How would you change the iPod touch?

Well before the iPhone became anything more than a pipe dream, folks were clamoring for a truly updated iPod -- one that featured more pixels, a widescreen display and wireless capabilities at the very least. As the iPhone finally came to fruition, hopes were yet again dashed as Apple forced anyone desperate for the aforementioned PMP to also purchase a new cellphone, not to mention live with merely 8GB of storage at the high-end. Thankfully for us all, Cupertino finally saw fit to release the phoneless iPhone, which seemed to combine all of our previous wishes into one very sleek -- save for that black notch in the rear -- device. Shortly thereafter, users began kvetching over seemingly widespread display issues, the inability to natively use it in Disk Mode and the 16GB cap on capacity. Furthermore, who could forget the way our dreams were crushed when the Bluetooth caper ended with inconclusive results? And yes, we're still wondering why we can't add calendar appointments on this thing.

That being said, here's your chance to rip, rag on or reiterate your love for Apple's long-awaited iPod touch. How would you have done things differently? What features would have been added and what hardware changes would've been made? Oh, and why isn't this thing available in iPod white™?

[daevh @ Sep 28th 2007 5:33PM]

160gb HDD.

[xbit @ Sep 28th 2007 6:11PM]

Totally agreed. That's the ONLY change that's needed for me to buy one.

Why bring out a device with such a huge screen and then cripple it for video by putting in a small amount of memory? I know battery life is a concern, but let's remember how short the battery on older iPods was.

[Derry Quinn @ Sep 28th 2007 6:20PM]

Because if the bring out one ith big storage people will keep their phone, buy this and not buy an iPhone instead

[James Hoak @ Sep 28th 2007 6:27PM]

I agree but the reason it doesn't have a hard drive is because that it would have taken longer to develop. They seem to be more focused on getting out new ipods every September than on delivering better products. This thing is clearly just a modded iphone as opposed to a new product. Hopefully next gen will be better.

[Penguin Warlord @ Sep 28th 2007 6:31PM]

@James Hoak

It would not have taken very long at all to have it on a hard drive the reason they use flash is because this way is thinner but ditto on the Hard drive.

[ukickmydog (NDF - Earth) @ Sep 28th 2007 6:36PM]

think about this:

it currently has like 22 hours of batter just for MUSIC
and 5 for VIDEO

imagine the battery life with a HDD, it would be shit, and people would still complain, perhaps even more

[Faulk_Wulf @ Sep 28th 2007 6:42PM]

Some of this list consists of things that the iPod-Touch / iPhone already do:

iTouch v2
- Wireless 'antenna' behind the back plate.
- Decisively decide whether not to support BlueTooth.
- Use a plattered HDD instead of flash memory. 16gb for $400 is disgusting. Not when you can achieve 10x the space for less money.
- Make sure Enable Disk Use works correctly. A lot of people are using portable applications and need the hard drive side for a billion reasons.
- If you're going to have calender and contact functions, make sure you can update them without having to plug into a computer.
- In fact, that goes for any feature you can access from the iTouch's interface.
- If you're going to make it just an iPhone without out the phone, either make the device appear physically different from the iPhone -or- keep it EXACTLY like the iPhone. Keep the external speaker (ear piece) and allow it to record audio / find out songs with the built in microphone.
- Call it the iTouch? (Yes I get all the sexual references, etc that could be made with it. But the iSlogan has been iAbused so much in the iWorld that I wouldn't see it causing too much marketing harm.)

*shrugs*

Thoughts?

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Sep 28th 2007 7:12PM]

"think about this:

it currently has like 22 hours of batter just for MUSIC
and 5 for VIDEO

imagine the battery life with a HDD, it would be shit, and people would still complain, perhaps even more"

Not if you engineer it right.

[David Olivo @ Sep 28th 2007 7:27PM]

Apple wouldn't put a 160GB hd on the Touch for the same reason they didn't put Bluetooth, Weather, SMS, and Mail (as well as all the nifty things the iPhone has).

Because they are setting up the heirarchy:

iPods, iPod Touch, iPhone, and the Big Beef Touch (720x480) that's been rumored which will have:
•80-160GB SSD
•Bluetooth 2.0
•MultiTouch
•full Leopard install (with option to buy attacheable keyboard)
•OS X Mini (switch which mode you prefer)
•USB 2.0
•Airport
• and finally, a griddle attachment for the metal back (so you can cook on it, since it will be super-hot)

[Blue @ Sep 28th 2007 7:33PM]

ummm, they could get more battery life by simply making the battery bigger/higher capacity.

