Is the Apple iPod Touch 4G Worth the Money?

When MP3 players first arrived on the market they had one function, they played music. Nearly 12 years after the first MP3 player hit the market, Apple introduced its new iPod Touch 4G for a price of $229 for 8GB of memory, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB. The iPod Touch does much more than play music, it plays games, video, displays pictures and much more. The new device is very similar to the new iPhone 4, but without the phone feature. However, does the new iPod Touch deliver enough new features to warrant spending hundreds of dollars on a new device?

New Features over the iPod Touch 3G

Remarkably, Apple updated the new iPod Touch in a way, for the first time since the first generation was introduced in 2007 that appeals to previous iPod Touch owners. As an iPod Touch owner, I was less than impressed with the 3G update over the 2G, as the features were not worth spending an additional $230 (minimum price).

The new iPod Touch 4g now features a new 960-by-640 resolution display, HD video recording, FaceTime chat (utilized over Wi-Fi networks to other iPod Touch owners) and a faster processor.

Are the New Features Worth It?

I got the opportunity to sample the new iPod Touch 4G from a friend who recently purchased one. Below is my synapsis of the whether the new features are worth rushing to the store for.

• FaceTime- The new video chat works by pressing the FaceTime app, which allows you to video chat over a Wi-Fi network with an iPhone 4 or iPod Touch 4G user. The video chat is a remarkably cool feature; however, the major downsides are that it only works with iPod and iPhone users. Why is there no Skype support Apple?

• A4 Processor- The processor is definitely faster than the previous one in the 2G and 3G models. Call of Duty: Zombies, a popular game for Apple mobile devices, was fast and lag free on the new iPod Touch. Whereas it would have common lag on the 2G model, which made game play less than enjoyable.

• Video Recording- Although the video recording feature is a cool extra for anyone without a smartphone, it seemed like a useless feature for those of us who have Android, BlackBerry or Apple smartphones. The benefits of mobile video are the ability to send video directly after recording; however, if you are not in an area with Wi-Fi you will not be able to send the video.

• Display- The new Retina display is noticeably sharper, but the original display of all previous iPod Touch models was not too shabby either.

Is the new iPod Touch 4G Worth the Money?

The model most people will run to the store for will be the 32GB model because of the extra storage space and price. Although the price tag of $299 is steep for a 32GB MP3 player, it does offer some excellent new features that were both impressive and useful. Personally, I will be turning in my outdated iPod Touch 2G for the 4G version without a second thought. So yes, the new iPod is defiantly worth the money if you do not mind spending $229+ for the new device.

Sources:

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/