iPod Touch 4G Review
| 4th Generation | 3rd Generation | Upgraded | ||
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| Date Released | September 2010 | September 2009 |
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| Dimensions | 4.4 in (110 mm) × 2.3 in (58 mm) × 0.28 in (7.1 mm) (H×W×D) |
4.3 in (110 mm) × 2.4 in (61 mm) × 0.33 in (8.4 mm) (H×W×D) |
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| Operating System | iOS4.1 | OS3.x | | |
| Os Requirements | MAC: OSX 10.4 PC:Vista |
MAC: OSX 10.4 PC: XP |
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| Processor/RAM | A4 ARM v7 @1GHz 512Mb |
ARM Cortex A8 833MHz @ 600MHz 256Mb |
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| Graphics Processing Unit | PowerVR SGX GPU 535 @ 200 MHz |
PowerVR SGX GPU 535 @ 200 MHz |
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| Display Specs |
3.5 in (89 mm), 3:2 aspect ratio, 24-bit color, aluminosilicate glass-covered LED-backlit LCD, 960×640 px at 326 ppi | 3.5 in (89 mm), 3:2 aspect ratio, 262,144-color LCD, 480×320 px at 163 ppi | | |
| Multi-Touch Interface |  |
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| Camera/Video | 0.7Mp Fixed Focus HD Video(720p 30fps) 960x720 resolution stills |
None | | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n (802.11n 2.4GHz only) |
802.11b/g | | |
| External Volume Control | |
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| Built In speakers | |
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| Voice Control Support | |
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| Rated Battery Life hours | Audio: 40 Video: 7 |
Audio: 30 Video: 6 |
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| MSRP (Manufaturer's Suggested Retail Price) |
8Gb | $229 | $199 | |
| 32Gb | $299 | $299 | ||
| 64Gb | $399 | $399 | ||
Rating:
The new iPod Touch 4G (4th Generation)is here at last in its 8Gb 32Gb and 64Gb versions ! I'm sure many of you have been holding out for this release waiting to see if the new features would warrant replacing your old iTouch , or perhaps getting one for the first time. So please , if you have'nt already , go ahead and checkout the table/comparison chart above which summarizes the main differences between the 3rd generation ipod touch 3G form last year vs this year's new ipod touch 4G (4th gen) and I'll just cover some of the main improvements and we'll see if its worth spending this year's savings on.
Hardware
I think the major upgrade from 3G to 4G is the hardware. The 3rd generation ipod touch did not improve significantly on the 2nd gen, however , this fourth generation model more than makes up for it with some of the technical upgrades . First off , the CPU power has increased over 80%,as the CPU has been changed to the all hailed A4 chip ( which cost over 1 billion to develop)running at 1GHz compared to the former Cortex A8 which was underclocked to 600MHz .RAM has increased 100% , doubling to 512Mb.The GPU (Graphics processing Unit) remains the same however. The Display has also been upgraded to the new Retina Display , for which we see again , a 100% increase in resolution to 960x640px with 24-bit colour depth , to be by far the crispiest display of any similar device on the market.I guarantee this new display will blow your mind as I've never seen such clear video in my life!.. The Touch is also now able to stream HD video The new 4G ipod Touch adds a 3-axis gyroscope which will allow better sensing of motion in 3 dimensions .What all this means is that this new iPod Touch is really setting the standard and will be able to support a whole new level of gaming and apps.
Addition of Camera 0.7Mp
I saved a whole section for this. Now the addition of a camera with this new 4th generation model is a big deal folks . For those of you who recall , this was highly anticipated addition of the 2G and then 3G model ,causing much disappointment for enthusiasts when Apple refused to include it in their past 2 releases , resulting in many people holding out for this generation .So Apple has added not 1 but 2 cameras. One on the front of the device for Facetime chats and the other at the rear to take pictures and video.The 0.7mP camera isn't as good as the 5Mp camera on the iPhone owing to the smaller size of the iPod Touch in comparison , however, it is still extremely capable able to take both HD video and stunning 960x720 pixel resolution stills . The iMovie app addition ,allowing you the professional HD video editing really adds a serious fun factor to the experience
Other Miscellaneous Generation Improvements
Ill lump all the other improvements together as ther're pretty self explanatory from the table. Battery life has improved by 16% for video playback and 33% for music playback from the last generation. The new iOs 4 is the Operating System ,hailed as the most advance phone OS, which adds increased stability and performance and incredible apps supported by the over 250,000 apps and games available at the App store ,not to mention all the other free games and apps from third party developers once you get your ipod touch jail-broken.Wireless has been improved. The iPod Touch has gotten noticeably slimmer and lighter.
Summary ...Conclusions
So overall what is the verdict? Well fro the 2G to the 3G , there wasn't much by way of significant improvement and quite frankly you would have been ok skipping the 3rd generation model...but this new 4th generation iPod Touch..WOW...It is really the only thing in it's class on the market right now , until someone also comes out with reply . I mean there are some minor disappointments with the camera, but overall , it still beats anything else on the market. If your not convinced be sure to read up on how the iPod Touch stacks up to the competition in this iPod Touch versus Zune Hd article.Also if you would like to compare against the 1st and 2nd generations in addition please read the ipod touch generation comparison article .
Rating:
Buying the iTouch ?..Where to Find Great Deals Online
Now you can thank me later , but I really do try to bring everything to you on one page so you don't have to go through the hassle of searching around for yourself. Those of you that like to shop around , can, of course , but you'll probably find that Amazon really does have some of the best deals around , which I have included below , along with a guide to sizing the right capacity for your needs and pocket.The thing I like about purchasing from Amazon is the reliability , the discounts , and of course FREE SHIPPING! So for those of you interested , you can go head and purchase your very own iPod Touch 4th Generation from one of the links below at up to $30 off.
You can check out this article for a more in depth look at how we determine how many songs the different capacities can hold.