November 5th, 2007
iPod touch - Nice device, shame Apple crippled it
You might remember from a few weeks back my desire to get my hands on an iPod touch. I was so eager to get my hands on one that I made a five hour round trip to my nearest Apple store to get one only to be turned away because they were all sold out. Well, I didn’t let that put 
me off and eventually got a couple via Amazon. Am I still as enthusiastic about the iPod touch now I’ve had one for a couple of weeks? Read on to find out.
The message from Cupertino is loud and clear - Enjoy the iPod touch Apple’s way, or take a hike
I’m not going to bore you with the specification of the device, other than to say that I have the 16GB version (if you’re interested in the spec, go here). I’m also going to dispense with the traditional review and simply pass on my thoughts and feelings about the iPod touch.
Overall, I’m pleased with the iPod touch. It does what I want it to do as an iPod - I can store 16GB of audio and video on it (I have a lot of audio books from Audible.com so I welcome the doubling of space that the touch offers over my 8GB nano). Battery life is pretty good and close to what Apple says I could expect (I’m getting about 20 hours on audio and about 5 hours with video). The iPod touch is relatively small and lightweight and can easily be slipped into a shirt or jacket pocket when on the move.
But once I start to look at functionality that goes beyond that we’ve become to expect from an iPod, I’m simultaneously excited and deeply frustrated. For example, the Safari web browser does indeed offer browsing functionality that works for most web pages out there, but it’s seriously lacking in some areas, for example:
- Password management
- Saving data/web pages
- Caching for offline viewing
- No RSS reader
- …
The list goes on. Sure, Apple has called the browser “Safari” and the browser does look a bit like Safari on the Mac of Windows, but it’s not Safari. The Safari on the iPod touch is a dramatically cut down and crippled version of the one you’ll find on desktops and notebooks. And remember that Safari is a pretty rubbish browser to begin with so the fact that Apple has found a way to make it worse is in fact quite an achievement.
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Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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| 11/05/07
