Apple iPod touch 3rd Gen (64 gigs) - Apple Keeps Doing It

Author's Rating:

Pros: An upgrade from the classic that's worth the money

Cons: Battery life

The Bottom Line: 
The 10-year old me would never imagine having a device so usable and cool.

Author's Review
While I thoroughly enjoy every Apple product I've purchased (and yes, I have the Apple TV as well), Apple has gone above and beyond with recreating the iPod. I've had many iterations of the iPod including two versions of the "classic" iPod, the Nano, as well as a couple versions of the Shuffle. While the iPod touch isn't the end all be all or swiss army knife iPod (I'd go Nano for that), it's a great product for those who enjoy carrying their media with them.

Before I get carried away, I understand that Apple products aren't everyone's cup of tea. There are other products out there that people use, including the Zune. I know people who enjoy non-Apple products and that's fine. I'm not trying to convert people. This is going to be a pro-review, and while my Apple fandom will come through, I really do think the product is of high quality.

The 4th generation model is already out there, so this review may be slightly dated, but because of how well the 3rd generation model works, I didn't find the need to buy the new model. That itself might be review enough for some. I didn't even think about buying the newer version because of how satisfied I am with the 3rd generation product.

As I stated above, your casual iPod user will probably be more comfortable with a Nano or Shuffle model. The touch model is more for the advanced iPod user who wants to carry all of their media with them.

For instance, I have a very long commute and it makes sense for me to carry as many songs, podcasts, and video as possible. Other than having a full 2.5 by 4.5 inch screen for viewing, what differentiates the touch model from other models is exactly what you'd expect. It features a touch screen and no buttons on the face of the iPod.

At first, I thought it was just a gimmick, but by replacing the click wheel and adding full screen touch capability, Apple created a very intuitive and logical user interface that was immediately easy to use. Rather than using a click wheel to scroll through your music, you use your finger to scroll through it more quickly and exact than how you'd been doing it before.

Also, because of the display, the face of your iPod touch looks much like your desktop would on your computer. The applications are displayed and with one touch, they open up. If you have more applications than just the first page can hold, swipe to the left and you'll reach the second page.

The operating system that runs the touch is the iOS and because of updates that have been made to the OS (I think we're on 4.2), there are a couple of new features on the touch that are usable when you update it. The best of those features is the ability to multi-task (run more than one program at once) like listening to music through the Pandora app and playing a game at the same time. Also, you can group apps in folders to make your touch more organized.

Speaking of apps, I am not a huge fan of many of them, but they are addicting to say the least and I do have my favorites. I'm just not the type who downloads every new application. Through wi-fi, you have access to the app store which sells third party applications for prices as low as free (most at 99 cents) all the way up to several dollars. You can also buy apps through the iTunes Music Store. Many of the apps are games and the iPod touch has become my kids' video game playing device of choice, over their Nintendo DS. For hardcore advanced gamers, the games played on the touch may not be their cup of tea as most are simplistic because the touch controls make sure they are.

But games aren't the only apps. My favorite app is the Netflix app which allows me to stream movies and TV shows through wi-fi to watch on the touch. The picture is above average and at times excellent, and other than once or twice, I haven't had any issues with the video breaking up. There are also very good Facebook and Twitter apps if that's your cup of tea, or other more involved apps like the MLB At Bat app. That application is $15, but it gives you access to every radio feed of every game in-season. I used it several times while at work to listen to the San Francisco Giants, who play a lot of day games. It also worked like a charm when I wanted to listen to the Giants home announcers instead of the Fox borefest with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. I just had to sync the video with the audio since TV has a several second delay.

(There's also this great app by a great company called Fanbase which gives you a ton of historic sports information as long as you have wi-fi. Ok, enough of the shameless plug.)

Before I describe in a little bit more detail of how well the device works, there are a couple other applications that I will quickly note. If you like carrying photos around with you, you can through the photo application. It's a breeze to find any photo that you share through the touch device and they display beautifully on-screen. My favorite application that's not all that well advertised is Voice Memos. Your touch features a tiny microphone that picks up sound and you can actually use it as a recorder. I cover MMA and boxing events for my blog and I can use my touch as a recorder. Once I start recording, it gives you a reading to see how hot the sound is and once you stop recording, it creates a file. When you sync the iPod to your iTunes account, the file will show up in a playlist automatically.

The last thing that needs to be said about the touch isn't really about the touch itself as it is about iTunes. iTunes was built specifically to work with all iPods. The only way to get full functionality out of the touch, or any iPod, is to sync consistently with iTunes. As you add to your music collection (probably using the iTunes Music Store if you're paying for music), once you sync your iPod, the new music shows up via a sync that takes about a minute. It takes longer if you are syncing other media like videos or apps.

Also, as I stated above, as long as you consistently sync with iTunes, your OS will always be updated. Syncing with iTunes will charge your touch as well. Maybe the only issue I have with the touch, as with pretty much every iPod that I've owned, is that the battery life lessens quickly. I don't know that I've ever seen the 30 hours of battery life that Apple suggests, but I imagine that time is measured by simply pushing play and allowing music to run. By swiping and lighting up the screen and clicking on and using apps, the battery degrades pretty quickly.

I don't usually watch more than 30 minutes of video at a time, but it seems that video, games, and apps which rely on using wi-fi, drain the battery the quickest. Because of this issue, I really wish that Apple included a batter wall charger, but they don't.

I wanted to add a few last key notes and I'll do so in shorter chunks.

- The touch is absolutely beautiful, but you have to take care of it. Just like any screen, it will scratch if you're not careful which hurts the experience. Also, buy a case for it that will take some of the damage if you accidentally drop it.

- There is an iBooks app in case you don't mind reading on such a small device. The iPad is the device to use for those who want to read books, but I don't find the reading experience to be bad with the touch. I haven't had any issues reading information via the safari browser and the display for the browser is sharp.

- I wouldn't dare use this while running. I've used it while lifting weights by putting it in my pocket, but I wouldn't use it as a workout iPod. That's what the Shuffle is for. It's on the bigger end, but also, it's an electronic device and you don't want to get water or sweat near it.

- There's also a very small speaker on the edge of the device so that you don't have to use headphones to hear sound, but the sound coming out of the speaker is tinny and the volume isn't really loud enough to enjoy what you're listening to. I don't ever listen without my headphones.

- If you have a lot of media on your computer, I'd go with the largest touch they have, which is this model. While you don't have to put everything on your touch if you don't want to, I've found that it's simply easier to have the space, rather than try to figure out what you need to take out. The media management is a piece of cake through iTunes, but having to manage the media of my kids' touch's (8 and 16 gigs) is a step that I don't like doing. I just like having it all.   

- Oddly, there's no camera on this model. They did add it on the 4th generation model, but there was really no reason at all why a camera didn't exist on this model. My guess is that they wanted to make sure that FaceTime was ready and it simply wasn't. 

- While I paid $399.00 for this brand new, it's gone down a bit if you can still find it in stores or online. I imagine they're even cheaper used.  

All in all, it's really a great device. While I still believe that the Nano is the utility device and the one that would suffice for most iPod users, the touch is the tour de force for big media users. I've had it now for over a year and haven't once felt like I needed to use my classic model again. In fact, I believe I gave it away a month after I bought this one.