Every decade or so a gadget is launched that quickly comes to define the era within which its meteoric success takes place: a cultural benchmark that stands for the electronic zeitgeist of a generation. The iPod is one such product. In the few years since the little, white music machine became a staple part of everyone’s get-up, we’ve all but forgotten how to load a CD, let alone buy one.
Apple’s success with the iPod has been in maintaining its status as a covetable, luxury good that remains accessible to the masses and unlike so much mass-market gadgetry it’s retained its cool cache to everyone from teenagers to trendsetters. Equally important is Apple's ability to successfully reinvent the iPod, time and again, improving upon, introducing and continually pushing the boundaries of its functionality and aesthetics. The latest release is the iPod touch, unveiled at the beginning of September and naturally we couldn’t wait to get our hands on one.
You probably already know that the most lauded innovation is the touch-screen but what we love most is the introduction of WiFi. Safari, YouTube and iTunes are all new additions and what this means is an end to cables and a significant rise in download bills. Don't get us wrong, we're very big fans of the touch-screen interface – a simple but dramatic development, both easy and satisfying to use. Add to this a built-in accelerometer, which shifts the screen image from vertical to horizontal depending on how you’re holding it, and Apple has arguably created the most addictive portable gadget since the Gameboy.
Browsing through your music collection by Cover Flow is certainly one of the more pleasurable ways to while away a transatlantic commute, not to mention watching last night’s television. Where video on the iPod has never previously been our thing given the just-too-small display, this 3.5-inch screen is larger and infinitely more user-friendly than any of the clunky portable televisions of old. And with 22 hours audio playback and five hours of visual, you won’t run out of juice before you reach the airport.
You might be wondering at this point if there's anything wrong with the touch. Well wrong might be a bit harsh, but perhaps a notable absence, and something that still sets the touch a little behind its bigger sister, the iPhone, is a built-in application to check e-mail. But then maybe this is a puposeful omission on Apple's part. The iPod touch is very definitely a gadget of leisure, not work...
