to the iPhone that connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi wireless networking and replaces the famous iPod click wheel with a touch screen,” Walter S. Mossberg reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Like earlier iPods, the Touch is elegant and capable, and works smoothly with Apple’s free iTunes software for Windows and Macintosh PCs, as well as with its computer-based online iTunes Store, which sells far more downloaded songs and TV shows than any other legal outlet,” Mossberg reports. “Not only that, but the Touch introduces a mobile version of the iTunes store. It’s called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, and it allows you to buy, right on the iPod, any of six million songs for the same price you’d pay on a computer. This portable store will soon be made available on the iPhone as well.”
“For all its beauty and functionality, the Touch has some quirks and downsides. It’s the first iPod model I’ve ever tested that fell significantly short, in my tests, of Apple’s battery-life claims [just under17 hours for music and just over 4 hours for video vs. Apple’s claimed up to 22 hours and up to 5 hours],” Mossberg reports.
“In my tests, music and video playback went perfectly, and so did viewing photos. The Wi-Fi functions, including the Web browser, a YouTube video viewer and the new mobile store, also worked perfectly,” Mossberg reports.
Apple’s new iPod touch “is a great media player, and the iPod remains the best end-to-end portable solution for playing and purchasing music and video,” Mossberg reports.
More in the full review here.
“the best end-to-end portable solution”
Isn’t one of them facing the wrong way? That’s innuendo.
Walt, old buddy, you must turn WiFi off before you test the battery times for music or video playback.
Apples battery time tests are fairly accurate but they are based on using one function at a time.
Just reviewed the specs at Apple. Any bets that battery tests were with Wi-Fi turned off and Mossberg’s tested with Wi-Fi on?
I don’t knolw this, just wondering if any else knows?
I just remember that over the years, Wi-Fi was downplayed in a handheld because it would suck the battery life down.
…. Innuendo,
isn’t that an Italian suppository?
Just as a bigamist is a large area of fog, in Italy.
And the Vatican police speak pig Latin?
Walt says that Apple told him they only included Safari so people could log in places to Ise the iTunes store.
What a selfish reason. Not because customers would like it. That’s why no Mail program? What a crappy reason.
Who cares what Mossberg thinks?
The Touch is light years ahead of Creative, Zune, etc.
Archos is the only thig that comes close.
Walt says that Apple claims 22 hours with WIFI on.
It seems that MDN omitted what is to me the most interesting section of Walt’s review:
“Also, some early iPod Touch units have had defective screens, where images appeared too dark. Apple says this problem affected a small number of units and is being remedied. My two test units displayed beautiful images.”
It takes several charges for the battery tests to be accurate.
“But it seems ridiculous to me to sell a powerful device with Wi-Fi and a huge screen, and to leave out things like an email program, even though you can use Web-based email programs. I assume Apple was concerned that the less costly Touch might compete too much with the iPhone if it had these features. In fact, if somebody can jam a voice-over-Internet capability into the iPod Touch, it might be more of a threat to the iPhone, which is tethered to a single cellphone carrier, AT&T;.”
TMF-
Are you making Walt the butt of your jokes?….
No, butt . . Rupert’s one rich, rump roast.
Why leave wifi on when you don’t use it.
Once outside your home wifi surfing isn’t going to be that frequent !
“Apple’s iPod Touch Is a Beauty of a Player Short on Battery Life”
That was the headline in the paper also. I had three different people smugly point it out to me before I was even in my office.
Walt must be looking for hits, he knows the whole battery thing is a great headline that people remember and quote, even though they don’t read the article.
So, the nuts bombard him with how unfair he is and his hits goes up. Sad if he’s taking this route. Even possible that he had no say in the headline.
I think Walt took the iPod touch to bed with him, sucking up valuable battery life. Wonder if Senator Larry Craig would get better battery times?
With wifi on… i get maybe 2 hours. and the .Mac web interface does not play well with Safari on the iPod touch.. Bummer.
“Wonder if Senator Larry Craig would get better battery times?”
Probably. But only if he could master tapping the menus with his feet. He’s much too busy stalling right now.
Comment from: Paul Zune’s Dork
“The Touch is light years ahead of Creative, Zune, etc.”
Paul Zune’s Dork, do you even know what a light year is?
Comment from: MikeK
“It takes several charges for the battery tests to be accurate.”
It takes several charges for a liIon battery to reach its peak performance but this has nothing to do with the accuracy of a test. No relationship.
Lightyear was used correctly.
It is the distance light travels in one year(365 Earth standard days) or 1 lightyear = 9.4605284 × 10 to the 15th power meters.
In common usage it means someones development, progress, advancement is a great deal more substantial than that of their competitor.
And Jason was a great Medea player. That ended badly. She got fleeced.