iLove

For over half a decade, Apple has been creating the most popular selling mp3 player of a generation. The iPod has spanned nine years, four versions, and branched from portable music player to symbolic icon of an era. The iPod Touch, Apple’s 6th generation revolutionized mp3 player, was my third mp3 player and my second iPod. It cost $370 and had 16 gigabytes of storage. With my newest iPod came expectations that lead to likes and dislikes.
To be perfectly honest, I am a true Apple/Mac enthusiast. My family and friends are quite aware that I have trouble finding flaws with anything branded with the now famous fruit. I bought the Apple iPod Touch on pure impulse. I knew that I wanted and needed a new iPod and decided when the iPod Touch was the one I wanted. I expected it to work right out of the box, with no problems, be fun, and most of all I expect to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my original iPod, which happened to be the fourth generation Photo Ipod.
First impressions are supposed to have the most impact, this is why I was worried when I first opened my iPod Touch. I found that upon hitting the power button, it prompted me to plug it into a computer. This left me with a concern I could feel down in the pit of my stomach, my previous iPod turned on right out of the box. After plugging it in and syncing the music from my computer on to it, I felt much more comfortable. It started working as I had seen it work endless times on the commercials. I found that, compared to my old iPod, it had so many more features. After downloading important updates, I could instantly check my mail, surf the internet, check stocks, and even watch YouTube videos without rolling out of bed or reaching for my laptop. Coupled with this great feature was it’s perfectly simple interface and navigation. I’ve always chose Apple because of it’s simplicity and ease of use. Of course my old iPod was great, with its, “scroll, click, play” features, but the iPod Touch is just easier and more enjoyable. I could actually touch, scroll, drag, whatever I wanted to do with music, pictures, or websites. But with all good characteristics, there must be a counterpart, the cons.
As stated before, my friends and family are aware of my trouble with finding flaws in anything branded by Apple. Despite me being notorious for this, I have some concerns with the newest addition to the Apple family. I was not happy with it’s batter life, in contrast to my first iPod, the iPod Touch had a very brief battery life, what I’ve measured to be roughly half a day. I used to listen to my iPod almost all day and come home charge it and start the cycle over again for the next day. With the iPod Touch I have to be careful of how long I browse the internet or watch a video, because I know this shaves precious minutes off my battery life. Closely related to this battery issue was an issue that arose with locking the device. My previous device had a small switch on top that would lock down all external buttons from being used. With the new iPod there is no such switch, I am relying on myself to be careful and not to bump the power switch, although the home screen prompts you to unlock the touch screen, I cannot prevent the home screen from accidently coming on. To add to all my issues, came an annoyance. A new feature Apple includes on the iPod is the iTunes Store. Confusing? Yes. Normally a person would think of the iTunes store on his or her computer, but now you can access it directly from your iPod, and also directly buy and download to your iPod. The store is nothing like the one on a computer, the interface is different, cluttered, confusing, and not helpful when it comes to music or artist information. From what I have found, there is no way to rid my iPod of the link to the iTunes Store.
Though finding issues with my new iPod, recommendation is no question. I would without a single doubt, recommend this new and brilliant product to my worst enemy. With an mp3 player that has style, allows you to check mail, watch videos, play music, view photos, take notes, and more, who needs Palm Pilots and smartphones such as the Blackberry or Treo? This is the first time in a long time that I am happy with my large purchase for what seems to be a small item. It’s simplicity and ease coupled with great features makes the iPod Touch the perfect music player, organizer, and just overall great product in which you can't help falling in love.