BusinessWeek’s Cliff Edwards searches long and hard for drawbacks in his recent review of Apple’s iPod touch and comes up with “no built-in speaker” and “no dedicated volume button for music.”
Edwards is also upset that iPod touch users must first connect to iTunes, explaining, “As with the iPhone, when you first turn on the Touch, you need to connect it to an active iTunes account. This syncs it with information such as how much money you have available for wireless music downloads. I found this requirement a little annoying, since you can’t use the device until you do it.”
Edwards is also annoyed that “if you happen to have more than one iTunes account, you’ll have to remember to log into the desired one on your computer before you sync the device.”
Edwards was also irritated that because he “initially checked ‘manually manage my account,’ the Touch wouldn’t automatically sync downloaded tracks to my computer. The quick-start guide and online instructions were little help.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s online iPod touch manual clearly explains the painfully obvious (pages 8 and 9) that, if you choose to add items manually, you will turn off automatic syncing for iPod touch.
Edwards continues, actually finding something good to write, “With just two buttons on the device—one below the screen for calling up the home screen and one on the top left edge for turning off the display—the icon-based touch screen makes navigation both a snap and a pleasure. As with the gee-whiz features of the iPhone’s screen, you can use a finger to zip through music playlists, or finger tabs and pinches to zoom in and out on a Web page or photo.”
Edwards writes, “Perhaps more than anything, I was sorely disappointed by the lack of built-in speakers, since the key feature distinguishing the Touch from other iPods is its ability to wirelessly download music. So for example, because there are no speakers, you can’t sample a new clip with a companion who might offer that extra advice on whether you should shell out 99¢ for the track.”
Full article here.
Edwards either got up on the wrong side of the bed the day he pecked out his iPod touch review or he stumbled upon an unfortunate, yet all-too-common trap into which reviewers sometimes fall: trying way too hard to find faults with what is an excellent product overall. And, lest you think that we believe the iPod touch is perfect, we also would have liked to see dedicated physical volume buttons on the touch for manipulating levels without having to take the device from your pocket. Edwards’ other quibbles, however, border on the ridiculous. Perhaps Edwards should read the very publication for which he writes, as Stephen H. Wildstrom reported in BusinessWeek on September 20th that Apple’s iPod touch is “in a class by itself.”