A Touch of Quality

I am not, by any means, an Apple fanboy. For most of my life I've been quite the opposite. A couple of years ago, I got a first generation iPod Nano, and thought it was fairly decent. Last year I got a MacBook and it has slowly become my laptop of choice - especially when I travel. When the iPhone came out, I was intrigued, even more so after getting to play with one. Since I am boycotting Cingular however, the iPhone would have to remain something I would admire from a distance.

So, you can imagine my interest when Mr. Steve announced the iPod Touch which had many of best parts of the iPhone but with no phone, and therefore no Cingular (now AT&T) contract. I resisted temptation for what seemed like a long time, but a few weeks ago I gave in and bought a Touch. I am heavy into gadgetry, so it really means something when I say that the iPod Touch is the

Best Gadget Ever.

This is a blog about quality, and I am here to tell you that the Touch is chock full of quality, both in the hardware and in the software. Lets start with the hardware. The thing is crazy thin. Even when I was 6'3" and 140 pounds (a long time ago) I was nowhere near this thin. Even so it feels solid and sturdy. The screen is plenty big and bright, and easy to read. The wi-fi is strong. Even though there are only 2 buttons, this is actually just enough, and I have yet to find myself wishing for more.

As good as the hardware is, the software is even better. Whether you are making your way through music, videos, pictures, or real web pages the navigation is thoughtful and intuitive. Even entering text is not that bad. The software is also very solid - and this from a guy who makes his living breaking software.

That is not to say the iPod Touch could not be improved. Some changes I'd like to see:

• A speaker - This thing begs to shown off and passed around, and so it would be real nice to have a speaker to play the music and video soundtracks so your friends can enjoy it without getting goo on your ear buds.


• Some games - These will be coming after Apple opens up the platform next year, but it would nice if they included some simple time killers from the get-go


• Attached mode - This is a bit unusual, but stay with me. Most of my iTunes listening occurs on my computer - the screen for which is taken up with stuff other than iTunes. Wouldn't it be cool if I could plug in my Touch, then use it as dedicated interface to control iTunes on my computer?

Good work Apple. The Touch is so good that I may actually break my Cingular boycott and get myself an iPhone one of these days - though I am going to *try* to wait until the next generation which I *hope* will be announced in January.