Beat goes on: Reach out and touch an iPod

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September 5, 2007

Beat goes on: Reach out and touch an iPod

Posted Sep. 5, ’07, 10:48 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

iPod touch Yes, Virginia, there is a touch-screen iPod. The new model, which is nearly identical to the iPhone with the exception of the receiver speaker at the top is fully 8mm thinner than Apple’s cell phone, and brings all the interface design you’d expect: multi-touch interface, Cover Flow, 3.5” widescreen, et cetera.

“If you used an iPhone, you’ll feel at home,” Jobs said, and sure enough: the demoed interface looks pretty much identical to the iPod features found on the iPhone. “When we introduced the iPhone in January, we said it was the best iPod ever…and people have been wondering when are we going to bring this technology to the iPod?”

Like the iPhone, the iPod touch will not only play back your tunes, but will also display photos and play video. Apple’s also loaded a bunch of the iPhone’s other apps on the iPod touch: photos, calculator, contacts, clock, calendar, YouTube, et cetera. According to Jobs, the touch will get 22 hours of audio playback, and five hours of video.

And, it’s got a surprise inside: 802.11b/g wireless. Jobs pointed out the difficulty of using ubiquitous Wi-Fi: it might be fine to use when you’re at home, but when you’re out on the road you might need to login to a webpage in order to authorize your device on a network, or enter a password. The solution? Add Safari to the iPod touch. And so, just like the iPhone (I can already tell that “Just like the iPhone” is going to be the catch phrase for this device), you can pinch, zoom, double tap, etc all across the entire web.

Unlike the iPhone—and this may be one of the few differences between the two—the iPod touch will be available outside of the US, making it the first touchscreen device Apple’s localized for use outside of the US.

The iPod touch will come in two capacities: 8GB and 16GB, costing $299 and $399 respectively, positioning these perfectly between the iPod classic and the iphone. Both models will be available in September, in a few weeks.

6 Comments

Dave-O said:

Other differences, no recessed headphone jack :) No Google Maps :( No email? :(

September 5, 2007 11:59 AM

ace said:

Does it share? Or only connects to wi-fi hot spots?

Kinda disappointed...

September 5, 2007 12:40 PM

George said:

Does it have any input (keyboard?) The specs at Apple mention dictionary support for english,french and german..... With a keyboard and a browser, mail is still an option

September 5, 2007 5:39 PM

Martin Cooper said:

With no mail client, could G-Mail be used in Safari?
If a microphone was added, Griffin(?), could it be used as a phone in a WiFi environment?

September 5, 2007 6:05 PM

mariam

said: