I re-read my post about the iPod touch and realised I probably wasn’t very balanced in the way I discussed it, particularly in light of the fact that I specifically said it wasn’t going to be a ra-ra post. Maybe I’ve had a cooling-off period. 🙂 So, here goes with some of the negatives I can see…
It doesn’t have a radio, and doesn’t (as far as I know) have sound recording capability — these are a couple of features that many folks find important in a portable audio device. Also, just because I was out of touch with my original estimate of the price, doesn’t mean that it isn’t overpriced.
16GB of storage, while impressive in some ways, is miniscule for what could be considered, thanks to the size of its screen, Apple’s flagship portable video display device. A decent amount of storage, such as those now offered on the iPod classic, is going to be needed for a lot of people to take this seriously in comparison to something like a Creative Zen Vision or Archos unit.
Some might say the biggest criticism is the fact that, like the iPhone, there’s limited potential for third-party expansion. Apple is a visionary company, but they can’t think of everything in advance and to not allow (or make it hard for) third-party applications to be delivered on these devices shows a distinct lack-of-vision.
Maybe I have cooled off on it, but I’m a little less keen on shelling out an AU$549 lump of money now. Maybe Apple’s early announcement was a bad thing — they might have got a lot of impulse buyers just drop the money on it and then see the negatives, instead of (like me) having some time to think about it before being able to spend the dough. Not that I think the iPod touch will be a failure, but given the US$200 price drop on the iPhone within six months of release I think I’ll hang onto the trusty-old third gen iPod a bit longer.
Crossed Wires 