By Mike Pankonien
Staff Writer
It finally came; after starting my new summer job a week before school started and saving up my hard earned cash, my brand new, 64 GB iPod Touch 4G had arrived.
At first glance several things are noticeable about the new iPod. For this review I will be comparing it too my two year old 8 GB iPod Touch 2g running on very old 3.0 firmware (the 3G model was largely the same as the 2G, minus it’s enhanced hardware). First off, the screen is darker: when the 2G model is turned off or in lock mode, the screen turns a grey color and is visibly separate from the rest of the device. Not so for the new 4G model: the darkens to a black similar to the rest of the front of the device so any difference is hardly noticeable. Also the device is thinner than it’s older cousin and the lock switch has been moved from the left side of the device to the right. While this may sound like a negligible difference, it actually is. After unwrapping and setting up the device, I drove to my local Fry’s to buy a new case for it. Because of the physical difference between the 2G and the 4G, the latter won’t fit in a 2G case; it’s simply too small. And what did Fry’s have in stock? 2G cases; no 4G cases. So for the moment my iPod will be wearing it’s older cousin’s handy downs.
Under the 4G’s slick case are some much nicer parts than it’s older cousins. An enhanced processor (Apple’s new A4 running at 1 GHz, compared to the 3G’s processor running at 600 mhz) and twice the RAM (256 mb), the 4G is designed to run all your programs while you suffer minimal lag. It is literally twice the power of my old 2G in the palm of my hand.
However that’s not what really drew me to the 4G (I could have easily gotten an older 3G for 3/4 the price). The 4G now introduces something to the iTouch that iPhone users have always had access too: a camera. And not just one camera, but two. With one camera on the front and another on the back 4G users can now take pictures and record video at 720p; very nice. This allows not only for amateur photography/filmmaking, but for Apple’s new invention “Facetime”. Now face-to-face video chat is only a touch away.
There isn’t a whole lot new with the new firmware, 4.0. Although folders, multitasking, and backgrounds are nothing new (for iPods running jailbroken firmware), there are several features that work out much better. Apple’s new Game Center app is something that many app companies have been toying with for awhile: a center where friends can get together and coordinate play together. Besides that several older apps get some adjustments: the On-The-Go playlist is replaced with the ability to create, edit, and delete all your playlists on the fly. Also the Safari app runs twice as fast now thanks to the 4G’s extra memory.
The only criticism I have for the 4G is not so much for it, but for the firmware associated with it. As mentioned above, 4.0 came with several features that were not new by any means (folders, multitasking, backgrounds). The fact that a company like Apple is taking ideas from 3rd party programmers (programmers whose idea’s they suppress) is incredibly pathetic.
