iPod touch Features
It’s easy to think of the iPod touch as a stripped-down version of the iPhone instead of a souped-up iPod. The iPod touch and iPhone look similar, featuring the same wide touch screen with a sleek black border and single home button. The iPod touch is a little smaller and weighs a little less than the iPhone, partly because the iPhone has a cellular transceiver.
The iPod touch’s home screen also looks like the iPhone’s, but with fewer icons — at least, until you start installing new applications. From the home screen, you can get to the iPhone’s text-messaging capabilities and collection of mini-applications called widgets. And, of course, you can also use the iPhone as a cellular phone. The iPod touch doesn’t share any of these features, but the two devices do have a few things in common, including:
- One forward-facing and one rear-facing camera
- Flash memory (16 or 32 GB for the iPhone, 8, 32 or 64 GB for the iPod touch)
- WiFi capabilities (802.11b/g/n)
- Safari Web browser
- Audio, video and photo storage and playback
- YouTube video player
- Calendar and contacts that synch with your computer
- Clock and calculator applications
- Access to the iTunes Music Store via WiFi
- More than 250,000 apps you can install from the App Store via WiFi or a wired computer connection
- Dock and headphone connections
- Earphones with remote controls and a microphone
The iPod touch also costs roughly the same amount as an iPhone or an iPod classic, but each of these devices has significantly different features and capabilities. Here’s a run-down of the costs:
- iPod touch: $229 for 8 GB, $299 for 32 GB, $399 for 64 GB
- iPhone: $99 for 8 GB (3GS); $199 for 16 GB or $299 for 32 GB (4G) with a two-year contract with AT&T, plus the cost of a mobile phone service plan
- iPod classic: $249 for 160 GB
- iPod nano: $149 for 8 GB, $179 for 16 GB
- iPod shuffle: $49 for 2 GB [source: Apple]
In terms of storage space, the iPod touch is comparable to the iPhone and the iPod nano, although it also comes in a 64 GB model. The iPod touch also has far less storage space than the iPod classic, but their prices fall into a similar range. So when you buy an iPod touch, you won’t necessarily get more storage room than on other iPod models. Instead, you’ll get WiFi capabilities plus the large touch-sensitive screen and application interface of the iPhone.
For more detail: How the iPod touch Works
