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Apple iPod touch 32 GB (1st Generation)
From Apple Computer
List Price: $499.99
Price: $479.89

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from and sold by Ace Photo Digital

33 new or used available from $315.00

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

Apple Got It Right
I bought the 16 GB 1st Generation iPod Touch in June of 2008, which means that I have owned it for less than a year. It has already become my favorite device, and probably the best gadget that I’ve bought so far in my life.

This is the first mp3 player that I have ever owned, and I’m glad that I went with this one. Before purchasing the iPod touch, I did a lot research on cheaper alternatives. The main thing for me, at the time, was having a device to play my music; the wifi feature of the ipod touch looked like something that I would use occasionally, but it wasn’t a necessity. Despite this, my love for sleek new gadgetry led me to purchasing the ipod touch, because none of the alternatives were comparable in the number of features. Little did I know, at the time, how extraordinarily helpful those features would be to me.

One of the most brilliant things about the ipod touch is its ergonomics (its design). This is something that people overlook far too often when they’re purchasing some gadget, and I advise you to take it into consideration. It’s obvious that the developers of the ipod touch put a lot of thought into the design of this product, because it’s incredibly intuitive/natural in use. In fact, it’s so simple to figure out that they don’t even include a manual with it! Even the most technologically inept people can usually figure it out in a few minutes. All of your music on the ipod touch is also incredibly easy and quick to navigate through; you can browse alphabetically by playlist, artist, song, album, composer, genre, or by something else. On the right-hand side of the screen, while browsing for a song, there’s a list of the letters A to Z; You can touch any of those letters, and it will automatically jump you to all of the songs whose titles begin with that letter. It’s just another way that the ipod developers made this device quick and intuitive. Also, no matter where you are in the ipod (whether you’re browsing in Safari, checking your email, browsing youtube, or anything else), you can just double press the “home” button (the physical button at the bottom of the ipod), and a box will pop up to give you instant access to your music controls, such as the volume, a pause/play button, and two buttons for “previous song” and “next song.” It might sound like a gimmick, but I use it a lot when I’m browsing safari, because it saves me the time of having to go back into the music area to adjust the volume, and then back to safari. Once again, a quick, intuitive feature. “Typing” on the ipod touch takes a little bit of getting used to. Eventually, you’ll find a method that works best for you. The ipod automatically tries to correct mistyped words, which can allow you to type fairly fast on it… I find that I’m able to type faster on my ipod than I can text message on my phone.

Now let’s talk about wifi. As I mentioned earlier in this review, I didn’t expect to get much use out of the wifi. I was dead wrong. It turns out that the wifi is the main reason I love this device so much. I’m a college student, and the school I attend provides free wifi access to all students all over the campus. Do you see where this is going? The ipod touch has actually saved me the trouble of having to lug my laptop around, when I just want access to my email and a tool for browsing the web. To me, this has become invaluable, because I’m already carrying a couple books and notebooks around. Adding a fairly heavy laptop to that is just highly undesirable, whereas carrying an ipod touch around in my pocket is no problem at all. An interesting thing about the ipod touch is how personal it can become; Because the ipod so portable, having your e-mail, the internet, and your music in your pocket at all times can turn out to be helpful or enjoyable in ways that you won’t know, until you have it yourself.

I have already managed to use nearly every feature that the ipod touch provides. Let me go through the list:

1.) I browse safari all the time at college. In a number of cases, safari alone has “replaced” my laptop.
2.) I’ve programmed my class and work schedules into the ipod’s calendar, just in case I forget something.
3.) I use the e-mail feature of the ipod touch all the time as well. You can program as many e-mail accounts into the ipod as you want, and you then have quick and easy access to all of them, via the “Mail” icon on the home screen. You don’t have to type in your password each time, so you can go through and check your mail very quickly. I usually check my e-mail on my ipod right when I get up in the morning. It’s nice not having to turn my computer on to do that.
4.) I’ve programmed all of the contacts from my cellphone into the ipod’s “Contacts” section, in case something happens to my cellphone
5.) I’ve used the YouTube feature a number of times, when I get reallllly bored
6.) I haven’t used the “stocks” feature myself, but it could certainly be helpful to those of you who are interested in the stock market… obviously.
7.) To my surprise, I have used the “maps” feature a number of times. In one instance, it helped get from Wisconsin to New York City. In another instance (when I was new to my college campus’ surroundings), it helped me find a place to eat!
8.) I use the “weather” feature all the time. Pretty self-explanatory. Nice to know what the weather is, or what it’s going to be.
9.) In the “clock” section of the ipod, there’s a programmable alarm clock which I’ve used a few times.
10.) I’ve used the calculator a couple of times. If you buy the 2nd generation software upgrade, you’ll also get a scientific calculator.
11.) I’ve used the “notes” feature a number of times, mostly just to save a thought, or something that I read before it slips my mind. Of course, you can use it for whatever you want; it’s just a virtual notepad.
12.) Obviously I listen to music all the time… After all, at the core, the ipod touch is still an mp3 player. Oh, and music sounds great on it, if you were wondering…
13.) I’ve put videos and pictures on the ipod, for convenient, portable entertainment.
14.) Every now and then, I have made a purchase from the built in iTunes Store feature.

As you can probably tell, the built in wifi is definitely what makes the ipod touch so worth it for me. Thus, I advise you to evaluate your area before making a purchasing decision. If you’re someone who has wifi spots all over the place (like I do, on a college campus) I would highly recommend the ipod touch to you… But if you rarely use the internet, you should probably consider a different ipod, because you can get a lot more music/video capacity for less money (take a look at the ipod classic).

Before I close this review off, I’ll briefly mention durability… In short, this is a surprisingly durable device. I have dropped it from 2-3 feet on some hard surfaces, more times than I wish to say. It still works flawlessly. I saw a review which said that it’s susceptible to damage from condensation, if you move it from a cold to a warm environment quickly. However, I live in Wisconsin (where winters are agonizingly cold), and I haven’t had any water damage issues. Just be relatively careful, and your ipod should be fine. Also, in the specifications, Apple says that the iPod Touch’s screen is resistant to scratches, because it’s made out of tempered glass. This is true… but the key word here is “resistant,” not “immune.” If you don’t buy a protective screen overlay, you will eventually scratch the screen. Personally, I don’t care. I haven’t bought a screen protector for mine, because the scratches are hard to see, and you can’t see them AT ALL when the screen is turned on. Just be aware, the screen CAN and WILL be scratched with long term use.

I would give the ipod touch 6 stars out of 5 if I could. As an mp3 player, it has made life a bit more entertaining. As a wifi device, it has made my life easier, and that’s the key. Plus, like all ipods, it comes with a decent pair of those well known white earbuds. Highly recommended.

Thanks for reading.

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My Son opened a broken I pod touch for Christmas
It was sad, it came broken and I didnt check it out before wrapping his ipod. I have to call Apple and we have to wait for 2 weeks for it to be fixed or replaced.