Review of new iPod touch 2

Different new iPod touch:
New iPod touch 2 gets new volume control buttons, full Nike+ integration and a built-in loudspeaker. It's not a radical change, but it's better.

New iPod touch 2

When Apple first released the iPod touch, it was with its Wi-Fi capabilities and touchscreen interface - much more than an iPod. With new iPod software updates, Apple brought the apple iPod touch 2’s applications in line with the iPhone.

And there is also third party iPod software update as new iPod apps: Wondershare iPod Video Suite, which convert DVD and all popular video formats to iPod Nano new, new iPod Touch, iPod Classic and iPhone.
About how to convert DVD video to iPod, please go to http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/guide/ipod-video-suite-guide.html

Price:
The latest iPod touch 2 model:
8GB capacities for $229;
16GB costs $299;
32GB costs $399
They also ship with the latest iPod touch 2.1 software.

Nike+ iPod integration:
First and foremost I love the Nike+ iPod integration.
The iPod touch 2 is quite thin and would work well as a small waist - or arm-banded device for workouts and not having to have a tiny little dongle hanging off the end is excellent.
Apple will also be selling the little Nike+ pucks separately now.

New iPod touch 2 game:
The second chance is gaming. This is a great opportunity for Apple to enter the casual handheld gaming market as a winner, not an also ran. Some of the other Apps are hit or miss, but it’s nice to have choice.

Volume controls and built-in speaker:
1. Volume controls
Press the top of the rocker switch and the volume goes up. A press at the bottom of the switch causes the volume to decrease. Apple’s headphones that carry the Play/Pause switch and microphone— the Play/Pause switch works with new iPod touch 2. (It doesn’t on older iPod touches, even with the new 2.1 software.)


2. Built-in speaker
As Steve Jobs said, this speaker is for “casual listening.” It clearly sits on the bottom left of the device and is fairly directional, the sound from the iPod touch 2 comes from no particular location—it seems to just seep out of any holes on the device.

In the Sound setting, where you can find the addition of the New Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts, Lock Sounds, and Keyboard Clicks entries. You can also hear a camera sound when you take a screenshot of the display by pressing Home and Sleep/Wake. It's less springy, more plasticky, and noisier.


The Genius playlist:
1. What’s Genius playlist
Genius playlist is one of the marquee features of the new iPod nano and iPod touch 2. It is a scheme for selecting a track in iTunes library or iPod and intelligently creating a playlist of related music. The Genius feature is also available from within the Now Playing screen.
You can read more about the Genius feature in this first look at iTunes 8.

There is a list of all the songs on your iPod touch, when you first invoke the Genius playlist. Tap the Music icon at the bottom of the Home screen, tap Playlists, and at the top of the Playlists screen you can see a Genius entry. Tap a track and the iPod creates a list of 25 related tracks and starts playing the track you originally selected.

2. Create Genius playlist?
How to create a different Genius playlist based on that same track?
Just tap Refresh and the playlist is created. And you can also select this playlist and edit it by tapping the Edit button. How much the playlist is refreshed depends on the tracks on your iPod touch 2.
Note: The new iPod touch is possible to stump the Genius.

After creating a Genius playlist you can refresh it with new material based on the same source song or start over by tapping New.

When you sync your iPod with your computer, any Genius playlists you’ve created are synced to the computer and appear under the Playlists heading in iTunes’ Source list.

The new iPod apps:
The new iPod touch 2 includes the iPod touch 2.1 software, which is a free update for those who’ve purchased the 2.0 software update and a $10 update for those running the older 1.x update.

It’s availables for both the original iPod touch and the new iPod touch 2, software 2.1.1 introduces the Genius automatic playlist generator to the device, as well as complete Nike+ integration.

More:
Apple claims that the 2G iPod touch offers better battery life than the original touch. I haven’t had the 2G iPod touch long enough to test its alleged audio playback time of 36 hours and video playback of 6 hours, but will as I delve deeper into the device in preparation for my full review.

