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Unedited first draft of the iPod touch review (as it exisits today 9/30/07):

By late 2005, Apple’s iPod was in desperate need of an update. Two years had passed since Apple hit the big time with its 3rd Generation (3G) iPod, which added support for Windows users (a.k.a. everyone), and nothing much had changed in that time. When the update came, it was in the form of the 5th Generation (5G) model, the first iPod to feature video playback. Though the 5G iPod wasn’t radically different from the first model sold in 2001, it did represent a definite and linear progression from plain monochromatic audio device to true, color-video portable media player. 

Apple’s new iPod touch, released two years after the video-equipped 5G iPod, now takes Apple’s portable player in an entirely new direction. And unlike its predecessors, the touch is the first iPod to represent revolution over evolution. The touch is a major departure for the iPod, and one that, in the end, will change the face of portable devices as much as the 1st Generation iPod did when it redefined tech-cool back in ‘01. If you’ve been waiting to get an new iPod, or to own an iPod for the first time, your wait is over.

Design

It’s impossible to talk about the design of the iPod touch without talking about the iPhone. In fact, in the two weeks I’ve been using and testing the touch, it’s been confused for an iPhone more than once. The reason for the confusion is clear: the two devices look remarkably alike. There are differences; for example, the touch is a bit shorter and wider than its telephonic sibling. Also, the iPod touch has the same glossy (and scratch-prone) back plate that has plagued previous iPods. Why Apple didn’t opt for the more rugged brushed-metal backing used on the iPhone is beyond me. 

Like the iPhone, the iPod touch is a sleek, black slab. Its face is dominated by a 3.5-inch touchscreen, which is high-res and gorgeous. Below the screen is a single hardware control, the Home Button, which takes you back to the Home Screen from any subsequent screen. On the top edge of the touch is a Sleep button, which toggles the screen off and prevents any inadvertent screen controls from being activated while the iPod is in your hand or pocket. 

On the bottom of the iPod touch is the now-familiar 30-pin Dock Connector and a 3.5mm headphone jack (which, fortunately, is not recessed like the jack on the iPhone, which means you can use any headphones or earbuds you like). 

Although the touch has a fragility that no previous iPod has had (at least for me), the face of the unit is remarkably tough. I’ve been carrying the touch in my pocket for two weeks now and there isn’t a single scratch, scuff or blemish on the screen. The chrome-metal back piece is another story entirely, however. It’s the same back piece found on all previous standard iPods (and the new iPod Classic) and is very (very, very, very) easy to scratch and scuff. On the very first day I used the touch, I managed to scratch the backing in at least two places, and I can’t tell you how careful I was not to do so.

The Interface

The iPod touch also has the same touchscreen interface as the iPhone. The home screen looks exactly like the iPhone’s, in fact, minus a few shortcuts. This Multi-Touch interface, along with Wi-Fi connectivity (which I’ll discuss later), is at the heart of the iPod’s revolution. 

The argument can be made that the touch interface is tired, that it’s been done over and over with other devices since the first-gen Palm Pilot, or that the real revolution is the iPhone itself. I disagree. Though the technology designed for the iPhone is unquestionably at the heart of the iPod touch, touchscreen phones are old news. A touchscreen interface on a dedicated media player, on the other hand, has never really been done before, and where it has been attempted, it hasn’t been done well. The touch allows you to scroll through your music and photos much like you would flip through the pages in a book, and the result is an almost tactile interface which seems almost too-good a fit for digital media. I’ll discuss this more in the Using Media section below.

The Home Screen which greets you when you power the iPod touch on offers shortcuts to applications (Safari, Calendar, YouTube, Calculator, Contacts, etc.) and the root iPod software: Music, Videos, Photos and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Store. Menus shrink and grow much like the menus in the Mac OS, scrolling is a dream, and photos resize and shuffle like nothing I’ve seen before. The touch’s Interface is (and I promise I’ll use this term as little as possible) revolutionary. This is what touchscreens should have been for at least two years.