The iPod touch is primarily a media player. Everything else is gravy.

In our first look at the iPod touch last month (Nov/07, p68), we said that it’s basically a phoneless iPhone. It turns out that the iPod touch is even less than a phoneless iPhone. But if you want a media player first and an Internet device a distant second, the touch offers a satisfying experience.

The only major difference in the multi-touch interface between the iPod touch and the iPhone is the Home screen. The touch doesn’t have as many apps as the iPhone (we’ll talk more about that in a minute), but the basic Home interface is the same. The onscreen keyboard remains unchanged, and newcomers to the touchscreen interface will need practice to master typing on it.

Soon after the iPod touch hit the market, reports of poor LCD image quality popped up all over the Internet. We tested the touch after the iPod touch 1.1.1 update was released. With the updates installed on both the iPhone and the iPod touch, we noticed that movie playback and photo quality looked a bit washed out on the touch compared to the same images on the iPhone. It’s not a dramatic difference, but a noticeable one - even the black background on the Home screen looks deeper on the iPhone than it does on the iPod touch.

When it came to audio quality, we couldn’t tell the difference between the iPod touch and the iPhone. The touch produced full midtones, nice highs, and good bass with the bundled earbuds. A volume control on the device itself (like a thumbwheel or a switch) is missing, which means you have to go into the touch interface to adjust the volume, and the process can take several steps.

We had no problems shopping at the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, and our purchases downloaded at a snappy pace. Web access over Wi-Fi went without a hitch and feels just as fast as it does on the iPhone.

Apple says you should get about 5 hours of battery life when watching video and 22 hours when you’re just listening to music. Our test results were short of those specifications, but not disappointing. We got 4 hours and 2 minutes for video, and just over 21 hours for audio.

Now we’ll tell you why you’ll want to pass on the iPod touch if you’re still waffling: Several key iPhone features aren’t on the iPod touch. There’s no email client, and no Weather, Stocks, or Google Maps apps - sure, there are Web-based alternatives, but it’s the one-touch access we want. And you can’t edit your Calendar. To those folks who say that the touch isn’t an iPhone but rather an iPod, we hear you and agree. But the iPod touch is also a Wi-Fi Internet device (though mostly for buying songs from the iTunes Store), and so the fact that it doesn’t have these functions means the Internet experience is incomplete.

The bottom line. As a media player, the iPod touch won’t disappoint you, but when you hold one in your hands, it’s hard not to think that the device could’ve offered more. Perhaps Apple will add new features with software updates.

COMPANY: Apple
CONTACT: www.apple.com
PRICE: $299 (8GB), $399 (16GB)

REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 10.4.10 or later, iTunes 7.4 or later, USB
Nice screen. Innovative interface. Access to iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.
Can’t edit calendar. No volume control on device. No games. No email. Missing some apps found on the iPhone. Reports of display problems with early-shipping units.