iPOD TOUCH 4th GENERATION

Now starting with it, first of all this is my second iPod. Same memory. Bigger size and a touch-screen. The Primary question when you buy a gadget is Where does it stand in my Gadget wishlist. How do I view it? The iPod Nano is a simplistic yet eligant solution to portable music. I already have one. iPod Touch must come in Somewhere! This review of the new fourth generation iPod Touch reviews some areas where it helps and others where it doesn’t. So let me begin with the most marketed factors.

Gaming: The iPod Touch 4G with its powerful A4 chip allows for a powerful set of games. Mainly created by Gameloft (they develop the Assasins Creed for iPod) and Electronic Arts.Games like the NBA elite, NFS Hot Pursuit and FIFA 11 by Electronic Arts; Assasin’s Creed, Pro Evolution Soccer, Real Football and others by Gameloft Games and Infinity Blade (the earliest next gen game for the iPod) are some of the cool games that make the iPod a perfect NextGen Portable Gaming Console and make the iPod pose a serious threat to the likes of Nintendo DSi and Playstation Portable + You don’t have to cope with the hastle of having a CD or UMD. But My gaming has more often been concentrated with the less graphic intense but much more insanely addictive games like the Stick Cricket, Angry Birds, Star Dunk, Fruit Ninja and Tic Tac Toe. They are my favorites.?

Game Center: The iPod Also has a game center. Though, not all games support it currently but iPod has a fare amount of games to challenge your friends and a have a great competition together + Games are increasingly adopting to the game center platform.

To some it all up, iPod Touch for portable gaming is a treat. It is one of the best portable gaming consoles with the best operating system and a wonderful graphics engine. Chuck your PSPs and Nintendos for the iPod Touch 4G, its a faster, snappier and cooler experience than those gaming consoles.

Music: The iPod as a music player is certainly great and that doesn’t change for the iPod Touch. It just gets better. With the powerful music UI and more imporantly the good quality of headphone listening the iPod Touch surely wins the Music Race among other touch-screen players.

iBooks: This is a place where the 3.5” touch-screen loses its touch. Reading a 3.5” Book is something that you won't want to read. At that small a screen, reading an eBook just becomes a painfull experience. You surely never want to read a book again on the iPod Touch. (iPad does that better)

Hardware: iPod Touch is paper thin, You tend to feel it will slip anytime. The screen is fine enough with a VGA camera in front for facetime. But the Real Hardware problem comes at the back. The iPod Touch still poses that abominable stainless Steel back which gets scratches on it ever so easily. It is something that no-one except Apple has a liking for. The plastic buttons are fine but still could have been better, as a matter of fact I liked the previous buttons. The Retina Display is good, but it lacks an IPS Panel. Sad.

Cameras: VGA in Front and HD recorder at back. Brilliant, but there is more to it, than what meets the eye, The Back Camera for still images is not worth it. It is not so good even for indoor or low light HD recording. VGA camera in front is surprisingly good and is suitable for FaceTime calls.

FaceTime: Facetime is something of an achievement. Users complain about the unavailability of 3G Video Calling feature for the iPhone 4 but Since the iPod’s life is based on WiFi, WiFi video calling doesn’t hurt at all. Moreover the ability to make Video Calls to a MAC, iPhone 4 and iPad 2 is just awesome. Having a facetime call with my cousins in Australia was a complete delight for both my grandma and me. FaceTime seems to go deep enough to create an emotional bond with the iPod.

Battery Life: Battery Life, frankly speaking, didn't impress me much. The iPod Touch looses battery too fast when doing some next gen gaming or watching movies.

Everything else: The iOS 4.3 is good, but still has a few rough-edges (the screen flickers sometimes). The Web-Experience is wonderful, and with Nitro-Engine thing, it is even better. The A4 as I've said before is very powerful.

Wrapping it up, the iPod Touch 4th Generation is a powerful gadget which proves to beat many serious competitors hands down. Add to that the not so exorbitant price of 15K. It is a delight to have a Portable Gaming Console, HD Recorder and iOS device at that low a price.

Rating: 8.4/10