The ipod touch is a gimped version of what they inevitably release next year: 80GB ipod touch with more features.

Apple has let their ego lead into making more mediocre designs.

[painty @ Sep 28th 2007 8:41PM]

i think it has more to do with fact that Apple wants to clearly define the ipod product line, like they do with computers

[ACEY RIOT @ Oct 3rd 2007 9:47AM]

AND!!!!...make it a zune

[Nick @ Sep 28th 2007 10:01PM]

Most certainly not a justifiable purchase. $399 for 16GB? I'd accept a thicker device if that's what was necessary for a 160GB HDD. For now, I think I'd rather take an iPod Classic, as 10x the capacity for 50 fewer dollars sounds alright. I think that this device can only very tenuously be classified as an iPod, as it's really a PDA with enough capacity for some songs and videos. If I were looking for a PDA, then I might consider an iPod touch, but for my Music? No.

[CaliberX @ Sep 28th 2007 9:58PM]

"it currently has like 22 hours of batter just for MUSIC
and 5 for VIDEO
imagine the battery life with a HDD, it would be shit, and people would still complain, perhaps even more"

My 3G ipod only had 10 hours of music playback. I could live with that again for a 160Gb ipod touch and I think they could do better.

[eh @ Sep 28th 2007 10:32PM]

160gbs is too much porn, even for me.

[Zach @ Sep 29th 2007 1:02AM]

160 GB storage AND the Maps, Stocks, Weather, and calendar apps...

[John Doe @ Sep 29th 2007 2:43AM]

Guys. Its called cache. Learn what it is before you bitch about "OMG! Battery life doomed!" If Apple would drop 512MB of cache in the touch it would become a nonissue.

[MegaZone @ Sep 29th 2007 6:36AM]

Give me one with an 80GB or better storage and I'll buy one immediately. 16GB is a toy. My 60GB iPod is getting full and I don't want to go back to picking and choosing tracks from my collection. I dumped my original 20GB iPod for a 60GB to get away from that.

[daevh @ Sep 29th 2007 12:40PM]

I think a major reason for the flash over the HDD in the Touch is interface speed. I was playing with the iPod Classic and the coverflow view just isn't smooth enough, yet the Touch and the Nano were both excellent. I'd put that down to seek times when it comes to loading the album artwork. I guess a nice compromise would be to have the 160gb HDD and then have the artwork and OS loaded on 1GB (or so..) of flash memory.

[jhuggart @ Sep 29th 2007 3:26PM]

I agree with Megazone. Adding Flash to HDD is a very productive trend in the HD market. Apple could easily, and cheaply add 1-2GB of flash memory to a 160GB HD in the Touch and keep the smooth cover flow while maximizing battery life. A higher powered battery would probably still be necessary, but I wouldn't complain about a couple more millimeters in density for the ultimate portable music/video player.

[larry mcsandals @ Sep 30th 2007 6:07PM]

hmm seems like you want the archos 605 wifi, it costs the same as the 16 gb ipod touch, but has 10x the GB, and the internet has full flash, not 'mobile safari'. but unfortunatly it dosn't have a picture of an apple on the back, so you won't buy it.

[Adam Pflug @ Sep 30th 2007 10:03PM]

The only feature they need to add for me to buy the phone could be done with software: Podcasting support for WiFiTunes Music Store.

[RaiderX @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:38PM]

Yep. If it had a hard drive with at least 80GB, I'd buy one. When i first heard that the Touch was actually going to be released, I was very excited, then i found out it was 16GB of flash failure.

I'll either be getting an iPod Classic or a Zune 80. Whichever gets cracked and running Rockbox first.

[Nate @ Sep 28th 2007 5:33PM]

I'd turn it into an iMac :P

[J Ho @ Sep 28th 2007 5:34PM]

I'd put a hard drive in it. And make it look just a tad less like the iPhone. And dedicated volume controls.

[Seth @ Sep 29th 2007 9:55AM]

First off, how many of you actually own an iPod touch? I do and if you add a HDD to it, the snappy movement through applications will take forever. Besides, I will nevergo back to having a hard drive spinning in my iPod ever again.

