iTouch: First Impressions

I love iPods. They allow me to take my music and audio books wherever I go. They make a great learning tool and have really helped me with my personal productivity. I have had a Video model for over a year and it is a daily companion, mainly for playing audio books in the car.

I stopped in to my local Apple store last week to see the new products that have been recently released. What caught my eye immediately was the new iPod Touch. This device looks like an iPhone but a little smaller. It has wireless internet access and an amazing touch interface. Everything is done with your finger on the touch screen interface.

The salesman in the store demonstrated the device for me, showing me the built-in safari web-browser and the amazing way the browser window resizes when you turn the unit in a horizontal position. It only got better from there.

He then pushed the main menu button and the device returned to the main interface screen. He pushed the You-Tube button and within seconds there was the latest You-Tube video streaming on the device in full dynamic color. I was impressed with the speed and the clarity of the screen when playing video.

Back to the main menu he went and then he pulled up the iTunes interface and scrolled with one finger effortlessly through the stored music files. WOW! The album cover interface was fast and you could tell instantly what was available for listening.

Another click of the menu button and the built in calendar popped up, ready to synchronize with the calendar app on your computer. Another click brought up the contacts screen, organized by phone number, e-mail, and web addresses.

He didn’t have to go much further until I could see some amazing productivity uses for this device. I had him bring out an 8-gig model and I was soon the owner of this amazing device.

After bring this unit home and putting it through its paces I find that it works very well. The interface is very intuitive. The screen is very sharp and bright and you can easily use the device in different lighting conditions including the car and outdoors.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be testing this as a personal productivity tool. This looks to take the iPod to a whole new level, with video learning applications, collaborative tools, and video podcasting as just a few of the new uses that will be available.

This holiday season, be sure to stop into your local Apple store and take one for a test drive. You can also order one online from Apple or pick one up with no shipping from Amazon.com. Make 2008 your most productive year yet!