Apple iPod Touch user reviews (first generation, 8GB)

Pros great for multimedia on any trip as long as you're not driving.

Cons EXPENSIVE. needs more buttons, would like a wrist strap option, want to flip the screen.

Summary Okay, so yes, this was an impulse buy. Debating between the nano and the touch, and in the Mac Store, before closing, I said, "so where do I pick one up?" And no doubt in my mind, I am having fun with this device!
All the included options of it can be compared somewhere between a UMPC/smartphone, (oops they took out the phone features, so I really can't call it one) moreso than a simple mp3 player. After the initial charge, I had some fun with it. The wi-fi actually does a better job than my laptop, and suprisingly, the safari web-browser wasn't as stripped down as the one on my sidekick. It does everything that it was advertised to do, and as someone who has grown up with Macs, am not surprised with the end result, which is the ipod touch.
Overall, the device is a pretty thing, and as vanity would have it, I'm okay with that. A lot of what I read on product reviews seem to have that in scoring devices, but honestly, it's what's on the inside that counts. Moreso true with mobile devices. Some button layouts in the long run are sometimes more conveniently placed, or unsymmetrically ballenced button layout will sacrifice looks for the feel and ease of use in hand. Unfortunately, the ipod touch lost in this category. As nice as the device looks, I would have wanted a few more buttons.
There are two dedicated external buttons, and in my opinion, both pretty much do the same thing, which is wake up the device to use the integrated touch screen.
One set of keys I would have like to see is something for volume. As this powerhouse is a true multimedia machine, it takes only a few flickers of the finger, (literally) to switch applications. Unfortunately, I get that blast and rush scramble to pull off my headphones as I switch from a movie to a soundtrack. I often claw my way to reopen the control panel from the song selection screen, to lower the volume to an appropriate levels and vice-versa.
Otherwise, the screen resolution is unheard of in a mobile device like this, multimedia is unlimited, as itunes does a good job of filling customer needs and wants, and if you have an ipod touch and are bored, I'd blame your taste in download options.
Unfortunately, for this totally awesome device, there are downsides to it. One, of course is price. It is a stripped down version of the iphone, but I feel like it is too stripped down. I would have liked to have the googlemap interface also available on the iphone, but that is probably just a preference I found playing with the iphone. Had I not played with it, I never would have known about it. The iphone, did, however have dedicated volume controls, which I don't understand why were removed from the ipod touch.
As beautiful as the polished case is, the smooth surface makes it harder to get a grip on the device, or at least a wriststrap loop to minimize ipod droppage.
And finally, about the movie player. Unfortunately, you are limited to a widescreen format only. You can not watch a movie holding it vertically, which you may not realize is a problem, until you realize that the device is easier to keep a grip on in that position, as well as noticing the fact that 90% of the docking station/speaker systems for the ipod hold the device in that vertical position. Yeah, it would probably be a nice option to have, but you know what, for the price tag they are slapping onto the divice, Apple should give me as many options that I may think up. Also speaking of which, I found this strange. The device has built in speakers that you can hear when you click out letters on the keyboard, but you can't hear any media sounds out of it without headphones? What's up with that?
Anyways, as probably mentioned repeatedly to death about the ipod touch, if you do have an iphone, you have absolutely no reason to pick up this device, otherwise, I would recommend you become nice to whoever will buy you things. The price tag prevents me from giving it a full 100% score, but everything else it does, tempts me. Had we lived in a world that wasn't based on capitalism, it would all have been good.