Apple's iPod Touch (2010) Review, Not a Poor Man's iPhone 4
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 9, 2010 12:38 AM EST- Posted in
- Gadgets
- Apple
- iPod Touch
Good Audio Playback Quality, no GPS
As was the case with the previous generation iPod Touch, the new model is fully capable of running all supported apps in the iOS App Store. While personally the appeal of iOS apps are their integration into a device I already carry, a smartphone, the iPod Touch brings the entire platform to users who don’t want an iPhone or maybe even a smartphone in general. The email, web browsing and iOS experience is identical to what you get on the iPhone.
The iPod Touch does ship with a Music app that behaves just like the iPod app on the iPhone. There’s not much to say here other than it works, although I personally find myself using the Pandora app more than listening to my own library of music. MP3 playback audio quality seemed comparable to the iPhone 4. I ran RMAA to confirm:
| Rightmark Audio Analyzer Comparison | |||||
| iPhone 4 | iPod Touch (2010) | Zune HD | |||
| Frequency Response (from 40Hz to 15kHz) | Excellent | Excellent | Good | ||
| Noise level | Very good | Very good | Very good | ||
| Dynamic range | Very good | Very good | Very good | ||
| THD | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | ||
| THD + Noise | Good | Good | Average | ||
| IMD + Noise | Excellent | Excellent | Very good | ||
| Stereo crosstalk | Excellent | Excellent | Very good | ||
| IMD at 10kHz | Very good | Excellent | Very good | ||
| General Performance | Very good | Very good | Very good | ||
We haven't seen many results from RMAA on the Zune HD so I thought I'd throw some in here. RMAA shows an advantage over the Zune HD, although in practice you'd be hard pressed to hear a difference.
Frequency Response - iPhone 4
Frequency Response - iPod Touch
Frequency Response - Zune HD
Noise Level - iPhone 4
Noise Level - iPod Touch
Noise Level - Zune HD
Stereo Crosstalk - iPhone 4
Stereo Crosstalk - iPod Touch
Stereo Crosstalk - Zune HD
I believe we've hit a ceiling for PMP audio playback quality. Despite the excellent RMAA results, the iPod Touch is admittedly less of an iPod and more of a general purpose iOS device that happens to play music.
Like the previous generation Touch, the new model lacks a GPS receiver. The device ships with a Maps app but it uses WiFi to figure out your local.
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mbf - Sunday, September 12, 2010 - link
I had deliberately held off getting a 32GB iPod Touch 3G, because I wanted to see what the new 4G would bring to the table. When it was finally introduced I was casually optimistic. Now and especially after reading this article, I'm not really sure if it's worth the asking price "here" compared to the 3G version.When I say "here" I mean Denmark, where at the moment the cheapest offer for the 32GB 3G (as long as stocks last) is DKR 1789 (approx. $306) while the 32GB 4G is on preorder for DKR 2289 (approx. $391). Not only do I feel ripped off by the unjust price hike (which in itself isn't anything new), but I seriously question if the 4G is worth this substantial amount of extra cash.
I can't really see myself using Face Time, although I *was* hoping for the actual iPhone 4 IPS "Retina display" and also the double amount of RAM.
I'll probably use the iPod Touch more for "serious" apps and also plan to do some development of my own. It probably won't see much use as a media player.
Any thought or comments?
SadTouchLover - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
I did the same thing and held off on the 3G. This new touch is just not worth it and frankly I don't want to purchase it and reinforce Apple's deplorable behavior. BAD doggy, Apple, BAD!TheFlyingSquirrel - Sunday, September 12, 2010 - link
dissapointed in the screen, memory and camera but whateverI'll wait to see what microsoft and sony churn out
ianmills - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - link
It looks like the reason Anand is taking so long to post the battery results is because the battery SUCKS on the 4g. Putting it in sleep mode the battery goes from 80% to 20% over night. lame.http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=...
Hrel - Sunday, October 10, 2010 - link
I'd probably buy this if: It had the same camera sensor as the iphone. Had an sd expansion slot, an fm tuner you can turn on and off and support for other browsers if it doesn't now. Also $200 should get you 16GB and $300 should get you 32GB (as it does now). I'd like a nicer screen but I'm not willing to pay for it; good enough.Mezinger - Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - link
I've just shelled out for an unlocked iPhone 4 to replace my first gen iPod touch... it's beautiful but I have to say I don't get the battery life out of it that I would have expected... which left me wondering how it compared to the newest touch? Any news? Should I be suffering from buyers remorse? Thanks.