Apple iPod touch 8 GB (2nd Generation)
April 29th, 2009 | 35 views | Posted by in Cheap MP3 & Media Players
Apple iPod touch 8 GB (2nd Generation)
The iPod touch has always been an amazing iPod. And with its groundbreaking technologies–including a Multi-Touch screen, the accelerometer, and 3D graphics–and access to hundreds of games, iPod touch puts an amazing gaming experience in the palm of your hand. It comes in 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB models with new volume controls and a built-in speaker.
Play hours of music. Create a Genius Playlist of songs that go great together. Watch a movie. Surf the web. View rich HTML email. Find your location and get directions with Google Maps. Browse YouTube videos. And shop the App Store for games and applications.
Music
Music on iPod touch not only sounds amazing, it looks amazing, too. Remember what it felt like to flip through your CD or record collection? Cover Flow brings that feeling back. Just turn iPod touch on its side and flick through your music to find the album you want to hear. Tap the cover to flip it over and display a track list. Tap again to start the music. Even view the lyrics while you’re listening. Say you’re listening to a song you really like and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. The new Genius feature finds the songs in your library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. You can listen to the playlist right away, save it for later, or even refresh it and give it another go. Count on Genius to create a mix you wouldn’t have thought of yourself.
Fill up your iPod touch with audio and video from your iTunes library. All you have to do is choose the playlists, videos, and other content you want to sync, and iTunes does the rest.
The iPod touch feels even better in your hand, thanks to the stunningly thin, contoured enclosure made of polished stainless steel.
Movies and TV Shows
Movies and TV shows have never looked this good on a portable device. Carry hours of video with you, and watch it on a crisp, clear 3.5-inch widescreen color display. Need ideas? From Hollywood blockbusters to independent favorites, there’s something for everyone at the iTunes Store. Download and watch movies with a few clicks. While watching your video, tap the display to bring up the onscreen controls. With iTunes on your Mac or PC, you can sit at your computer and choose the movies and TV shows you want to sync to your iPod touch.
Games
With its groundbreaking technologies, iPod touch puts an amazing gaming experience in the palm of your hand. Many games come alive with stunning 3D graphics and immerse you in the action with the advanced technologies in iPod touch. There’s even a built-in speaker, so you can hear all the action. Many games for iPod touch use Multi-Touch to give you precise, fingertip control over game elements. Use your finger to drag your pieces around the board in chess or dice games. Or pinch to enlarge or shrink your view, rotate your character left or right, or just tap to make a selection.
The built-in accelerometer actually responds to your movements, so you can tilt and turn your iPod touch to control the action.
The App Store
Even if games aren’t your thing, there’s an iPod touch application for you. Thousands of applications in almost every category–entertainment, social networking, sports, photography, reference, and travel–are a tap away at the App Store.
iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
Discover new music anywhere. The built-in wireless capability in iPod touch gives you access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, where you can choose from millions of songs with a tap. When you connect iPod touch to your computer, the music you bought on-the-go syncs to your iTunes library. If you’ve partially downloaded a song to iPod touch, your computer completes the download automatically.
iPod touch at Starbucks
If you have an iPod touch, an iPhone, or a computer with the latest version of iTunes, you get free Wi-Fi access to the iTunes Store and to Starbucks’ Now Playing content. Stroll into a participating Starbucks, and you’re connected automatically.
Safari
iPod touch features Safari, the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device. The iPod touch is the only iPod with 802.11b/g wireless access to the web. Whenever you’re connected via Wi-Fi, you can access your favorite websites to read news, check scores, pay bills, and go shopping. You can access favorite sites quickly. It has Google and Yahoo! search built in, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for on the web. Get a closer look at any web page by zooming in and out with a tap or a pinch of the Multi-Touch display. View websites in portrait or landscape. Rotate iPod touch 90 degrees and the website rotates, too.
Email on iPod touch looks and works just like email on your computer.