Apple iPod nano 4 - 16GB fourth generation

When I first glimpsed the leaked photos of Apple's skinny, rounded-screen redesign of the iPod nano, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. It seemed so unlike Apple to revisit the older designs of its first- and second-generation nano, and the wing-shaped form seemed a bit odd. Holding the nano 4G in my hand, however, I'm starting to think that last year's squarish design was just an awkward, forgettable phase in the nano's development. This year, Apple has set the nano back on track with the thinnest, lightest design yet, and features that are hard to ignore.
The colors of the new iPod nano.

Offered in a wide range of colors (nine in total) for both the 8GB (S$248) and 16GB (S$328) capacities, the latest iPod nano strikes a great balance of price and features. The iPod nano 4G uses the same high-resolution 2-inch screen found on last year's model, only now the included screen uses a portrait orientation covered with rounded glass. Video playback requires you to turn the iPod nano 4G on its side, much like the flash-based Microsoft Zune MP3 players.

Unlike the Zune, however, Apple has included an accelerometer within the 4G nano that reorients the display based on how the player is held, making it easier to view photos or switch the player into Apple's Cover Flow music mode. The accelerometer also enables a new "shake-to-shuffle" feature that will automatically shuffle music playback when the player is deliberately shaken (a casual shake won't trigger the feature). The shake-to-shuffle feature can be switched off under settings and the button-hold switch at the top of the player will disengage it, as well.

Accelerometers are neat, but the big new feature rolled into the iPod nano (as well as the new iPod touch, iPod classic, and iTunes 8), is a new intelligent playlist feature dubbed "Genius." Using the Genius feature, you can take a single song from your collection and create an instant playlist of 25 songs that share similar musical characteristics. Of course, the performance of the Genius function is proportional to the size of your available music collection--so mileage may vary. It is a novel new feature, however, and it'll be fun to test over time.

Other smaller features on the 4G nano include the option to create voice recordings using an optional set of headphones that include an inline microphone (much like the headphones included with the Apple iPhone), and increased accessibility features for vision-impaired users (font size adjustment and the ability for menus and media information to be read aloud from a built-in synthetic voice). Previous nano features such as music, photo, podcast, and video playback are unchanged, and extras like games, alarms, calendars, contacts, stopwatch, and notes are all still there.

The only bummer so far regarding the new iPod nano is that despite the similarities of screen size and features, Apple is not offering an upgrade path for iPod nano 3G users to get their hands on features such as on-device Genius playlist creation or increased accessibility features. Otherwise, sound quality seems to be about on a par with previous iPods, and battery life ratings of 24 hours for music and 4 hours are nearly identical to last year's specs, which promised 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video. (from:cnet.com By Donald Bell Sep 10, 2008 )

Apple refreshes iPods - new ipod nano, new ipod touch

Apple's spell of secrecy seems to be losing some of its potency of late as we witnessed the unveiling of the new iPod nano which looks just like the leaked images a few days ago. So it's official, the nano goes back to its longish shape with an elongated display you turn on its side to watch videos in widescreen format. Also new in this iteration is a motion sensor which will adjust the orientation of the display and also allow you to shuffle music with a shake. It will come in 8GB (S$248) and 16GB (S$328) versions with nine different colors to choose from.

The iPod classic remains largely the same except for capacity. Instead of a thinner 80GB model and thicker 160GB one, there will now only be a thin 120GB iPod classic which will go for S$398.
The iPod touch has also been updated. It is now thinner and has a curved back, in line with the design of the iPhone 3G. Another significant hardware improvement is the integration of the Nike+ receiver into the touch--runners using the Nike+ system will require only the transmitter in the shoe. Like the last generation, this iPod will come in 8-, 16- and 32GB varieties at lower prices of S$388, S$498 and S$648, respectively.

For how to convert DVD Video to new ipod touch, nano-chromatic, please go to here for iPod video suite .
Also noteworthy are the new in-ear headphones with mic. Not only are these supposed to produce great sounds, they also come with a built-in microphones so you can record your voice using any of the above-mentioned new iPods. The Apple store doesn't list the iPhone 3G as one of this accessory's supported devices, so we suspect you can't use it as a wired headset. More on that tidbit once we manage to get an answer from the company.

All the new iPods can be ordered immediately from your country's Apple Web store. If your country doesn't have one of those, check with your local distributor for details.

See CNET's live coverage of Steve Jobs' speech at the recent Apple's "Let's Rock" event held in San Francisco. (from:cnet.com John Chan)