iPod Touch

Audio:
+ Cover flow seems to group some compilation albums correctly, unlike my 3G nano. Still not foolproof. Apple should just have a Various artists group.
- Cover flow mode is not linked to playlist, unlike cover flow in iTunes.
- No shuffle by album. So much for the "best" iPod.
- Tracks without album art will have a large generic music icon displayed to waste screen space. Apple could've designed the Touch to display the track title/artist with larger fonts instead.
- No dedicated volume button ala iPhone.
- Apple's iPod remote is not compatible!

Internet:
- Since there is no accessible filesystem, you cannot save/upload files from Safari. The internet browser is strictly a browser.
- Although Safari on the Touch is probably the fastest internet browser on a portable device I've used (PSP, WAP cellphone browsers, Nintendo DS, Pocket IE, etc), it can be sluggish, and it even crashes on few occasions. The problem in loading web pages is the ads. Wish Apple can implement something like Adblock so Safari can render web pages faster instead of loading all the animated ads.

Video:
- Nice screen, but the fact that iPods only support MP4s is really annoying. I hate transcoding. It's a waste of time. Maybe when we all have 8-core processors then transcoding videos should be quick and easy.

General UI:
- Certain UIs (like the scrub bar) is too small for my finger, and not as accurate as the iPod's clickwheel.



So, what I think about the iPod Touch? It's larger than the nano and full multi-touch interface (even for volume control) really make it not the ideal on-the-go DAP. As a PMP, video codec and storage size limitations are the hurdles. What is it great for? Here's an example. I was listening a podcast in my bedroom when the podcaster mentioned an interesting link. Instead of turning up my PC and loading up a browser, I just turned on the Touch's wifi, open up Safari, and check out the link right then. Also when I need some hints while playing a video game, I just use the Touch instead of going to my PC. It's a nifty portable internet browser, that have some iPod functionalities. Definitely not a replacement for the regular iPods (mainly missing shuffle by album feature). Some says it's just a training-wheel for the iPhone, and to a certain extend, that's correct. The iPhone would be a better device thanks to a full calendar app, phone and EDGE. The Touch seems out of place at its pricing point. Not for everyone. If you want a music player, go with the regular iPods. I would rate it 70 out of 100. It's cool to show off, has nifty interface and wifi, but not ideal for a DAP use.