Have you had a chance to touch the new iPod touch? It's a beautiful gadget--slim, shiny, with the comfy, curvy feel in your hand like it just belongs there. When you're holding the iPod touch, it's impossible to be jealous of fellow subway denizens clutching Nintendo DSes, Sony PsPs, or for that matter, iPhone 3Gs. Because even though it's not a smartphone, the touch is a portable entertainment and communications device par excellence. It does the Web. It does email. It does IM.

For those of you saying, "But I don't want to carry two devices,” I can't hear you. But it's not because I didn't consider your argument--you're just too far away from my desk. Guys in particular who don't want to be bothered by the need to carry a bag or backpack in which to stow a cell phone for calls and texts and the iPod touch for portable entertainment, Web browsing, and social networking, are probably shaking their heads at the audacity of a woman, who, I admit without shame, does carry a purse large enough for both devices on her person at all times, a la Estelle Getty on The Golden Girls. But come on, guys, if you have a job, you probably have other stuff to lug--in a backpack, briefcase, or whatever. So here are five other reasons the touch blows the iPhone 3G out of the water:

1. COST: The most expensive--that is, highest-capacity, touch will set you back $399 $299, plus $10 every few months for the inevitable Apple software update, which all touch owners should fight tooth and nail with an email campaign, picket lines outside One Infinite Loop, a sit-in at one of the flagship Apple Stores--something.

In the United States, the highest-capacity iPhone 3G costs $399 $299 up front (if you're eligible for the subsidized rate from AT&T) and almost two grand over its lifetime for the two-year AT&T service contract.

2. FORM FACTOR: Not having to squeeze all those extra chips for GPS and 3G wireless, not to mention a camera into the touch allowed Apple to pack it in to a superskinny, supersleek case that weighs a mere 4 ounces. Sorry, but the iPhone 3G looks--and feels--downright obese in comparison.

3. SOUND: Now with a built-in speaker and volume control, the touch is the only iPod that doesn't force you to use headphones to hear your music or the sound that accompanies video content.

4. APPS: The touch comes loaded with most of the same stock apps that the iPhone has: Safari, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Stocks, Maps, and Weather, and most third-party apps that work on the iPhone work on the touch, except those that call directly on the iPhone 3G's GPS chip. That includes hundreds of games, productivity apps, language apps, and so much more.

5. BATTERY LIFE: The touch kicks major iPhone butt when it comes to charge life. We normally don't expect anyone to take Apple on its word when it comes to battery life figures for the its products (it claims 36 hours of audio playback and 6 hours of video for the touch), but we proved Apple right in this case by testing the touch's charge life in the Mac|Life lab. In our tests, we squeezed almost 39 hours hours of audio and 6.5 hours of video playback out of our 16GB touch--proving that Apple doesn't always fudge when it comes to published performance claims for its products. However, Apple does claim about the same number of hours for audio and video playback for the iPhone 3G. But since the phone's other features suck up more juice--as any iPhone 3G owner can attest--the iPhone 3G's battery life pretty much blows, especially compared to comparable smartphones, and also compared to the touch. You can quote us on that.