The iPod touch has just got better and better over the years. A device which in my mind is an iPhone without the phone part (3G).
The 4th Gen iPod touch brags many of the features the iPhone 4 has, with it’s Retina Display, gyroscope, Apple A4 Processor, individual volume rockers, FaceTime camera, rear camera, microphone and 802.11n networking this is more than just another iPod touch.
The first real major change you can see with the new iPod touch is the exterior design. The iPod touch 4th Gen is considerably thinner and lighter than the iPod touch 2nd and 3rd Gen which both share the exact same design. The back of the device is still beautiful chrome which has a great line on it. The front of the iPod has changed with the chrome now being less visible around the on the front edge and the bezel is considerably thinner from left to right. The volume rockers are separate buttons which definitely feel nicer to use. Of course we have the rear camera on the back and the FaceTime camera on the front. All in all the design changes are fabulous and just make the iPod touch that much better.
The display is the biggest change for me, the ‘Retina Display’ that is. With a resolution of 960x640 and the advanced backlighting systems Apple have put in place alongside the ambient light sensor this thing rocks! It really does look like a print out underneath the screen, everything just looks better from text to pictures to video. When comparing this display to the previous iPod touch’s (which had an absolutely superb display) this thing blows it away. I also started to notice things within Apps which I had never seen before and text looked thinner due to it being crisper, this is all because of the Retina Display.
The rear camera takes perfectly good pictures for Twitter ect but compared to the iPhone 4 it’s nowhere near the same. The iPhone 4 has a 5MP rear camera and the iPod touch 4th Gen has 0.7MP rear camera. 0.7MP may seem low but it does take very nice pictures but when you start blowing them up you notice that lower MP count. Video capture on this camera is a different story, it films in HD 720p at 30FPS, video looks absolutely superb and gives Flip cameras on the market no purpose. Video taken outdoor and indoor is crisp, clear and delivers rich colors and contrast. Focusing is also possible by simply touching the screen to the destination you would like to focus on. Again compared to video taken on the iPhone 4 it isn’t quite as good but it’s definitely close.
The FaceTime camera on the front is VGA quality which for FaceTime calls is perfect. The quality isn’t terrible which is what I always think when I hear the term VGA, it performs well in low light and when in a FaceTime call a choppy video feed never occurs even on really slow connections. The microphone for both cameras is of a very high quality, it picks up low level speech well and it doesn’t reverb audio,. When played back sounds are crisp and clear which is surprising for such a small device.
The actual speaker is louder and of a better quality compared to the previous iPod touch, it’s perfect for playing games and watching movies but in a busy area with lots of noise you won’t be able to hear the speaker easily. Small and thin devices have a real challenge in terms of the speakers sound quality, Apple I must say are doing a great job with this iPod touch being even thinner than the last but it has a better sounding speaker is quite remarkable.
In terms of real usage the battery as always gets better with every new iPod touch and so this one gets me through the day with very heavy usage just fine. Audio playback is 40hrs plus and video playback is 7hrs plus. The iPod is definitely a very nice experience to hold and to use, the thinner bezel helps it fit even more nicely in the hand.
Overall this is a fantastic device, if your in the market for an iPhone 4 but you don’t like that contract this is seriously worth considering. The iPod touch 4th Gen will also make a great gift for anyone who has an older iPod or may just enjoy their music, movies, TV Shows, Apps/ Games, email, web, taking pictures/ films and much much more all in one easy accessible place.