[Amil @ Sep 28th 2007 5:34PM]

I would have given it more storage inni apple trying to make their productss really thin but this just elevates the price

[Jeff @ Sep 28th 2007 5:35PM]

make it a Zune

[unkone @ Sep 28th 2007 6:04PM]

You know who else wanted a Zune.

[iRobot @ Sep 29th 2007 3:25AM]

That's Stupid.

[Barry @ Sep 28th 2007 5:35PM]

200gb HDD. Bluetooth. 3rd party apps (I'm looking at you, skype).

[AdamY @ Sep 28th 2007 5:36PM]

I'd give it a phone, a dedicated e-mail client, the ability to add calendar events, Google maps, and a stocks and weather widget...

[Greg @ Sep 28th 2007 6:01PM]

Isn't that what the iphone is?
Unless you mean make it open to any carrier...

[AdamY @ Sep 28th 2007 6:03PM]

@greg

LOL, apparently my sarcasm is failing in my old age... Yes, that's exactly what an iPhone is ;-)

[sombody @ Sep 28th 2007 6:34PM]

It already exists, and its called an iPhone.

[jbulava @ Sep 29th 2007 2:23AM]

Don't worry Adam, I found your sarcasm quite obvious and funny :-)

[juan @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:06PM]

what about the millions of us who don't leave in the states?and odn't want to be bothere unlockeing and relocking and unlocking an iPhone after every update?

[Mark @ Sep 28th 2007 5:37PM]

The only hardware change I would make is to put an 80 or 160 gig hard drive in there from the iPod Classic. Having only 16 gigs on a device like this, and costing more then a 160 gig iPod Classic is a slap in the face.

I wanted an iPod touch, but only 16 gigs? I'm holding out for more storage with a hard drive, instead of a flash drive.

[John @ Sep 28th 2007 6:13PM]

They couldn't keep battery life up without using flash. it takes more power to spin and read off a hard disk than from flash memory.

[Sirocco @ Sep 28th 2007 7:28PM]

I think people fall into 2 camps: those with 30+ gigs of music, and those with 4-5 gigs, and that there are more of the latter. To these people, 16 gigs is a lot, and will make us very happy.

[Orangey @ Sep 29th 2007 8:24AM]

what are you talking about?? yes some people have 30+ Gb of music and some have 4 - 5 but equally as many people have 6 or 7 or 8 or 10 or 15 or 20

[lassi @ Sep 29th 2007 4:04PM]

battery life on the hdd is a non-issue.

ipod classic has the longest playing times of the ipods.

cache is the key..

[josh hunt @ Sep 30th 2007 10:30PM]

"I think people fall into 2 camps: those with 30+ gigs of music, and those with 4-5 gigs, and that there are more of the latter. To these people, 16 gigs is a lot, and will make us very happy."

Yes, i agree.

For me 16GB is plenty.
I have a 4GB nano, and that is good enough for me.

Im planning on getting a 8GB one. Enough for both videos and music

[tg @ Oct 4th 2007 11:11PM]

I agree about the HD thing,
THe other thing I would change(forgive me if someone said this already, I dont feel like looking through 360 comments) is to add some buttons,
maybe like next to the home button and at the top of the device, physical buttons but ones that you cant see, kind of like the way the mighty muse works.
THen when you want to quickly change a few songs or turn down the volume, etc, you dont have to dig the ipod out of your pocket.

[Karan @ Oct 3rd 2007 9:54AM]

"what are you talking about?? yes some people have 30+ Gb of music and some have 4 - 5 but equally as many people have 6 or 7 or 8 or 10 or 15 or 20"

And for my next trick, I will pull random numbers out of my ass!

sheesh.

[Ellianth @ Sep 28th 2007 5:37PM]

How about... "how would you change engadget?"

Less iProduct posts.

[MacGuru @ Sep 28th 2007 6:19PM]

Or better "How would you change engadget posts?"

Less Apple hating Microsoft lovers...

[Ellianth @ Sep 28th 2007 6:22PM]

Why do you assume I'm an apple hating microsoft lover? Does my name lean to one side like yours?

[Kinowolf @ Sep 28th 2007 7:06PM]

No, you just use a really lame generic DnD fantasy name which tells me you're probably sitting in front of a totally "1337" Alienware "Rig" with Vista on it.

[nosrednAneB @ Sep 28th 2007 7:29PM]

Snap!