iPod Touch 16GB version

Last Thursday I got the iPod Touch 16GB to use over the weekend. I quickly uploaded Video, Podcasts, Music and Photos and maxed out memory... that's just how I am. I always knew that 16GB isn't enough. I figure for my needs I would need an absolute minimum of 32GB though if you start adding video I would have to say 64GB is much more realistic.

So let me talk a bit about the device itself... the pros and the cons.

 

Pros:

Design... wow, this thing is amazing to look at. VERY thin and just beautiful. Everything is very high quality... amazing product.

Screen... WOW, this is the best part by far. The screen is amazingly bright and VERY high res. Everything looks just great on this screen.

Speed... this thing is fast. It seems to load all the apps very quickly, including pictures, music and video.

Web Surfing... was actually pretty good. I enjoyed the WiFi speeds and the great screen, pages looked great and overall it was very fun to surf on this thing.

Cons:

Battery Life... I used it for the day... watched an episode of Ugly Betty and Heroes. Had the music on for a few hours total, and I even turned off the WiFi to see if the battery would last longer. By the end of the day it was dead. Not good.

No bluetooth... perhaps the most important feature which is missing on the Touch is Bluetooth. The reason why this is so important to have is A. You should be able to sync with your computer/laptop via bluetooth B. You should be able to use an external Bluetooth keyboard to make typing easier.(that includes a mouse too). C. This is the most important, Bluetooth gateway to your Bluetooth mobile phone. Since this unit does not take GSM cards (as it is not an iPhone) the only way to get online is via WiFi). I use my Bluetooth phone connection when I need to connect my laptop to the internet on the go, it works very well and is fast. The Touch desperately needs this... DESPERATELY.

Another thing I noticed is the fact that 99% of the functions are via the touch screen, it is not possible to use the unit while it is in your pocket. This is an issue, and shows me that the ideal device would in fact have a couple of buttons so that you may (feel) your way through your clothing to say... skip to the next track. Maybe if I had a remote on the cable to my headphones that would help.

16GB is NOT enough... it's bad enough that most people have more than 16GB of music on their PC but now you pictures and video and suddenly 16GB seems... small. I ran out memory the first day I had it and had to start "managing" my music/video content. Not good.

The next complaint I have with the unit is one that is very much just an opinion. You see I never liked (and probably never will like) iTunes. Using iTunes with the Touch did not change my mind. The software is bloated (the PC version). It has hung up on me (the software) on several occasions usually when I disconnect the Touch from the computer.

The Touch itself did manage to hang up on me a couple of times, usually Safari was what caused the hang up. Safari does not yet support all types of plug-ins (like YouTube's regular site). And some sites like Pownce did like to "hickup" as they loaded.

The final thing I found very annoying about the Touch was... how locked down it is. I deliberately did not Jail Brake it to see what I could do... well, the answer is NOT MUCH. In fact I'll go as far as to say that the "official" Apple applications that are now available via the Apple site are a hoax.. they are not REAL applications, they are only web sites. This is Steve Jobs idea of running apps on the Touch??? Creating Web sites??? That's just so so poor... especially since the device can do SOOOO much more. It doesn't even include a way to check and write email on it. They took that application out of the Touch (it is in the iPhone) and to get it on the Touch you are, well you guessed it, forced to Jail Brake it so that REAL apps can be installed.

So overall I miss the unit. It's very slick, very nice, works well. But why sell a Ferrari and allow it to get out of 2nd gear??? Such a complete waste of a great device (perhaps one of the best devices ever made).

 

3/5 when locked down, 4/5 when unlocked, 5/5 if Apple would add bluetooth and allow computers to see this thing as regular HD.

Symbian Smartphone Show 2007

Well, on Tuesday and Wednesday I attended the Symbian Smartphone Show which, while not being the largest show I've seen, did have quite a few very impressive partners show they latest offerings.

Of course you had the big boys there, such Goliath's as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung, but also the S60 Forum was there, UIQ.

 

Overall I expected to be impressed with Nokia, Sony Ericsson was strong as well... the surprises were both Samsung and Motorola who both showed their new handsets based on Symbian OS (with Motorola using UIQ who they just acquired a majority stake in). It's good to see these companies agree on a standard OS allowing developers to create some truly wonderful applications expanding the mobile market. I have nothing against Palm, Windows Mobile or even Blackberry for that matter, but this was the Symbian Smartphone Show and I do believe that from what I have seen so far, the Symbian platform does offer the most flexibility, powerful functions and open developer base of all these systems.

 

I went around, talked to people and made new friends. I can see that the mobile market is well, and expending... things are now really starting to get interesting.

The obvious major thing I noticed at the show was the move by two very large mobile phone companies (Samsung and Motorola) to the Symbian OS (finally). This makes me think that LG might be the next company to make the move, but for now... I'm just happy that these companies are finally realizing the advantages of using the same OS both from a cost point of view as well as support (and I mean development from outside none-employee developers).

There were also many companies showing various solution that run Symbian based phones. Obviously that number will grow as more and more companies put the OS into their mobile phones. I really feel this is going to be great for the mobile phone market and finally allow it to grow in a way we've been waiting for.

 

 

Now I can't wait for next years show, which I suspect will be MUCH bigger. I see Symbian reaching a major turning point now that so many players are onboard and becoming the major mobile OS moving forward. Question is, how will future versions of Symbian handle the multimedia needs of new devices... or new input methods (such as the new push for touch screen) will remain to be seen. But I have faith that Symbian will work very closely with the large vendors to make sure their OS is properly implemented and supported. The mobile revolution is upon us! :-)