Email on iPod touch looks and works just like email on your computer. iPod touch supports rich HTML email, so images and photos appear alongside text. And you see email attachments in their original formats, not stripped-down versions. Rotate, zoom, and pan in more than a dozen standard file and image formats, including PDF; Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; and iWork. iPod touch recognizes email addresses in different applications. If you run across an email address on a web page or a map listing, for example, just tap it; iPod touch opens a new message and addresses it for you.
Maps
When you’re connected via Wi-Fi, you can get directions, find local businesses, and check traffic. iPod touch finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots. Just type in an address and get directions from wherever you are. Just like Google Maps on your computer, Maps on iPod touch lets you switch between views of Google map data, satellite images, and a hybrid of both. Multi-Touch makes the difference. Tap to zoom, pan, and change your view on the move.
YouTube
Love to watch the latest YouTube videos? iPod touch gives you all the fun of the web’s best videos–pocket-size. Explore Featured, Most Viewed, Most Recent, and Top Rated videos. Or search for the video you want with a keyword search. Once you find what you’re looking for, bookmark it to watch later.
Photos
Carry up to 25,000 of your favorite photos everywhere. You can share, save and sync Photos by your iPod touch.
Calendar
With iPod touch, it’s easy to make plans and stay on schedule. Keep your schedule at your fingertips with iPod touch. Add events to your calendar. Set a custom alert. Write a note or two. Manage multiple color-coded calendars. And do it all with just a few taps. And all the events you’ve added on your computer sync to iPod touch.
Contacts
Put names, email addresses, phone numbers, and more at your fingertips. Build your contacts list on your Mac with Address Book or on your PC with Microsoft Outlook, then sync everything to your iPod touch using iTunes. You also can add contact information directly to your iPod touch from maps, web pages, and email. Next time you sync, your computer is updated, too. If you have a lot of contacts, a quick search shows you a list of matching names. Or you can scroll up and down your entire list to find the right contact. Want to send them an email? Just tap an email address and the Mail application opens automatically.
Stocks, Weather, and Notes
Stocks on iPod touch shows you performance information for any stock you choose. When you want more details about a stock’s performance, tap the Y! for instant access to Yahoo! Finance. Check worldwide weather at home or away. Add the cities you want, then flick back and forth to get six-day forecasts for each. Tap the Y! to open a Yahoo! city guide that shows you what’s happening, rain or shine. Use Notes on iPod touch to write yourself a quick note and keep important information on hand. There’s even a built-in email function that lets you send notes to yourself or others.
Calculator
Calculator on iPod touch helps you settle the restaurant bill or keep track of your budget. When you tap the Calculator icon, iPod touch shows you a simple application with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and memory functions. Use it just as you would a pocket calculator. Your simple calculator doubles as a sophisticated scientific calculator. Just rotate it to landscape to access dozens of functions for solving complex science and math problems.
Nike + iPod
iPod touch now includes built-in Nike + iPod support. Just slip the Nike + iPod Sensor (available separately) into your Nike+ shoe and start your run. The sensor communicates wirelessly with your iPod touch, tracking your time, distance, and calories burned. It even gives you voice feedback on your progress. This feature also works with new cardio equipment available in many fitness centers. Just look for treadmills, ellipticals, stair steppers, and stationary bikes that are Nike + iPod compatible. When you get back to your computer, sync your iPod touch via iTunes and transfer your exercise data to nikeplus.com, where you can track your workouts, set goals, and challenge friends.
Multi-Touch
iPod touch features the same revolutionary interface as iPhone. Built to take full advantage of the large 3.5-inch display, the Multi-Touch touchscreen interface lets you control everything using only your fingers. So you can glide through albums with Cover Flow, flick through photos and enlarge them with a pinch, zoom in and out on a section of a web page, and control game elements precisely.
iPod touch features an intelligent touchscreen keyboard perfect for browsing the web in Safari, getting directions on a map, searching for videos on YouTube, finding music on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, or adding new contacts. It analyzes keystrokes to suggest words as you type and correct spelling errors automatically. And because it’s software based, it changes its keys to support typing in multiple languages.
