I had high hopes for Apple to slowly get rid of its older iPod formats (nano, classic and shuffle) and focus more of its energy on the iPod touch in today's Rock and Roll event but to my disappointment, the
3rd generation iPod Touch is pretty much the same as the 2nd gen. Still no integrated mic/GPS/camera. Looks like Apple pulled an iPhone-3GS kinda update to its internals only with faster hardware and more internal storage. The only good news is that prices have come down a bit for the iPod Touch.
The shocke
r for me was to see Apple putting a video camera onto the
iPod Nano 5th gen along with a bigger LCD and FM Radio w/ live pause. I just don't see the point or appeal here. A video cam is much needed on the iPod Touch. But apparently, Mr. Jobs thinks of the iPod Touch only as a
video gaming platform...
whatever!
If you've been holding out from buying a 2nd gen. iPod Touch because you were waiting for the new one, I would say go ahead and save some money and pickup a 2nd gen. Wait a year and my bet is the next iPod touch will have the camera and other much needed features.
BTW -
iPhone/iPod Touch firmware gets an update to 3.1
Recently, I reviewed Otterbox's popular tough case Defender for my iPhone 3G. I wanted to see if the company's Defender case for an iPod Touch (3rd gen.) is just as tough. In short: Yes! The Defender case for iPod Touch is very similarly designed as the iPhone version. An outer rubber casing which covers up all the ports is holding a 2-pc. inner polycarbonate case together. A built-in screen protector adds more protection. This signature design is what makes the defender so sturdy and somewhat bulky which gives the iPod Touch a physical thickness equivalent to an iPhone in a regular case (see comparison pic.)
Trading off the added thickness is the incredible ruggedness from the Defender. I just haven't seen another case on the market which protects your precious iPod Touch to this degree. While Otterbox says it does not protect against water intrusion, I feel alot more comfortable leaving a beverage nearby then any other case I've owned. Although the case does leave a cutout near the top of the case for the auto-light sensor, Otterbox says auto brightness will not work with the 3rd gen. iPod Touch. The only thing I noticed about this case is the rubber casing feels a little slippery at times; its no deal breaker and the case provides adequate traction in my pockets to stay put. At MSRP of $29.95, the Defender case is probably the toughest protection one can buy for his/her iPod Touch 2G/3G.
