Apple iPod Touch
WANT an iPhone but can’t handle: (a) downgrading to a 2G handset; (b) being a massive mugger magnet; (c) scraping ear wax off your touchscreen?
The iPod Touch is the answer to this dilemma. What’s more, it’s also the best iPod ever made (Steve Jobs wasn’t exaggerating for once).
It’s got all the apps of old-school iPods, but with added wireless internet coolness, so you can basically run your life and indulge your eBay addiction with one gadget.
Internet-wise, it’s got your web surfing and email needs covered, and it comes with widgets for weather, stocks and Google Maps (adding your own within the browser is reasonably easy too).
Its notes, calendar, contacts and calculator are easy to use, thanks to that handy touchscreen, and an onscreen keyboard that predicts your input (US spelling is rife though).
Videos also play in widescreen format, which kicks in for other apps when you tip the gadget to the side, and there’s a wireless iTunes Store to buy from on the go in case you want to donate more money to Apple.
But it’s the touchscreen that makes the gadget sing. A pinching movement lets you zoom in and out on web pages, photos and more, and double-tapping on the screen does the same.
But you do pay for this touching fun. The 32GB iPod Touch costs more than its rivals, even though they store more stuff. It’s also a fingerprint magnet (front and back), the battery drains fast when on wi-fi, and if you don’t clear the cache once in a while things become very slow indeed.
Gadget good: Best iPod yet, enabling your net addiction, ruling your music organising your social life.
Gadget bad: Pricey fun, with limited capacity and battery life.
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