Apple iPod Touch (4th generation, 32GB, black)

Pros: -Thin, solid, razor thin design with lots of metal and glass
-Placement of buttons (more on that later)
-Nice and loud speaker
-Two cameras for FaceTime and taking pictures and video
-720p video at 30fps= great looking video
-Stylish
-Microphone is great.

Cons: -Metal back feels high quality, but scratches SO EASILY and collects lots of fingerprints.
-At 3.5", the screen size is a little too small for me.
-Doesn't use IPS technology, so viewing angles aren't as good as an iPhone 4 or an iMac
-Picture Quality fro

Summary: Just to give you some perspective, I am a 14 year old audiophile and have purchased Apple products before. I have had the 1st and 2nd gen shuffle, 1st and 3rd gen nano, and the 2nd and 4th gen touch. I am actually an Android mobile phone user, but I think that Apple does PMPs better.

Now, more about the placement of the buttons I talked about. The volume rocker and sleep/wake are more on the bevel of the back of the device rather than on the side. This makes pushing them one-handed easier.

As for the fragile design, I recommend getting a case when you purchase the iPod. I did, and there are no scratches whatsoever. I recommend a silicone case, or some other soft material because it won't scratch your investment like a hard case will. I didn't do this with my last iPod touch, and it resulted in a ghetto look, not what Apple intended.

This iPod ceases to disappoint in most areas. Performance is great. The Apple A4 1GHZ chip keeps everything chugging along at a pleasing rate. Right from unlocking the device, you get a feel for the brawn under that piece of glass. Everything moves quickly and smoothly.

Screen is for the most part admirable. The resolution is 960x640 packed into 3.5". The pixels are just 78 micrometers wide, and there are 326 of them in one inch. This is truly remarkable how they manage to hide the individual pixels. Size is a little small though. 3.7" is the minimum screen size I can work with without making tons of typing errors and feeling cramped. Viewing angles also are not good at extreme angles, but you can still see everything 180 degrees around, even though it will look distorted at about the 175 degree mark.

Camera and video quality is a mixed bag. Camera quality is not good with either camera. The front one is 0.3 MP (VGA), and the front one is 0.7 MP. There is also no autofocus, sadly. You can touch anywhere on the viewfinder, but that controls exposure. Camera quality outdoors looks good, but gets pixelated when you zoom in. Indoors, the images reek of the pixelation stench. Video quality, however, is a completely different story. The camera 'round back records at 720p at 30fps. The front records at VGA at 30fps. The video quality outdoors is crisp, clear,and smooth. There is utterly no digital noise or artifacting. Sound quality is also pretty good. Indoors, there is more pixelation and noise, but not nearly as bad as photos. You can also adjust the exposure while recording video.

Typing on the screen is not a fun experience. The keyboard is cramped, and the auto-correct isn't good at all. The landscape option alleviates some of the pain, though.

Voice control needs work. Usually it gets what I say right, but simple functions, like asking it to play a specific song or sending an e-mail, are missing.

Battery life is a mixed bag. Charging time is very good. I only need about half an hour to charge halfway, or maybe one and a half hours to charge fully. Battery life is good while doing simple tasks like listening to music, occasional web browsing, or going on Facebook for a little bit. (Emphasis on the 'little bit') However, if you are watching YouTube, browsing the web a lot, watching movies, or playing lots of games, battery can die in as little as half a day. Turning off Wi-Fi also helps.

To summarize it all, the iPod touch is not really an iPhone without a phone anymore. It is more like a pocket-sized iPad 2. This little package provides for hours of fun with the cameras, web browser, and more importantly, Angry Birds. It needs work in some areas, but this product definitely receives my 'Approved' stamp. If you were disappointed with last year's model, this one makes up for it with great performance, two cameras, and an even more beautiful design.

This received a 4.5 rather than a 5 for bad camera quality, fragile design, mediocre battery life, and a couple issues fueled by iOS.