IPod Touch
From the iPhone Games Wiki, a database for iPhone/iPod Touch games that anyone can edit
The iPod Touch is a portable media player and Wi-Fi mobile platform designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The product was launched on September 5, 2007. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line and is available with 8, 16, or 32 GB of flash memory. It includes Apple's Safari web browser and is the first iPod with wireless access to the iTunes Store. With a software update, which is sold by Apple, it also has access to the App Store. The second generation iPod Touch, featuring external volume controls, a built-in speaker, a contoured back and built-in Nike+ support, was unveiled on September 9, 2008 at the Let's Rock keynote presentation.
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[edit] Description
The iPod Touch has the iPhone's multi-touch interface, with a physical home button off the touch screen. The home screen has a list of buttons for the available applications. The iPod Touch is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. All iPod Touch models include the applications Music, Videos, and Photos (collectively duplicating the standard functions of the iPod Classic), iTunes (providing access to the Wi-Fi Music Store), Safari, YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator, and Settings. Later models added Mail (accessing POP/IMAP/SMTP e-mail), Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather, which could also be added to the earlier models with the purchase of a US$20 software upgrade. The user can add direct links to web sites (called "Web Clips") to the home screen.
On July 11, 2008 the iPhone 2.0 Software Update was released for the iPod Touch for US$9.95. The update allowed first generation iPod Touch devices to access the App Store, download third-party applications, in addition to a host of minor "fixes". The iPod Touch 2.0 Software Update supports WPA2 Enterprise with 802.1X authentication.
[edit] Comparisons to the iPhone and previous models
The iPod Touch and the iPhone share the same hardware platform and are controlled by the same iPhone OS operating system. The iPod Touch lacks some of the iPhone's features such as access to a phone network, a built-in microphone, a camera, Bluetooth capability, and GPS receiver. As a result, the iPod Touch is slimmer and lighter than the iPhone.
The second generation iPod Touch has an external volume switch and a built-in speaker, like the iPhone. The second generation also comes with the chrome frame seen on the iPhone 3G, making the two almost identical when viewed from the front. However, there are some notable differences, as there is no speaker above the screen, no silent/ringer switch, and the sleep/wake button is on the other side. The second generation also supports audio input when a headphone or earphone with microphone capabilities is plugged into the audio output jack. Although unannounced and unsupported by Apple, the iPod Touch has Bluetooth capability, as the included Wi-Fi chip (Broadcom BCM4325) has Bluetooth and FM Radio support, as well as the advertised Wi-Fi capability. It is believed that this Bluetooth capability is being used for Nike+iPod support, as Apple has said that the Nike+iPod kit works on an unspecified 2.4 GHz radio frequency.
Second generation iPod Touches are said to have a yellower cast/tint to the display, as compared to the iPhone or the original iPod Touch. Claims have also been made that the applications processor inside the second generation iPod Touch runs faster than the processor inside the iPhone 3G. The first generation iPod Touch works with all "Made for iPod" peripherals, but certain changes that Apple made to the second generation iPod Touch prevent some existing peripherals from recharging the updated player.
[edit] Criticism
Apple has received a significant amount of criticism for its differential treatment between iPhone owners and iPod Touch owners. This is in spite of the fact that the two devices are essentially the same, with the exception of the fact that the iPhone can be used as a phone (on top of a number of other minor differences.) Such criticism is primarily targeted towards Apple's decision to charge for software that is given to iPhone owners for free, as well arbitrarily excluding certain features from the iPod Touch software that are included in the iPhone.
The first action by Apple in this regard was the release of the "January Software Upgrade" in January 2008. For a price of $19.95, this upgrade offered iPod Touch owners five applications (Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather) that were featured on the iPhone when it was released in June 2007, but were excluded from the iPod Touch when it was released in September 2007. In July 2008, Apple released the iPhone 2.0 Software Update to iPhone users for free, while offering the update to iPod Touch owners for a fee of $9.95. Most recently, Apple decided to quietly exclude the Google Street View feature added on iPhone firmware version 2.2 from the same version of firmware released on the iPod Touch.
[edit] External links
- iPod Touch at Apple's official site
- iPod Touch on Wikipedia, which this article is based on