Accelerometer
iPod touch responds to motion using a built-in accelerometer. iPod touch detects when you rotate it from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display. So you immediately see the entire width of a web page, view a photo in its proper aspect ratio, or control a game using only your movements. Accelerometer technology really shines when you play games because it immerses you in the action. It’s perfect for racing games–where your entire iPod touch acts as a steering wheel–and for tap-and-tilt games like Super Monkey Ball, in which your character responds to your every movement.
Wireless
Connect iPod touch to the Internet anywhere there’s a wireless network. Now you can send email from a coffee shop. Surf the web at the airport. Shop for games from your couch. Browse, buy, and download music from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at select Starbucks locations or other wireless hotspots in your area.
Read Kindle Books on the iPod touch
- 230,000 books, including more than 109 of 112 New York Times® Bestsellers.
- Buy a book on your PC or Mac and get it auto-delivered wirelessly to your iPod touch.
- No Kindle required.
- All New York Times® Bestsellers and new releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
- Free book samples–read the first chapter for free before you decide to buy.
- Books you purchase also can be read on a Kindle.
- If you own a Kindle, Amazon automatically synchronizes your last page read between devices with Whispersync.
- Adjust the text size, add bookmarks, and view the annotations you created on your Kindle.
What’s in the Box
iPod touch 8 GB, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, dock adapter, polishing cloth, quick start guide
Apple iPod touch 8 GB (2nd Generation) Review
First, physical volume buttons are now placed on the side of the iPod Touch as they are on the iPhone. This is very convenient. It allows you to adjust the volume of your music, without having to pull the entire device out of your pocket and activate the screen. A time saver.
Second, many people requested a built-in speaker for the iPod Touch like is available on the iPhone. Apple listened. However, there is one important point to make on this! The iPod Touch is incredibly small, and Apple is forced to put an incredibly small speaker. The speaker in the iPod Touch sounds worst than the speaker in the iPhone. I have compared it side by side, and it’s fairly significant, and the iPhone speaker isn’t that great to begin with. However, in a quiet room, the speaker is still useful for previewing a song you might want to buy, or for playing games. However, still, if you want great sound, you need to connect your headphones.
Genius – This new feature is really surprisingly good. When you’re listening to a song you enjoy, select the genius option. It will create a playlist for you, with songs that go together nicely with the one you started with. It helps you rediscover great music from your collection with a playlist suited to the mood you’re in. I didn’t think it would do a good job compiling this list, but it has been quite impressive.
Applications – It’s great to have the ability to buy (or get some free) applications right on the iPod Touch. Furthermore, with the software update this new iPod Touch comes with, the Application installation process is so much smoother than it had been even on my iPhone. It now works how you want it to, seamlessly. I like having a weather application that includes doppler radar images, and that is free. I also have several games on it. There is a great variety of applications available from hundreds of third-parties right on the iPod itself, so you are certain to find something that interests you. I really like the new release of Spore, for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Apple is really pushing the games and quietly suggest they are challenging Nintendo and Sony. They are innovative and interesting games, but I think they have a ways to go, to challenge those game makers.
Nike + is now built in too, so if you have the shoes and the puck, the iPod Touch is ready to receive the data from it. Battery life is improved to 36 hours audio and 6 hours video according to Apple. I find the audio number fairly accurate if you don’t light up the display much, but the video number is a slight bit harder to achieve.
Overall, it was a solid update for the iPod Touch. I wish the speaker could be better on it, but I believe that is due to the physical restrictions of the small device. I could have knocked it to four stars for that, but I think most people realize a built in speaker isn’t the way you want to listen to most audio on an iPod to begin with. I’m impressed by the second generation iPod Touch, and I think with the third party applications getting better and becoming more popular, more people will consider the Touch.
Buy Apple iPod touch 8 GB (2nd Generation)
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