With the latest iPods shipping this week, you’ll be wanting to know whether an upgrade is necessary—or whether to take the plunge into the wild world of iPoddery. So far, this is what the reviews are saying: More »
At Apple’s last event, Steve Jobs called the iPod touch the company’s “most popular iPod,” and it’s easy to understand why. In just a few short years, the iPhone-with-no-phone has kept in lockstep with Cupertino’s halo device, benefitting from the same kind of constant hardware and software updating that has helped turned the iPhone into an iconic gadget. The touch has been right alongside the iPhone’s meteoric rise in popularity, becoming the go-to second-pocket slab for millions. There are good reasons, too. Apple boasts about gaming on the device — claiming it beats out both Nintendo’s and Sony’s offerings in sales… combined. While we can’t concede that the device is a dedicated game console, it most definitely games. And it’s still an iPod, an internet device, and a thousand other things thanks to Apple’s vastly populous App Store. Now the player has once again reaped the rewards of iPhone updates, boasting a new Retina Display, the A4 CPU, two cameras which allow for FaceTime calling and 720p video recording, and all the new features of the company’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 4.1. But despite all of the plusses, we still have to ask: is the little do-everything box still worth the premium price tag? We took a deep dive on the latest model and have the verdict, so read on to find out.
Gallery: iPod touch (2010) hands-on
Continue reading iPod touch review (2010)
iPod touch review (2010) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Remember that iriver Story Touch Edition e-reader we spied last month? Well, iriver is showing it off at IFA this week, with plans to release the little 6-inch touchscreen device in Europe and Korea in the next week or so. We played around with it a bit, and while the 800 x 600 E Ink screen resolution is a little disappointing, and the resistive touchscreen layer impacts readability in a small but noticeable way, the software is certainly pleasant, and iriver is up to its usual standard in hardware design. There’s a small included stylus that slots in at the top of the screen (or the bottom, the screen auto-flips vertically based on how you hold the device) but while the stylus is fun for drawing notes, all you really need is a light tap or swipe with your fingers to operate the device. With 2GB of storage, a €229-ish pricetag for the WiFi-free version (there’s another WiFi version coming with an email app and a lightweight browser), and that low resolution screen, iriver probably wouldn’t have much luck going up against the Kindle and its ilk in the US, but they’re hoping to carve out a niche in Europe and Asia, and we can’t begrudge them that.
Gallery: iriver Story Touch Edition preview
iriver Story Touch Edition preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple’s iPod Nano, iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle on Wednesday all received some compelling makeovers that should help Apple stay in the lead in the portable media player market.
The iPod Nano was the most interesting upgrade. It does away with the click wheel seen in previous models and is now more like a belt buckle with a multi touchscreen displaying four mini icons on the main screen — basically, a quarter of the size of an iPhone or iPod Touch. The Nano is now 1.6 inches wide, 1.4 inches tall and just 0.3 inches thick including the belt clip.
One screen on the Nano shows Artists, Playlists, Genius Mixes and Now Playing. Swipe your finger and you get a few more apps: radio, photo, podcasts and settings. There’s no home button, so you have to hold your finger down on the screen to exit an app, which is simple enough. You can also rearrange the icons by holding your finger on an app until it jiggles, then move it to wherever you’d like — just like on the iPhone.
The question remains as to whether or not the iPod Nano is running iOS and if we’ll be able to jailbreak it to run different apps. Apple hasn’t disclosed whether the operating system was iOS, but it sure looks like it. Update: An Apple engineer told Wired magazine editor Mark McClusky that the Nano does not run iOS.
Also noteworthy is that the Nano does not include a camera, even though last year’s model just introduced one. I guess nobody cared about shooting video with the tiny device, which isn’t surprising.
Also nifty on the Nano is the small integrated clip to snap the device on to your pocket or belt buckle. The entire body including the clip is made of aluminum, so it feels nice and sturdy.
Moving on to the iPod Touch, this was a predictable but monster update. It’s about a millimeter thinner than the iPhone 4, even though it’s got most of the same guts. There are the front and rear cameras — the rear for shooting videos and photos, the front for FaceTime video conferencing.
The Touch now has an Apple A4 processor and the high-resolution “retina display.” Grip it in your hand and it feels really smooth and light.
I had a chance to test FaceTime and it felt even faster than FaceTime on the iPhone 4, though this time around Apple might have just had a better Wi-Fi connection.
Overall, the new iPod Touch is the same as the iPhone 4 but now we can’t really say, “It’s an iPhone without a phone,” because the Touch includes a video-conferencing webphone! That’s a major difference and should have an impact on video conferencing in general.
Last, and least important, was an upgrade for the iPod Shuffle. To put it simply, it’s another belt-clip iPod similar to the Nano, only with the traditional click wheel. On the top is an integrated button for VoiceOver, which enables the iPod to dictate the playlist you’re listening to.
The Shuffle is puny — 1.2 inches wide, 1.1 inches tall and 0.3 inches thick. And it’s so lightweight I could barely even feel it in my pocket, which should be ideal for athletes.
Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Update: Corrected an error where I said the previous iPod Nano snapped photos, when actually it only shot video.
Update 2: Fixed a mix-up about the iPod Shuffle’s VoiceOver command. Thanks to the readers who pointed it out.
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Here it is, the new (and completely redesigned) iPod nano. Super thin, super light, and really, the capacitive multitouch works very well. The screen is crisp and top menu navigation is smooth, but can’t say we have great feel for moving back out of sub menus (via swipe or holding down the screen). We’re going back for seconds and thirds, peep the initial gallery below!
Update: Okay, we’ve gotten much more quality time with the nano, and we’ll admit that after some brief practice, the menu navigation is nice both going in and out of menus — holding the middle will take some getting used to, if only because you gotta avoid any other on-screen items that beckon for your digits. Probably due to the small size of the screen, there is no pinch-to-zoom for photos. Instead, we’re using a simple double-tap motion to a fixed zoom in / zoom out distance.
The clock app has a very easy-to-read analog style to it, and swiping across the screen will give you a stopwatch and timer. There is no alarm clock, however, which as the Apple rep explained to us was a design decision given its lack of an external speaker. Bummer, as it’s the perfect size to strap on a band and use as a wristwatch — a fitting thought, too, given one of the settings will let us see the time every time we wake up the screen. Check out our video tour after the break.
Gallery: iPod nano (2010) first hands-on!
Gallery: More iPod nano (2010) hands-on shots
Continue reading iPod nano (2010) first hands-on! (update: video!)
iPod nano (2010) first hands-on! (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The new iPod touch is like an iPhone 4, without the phone part. Even thinner than the original, has a 326ppi Retina display, Apple A4 processor, gyroscope, and a digital camera, both on the back and for FaceTime. Updating live. More »
After the overt teasing, leaking, and then more leaking, Microsoft’s finally ready to spit out the details on its Arc Touch Mouse, which at the end of the day is really just… a mouse. As we’ve seen, the peripheral has an incredibly unique design — the flat device arches its back to click into a mountain shape, which actually ends up powering the little rodent up. So, where does the whole “touch” factor come into play? Well, very similarly to the Mad Catz Eclipse mouse, the Arc Touch has a capacitive touch strip with sensor pads between the mouse buttons that can be used for scrolling and customizable shortcuts. We’ve got you covered with some hands-on impressions and video after the break, but that’s about all you’ll be getting for a while since the press release below says the $69.95 mouse won’t hit the market until December. Yep, December! That’s a bit odd to us, but they’ll be taking pre-orders today so hit the break to finally see this thing push the cursor around.
Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse seriously, finally, officially announced, doesn’t ship until December originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’re but a few days away from Apple’s music-related “special event,” and naturally the bloody rumors are being tossed into the water, frothing up into quite a feeding frenzy. Last week came talk of new iPod touch and nano models, and now we have even more cases and accessories that seem to back up the belief that there’s a fourth-generation touch and a sixth-generation nano coming. The nano is rumored to have a 3 x 3cm touchscreen (presumably this one) and room on the bottom for a proper dock connector, ensuring compatibility with the millions of iPod cradles and whatnot out there. The new cases we’re seeing certainly back up that idea, with a dock-sized cut-out along with room for what’s said to be a headphone jack, volume controls, a hold button, and a clip ’round the back. At the moment we know rather less about the new touch, but we can hazard a guess as to what it’ll look like.
[Thanks, Hobbsy101]
Next-generation iPod touch and nano accessories and rumors continue to surface originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I what has become an annual occurrence, the yearly leaking of new iPod cases has begun. In previous years, these have given us hints about the presence of cameras, whether correct (Nano) or not (iPod Touch). This year, things are more interesting thanks to the whole antenna-gate fiasco, and its subsequent fix via free cases from Apple.
Above we see what are likely to be the cases for a new Nano and Touch. The Touch case has a cut-out for a rear-facing camera, and we’d guess that it will also sport a front-facing camera for FaceTime calling. Notice that although it has a bumper-style colored strip around the edge, the transparent rear is curved just like the current Touch. My guess is a form-factor almost identical to the current one, only with cameras, a Retina display and the game-friendly gyroscope.
The other, smaller case is probably for a touch-screen Nano. What? Yes, I think that the small square screens that have leaked out over the last few months are not for a shuffle but for a tiny Nano. It probably won’t run anything from the App Store, but if the Nano is to get any smaller, the only way to do it is to combine the screen with the controls. The cut-out on the rear is probably for the existing video camera to peek out through.
As ever, all will be confirmed at the Apple Event next Wednesday September 1st, and I can begin my own yearly ritual of buying the new Touch and passing the old one down to the Lady for use as an alarm clock and not much else. This year the lucky thing will have a 32GB, multi-tasking monster to wake her up.
Accessories appearance early exposure iPod touch 4G leaked [SJ.91 via iLounge]
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Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse revealed? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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