The iPod Touch Cometh

Posted by Julio Angel Ortiz in Apple on Nov 11th, 2008 | View Comments

Yes. After 16 months of extolling the virtues of the Microsoft Zune and its platform, I have been seduced and fallen to the Apple Side, claiming a 32GB iPod Touch in the process.

It’s not the first time that I have owned an iPod. I’ve owned a couple of the 20GB and 30GB models, the last being the iPod Video (5G). But this is my first experience with the multi-touch model. It wasn’t the buzz over the iPhone (which I still don’t want), and it wasn’t the perty interface and design (thought it is an incredible piece of engineering). No, Apple still does not have an unlimited music subscription service (the hardest thing to give up from the Zune), and copy and paste remain stubbornly- and inexplicably- absent. So why the change?

The platform looked too good.

Put aside the iTunes + iPod experience. Say whatever you want, Apple has sold over 100 million iPods because of that potent combination, earning brand recognition and an astounding lead in the MP3 Player market for a reason. But if this were merely a choice between the iPod Classic and the Zune 120, the Zune would have won hands-down. There is still no doubt that Microsoft has surpassed Apple in the hard drive-based MP3 Player arena. A better screen, interface, and wireless capabilities blow the iPod Classic out of the water, and Apple seems to be quietly letting go of that market. But looking at the iPod Touch, and its burgeoning application platform, there is no doubt that Microsoft is lagging behind. Microsoft’s short-sighted focus on games for Zune platform development on a device that is almost as capable (on paper, at least) as the Touch is going to cost them time, which they can ill-afford given the speed of the market. Meanwhile, three applications stood out (for myself) among those available for the Touch: eReader, Last.FM, and Pandora.

The former is intriguing because, in my mind, this makes the Touch as enticing as the Amazon Kindle, if not more. The DRM on the eBooks used by eReader is simple and fair: each book is locked by your credit card number and the name on the card. Simple, eh? You can wirelessly access and purchase books from your device via Wi-Fi, which is an outstanding feature. EReader’s selection is nothing to sneeze at, with plenty of bestsellers and novels from well-known authors. In short, the Touch as an eBook platform is brilliant.

Last.FM and Pandora are of particular interest because of the Zune’s emphasis on music discovery. This is part of the sell for the Zune Marketplace, its subscription service with access to millions of songs for a low price. They even implemented new features, such as Picks, Channels, and Mix View (in the desktop software), to aid in this. It’s a shame Mix View isn’t on the Zune device, as it could prove very useful. Picks was not useful, since it recommended the same bands constantly and missed new releases from bands that I loved. I’ve written about the problems with Channels before, but in short, they are not updated frequently enough and do not offer enough variety of artists within the Channels. On the iPod Touch, with the application framework open to developers, Apple doesn’t have to worry too much about music discovery (outside of its touted Genious feature, which I have yet to use). Last.FM and Pandora (and some others) have got Apple covered, providing applications that tie into their content-rich websites to deliver these experiences to you through free applications. After having used both applications, as well as a third one called OurStage (slanted towards independent artists) and a fourth called FlyCast (Internet radio and more over Wi-Fi), there is no doubt that the iPod Touch is an extremely capable device for music discovery.

That isn’t to dis the Zune platform, as it is fantastic for music lovers as well. But in this case, I found the iPod Touch catered to a wider array of tastes that I found increasingly important.

And here I am, listening to the Touch as I write this article (the Cure’s “Lost” is on right now). I’ve been putting the Touch through heavy use over the past 5 days, and I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of what it can do. I’m certainly looking forward to more discoveries. Just don’t call me a fanboy just yet.