It's all in the touch

Get to know the Apple iPod Touch 8GB.

WHAT: Apple iPod Touch 8GB

IT’S LIKE: An intelligent, sexy and sensitive machine that responds to your slightest touch.

Q: Wow, for a handphone that is very, very slim.

A: But this is not a handphone. It’s the new iPod Touch that comes with an intelligent touch screen. Just touch the screen gently and you can do everything — browsing albums in cover flow, watching movies in full screen or wide screen, surfing the net and viewing your photos and zooming in on your favourite photo.

Q: Sounds pretty much like a PDA phone to me.

A: Yes, but minus the camera, the calling and SMS bit. Which you can get with the iPhone (to be released in the country next year). But this sexy thing makes up for that with great sounding music and movies that are as clear as your home TV.

Q: What else does it do?

A: It counts and calculates, has a stopwatch, locks itself when it’s not used and gives you the option to manually lock it if you wish. And, oh, I just love how it knows how I’m holding it. If I hold it vertically, then horizontally, the screen will promptly change to horizontal mode. How clever is that?

Q: Is it a difficult thing to navigate for iPod and touch screen newbies?

A: Not really. It takes you a few hours of playing with it and before you know it, you will be hooked on this. And you’ll find yourself sliding your fingers across the screen, scrolling up and down, left and right and adjusting your finger pressure for what you want.

Q: You mean it doesn’t come with a stylus?

A: No, the people at Apple want their users to use, as my colleague points out, “the stylus you’re born with”. It’s not that difficult. But I suppose it helps if you have slim fingers and hard fingernails.

Q: What about web surfing?

A: You get the real deal, not the WAP version like what you would get on phones. You can zoom in on the page by putting your thumb and forefinger together and sliding them apart on the screen. It’s that easy. The same goes for zooming photos. Reading and viewing are easy because the page is not restricted to the screen.

Q: Come on, surely it’s not all good...

A: Well, if you must know, I don’t like how it fits in my palm. It’s too wide for my grip and I don’t like the sharp edge. It would have been snug if it’s completely curved, but I guess there must be some design rationale behind that. But its back doubles up as a mirror for emergency touch-up. Clever, huh?

Q: Is it worth paying for?

A: It’s a really cool gadget if you ask me, but personally, I want to experience the iPhone first and then decide which one is the better buy.