Not to be outdone by the new colorful and surprisingly thin iPod Nanos, the second generation iPod Touch made its debut as well in Apple’s September 2008 Special Event entitled “Let’s Rock”.
So what’s so different, a new body. The new iPod Touch looks like it came from Quicksilver‘s board. It definitely got some ideas for the iPhone 3G’s contour, but its shiny and made from polished stainless steel. I won’t be surprised if we see Apple comes out with this chasis on the iPhone 3G in the Winter (pending the sale of the new iPod Touch of course).
Other new features are:
- Built-in volume controls (just like the iPhone)
- Built-in speakers (just like the iPhone)
- Longer battery life (36-hours for audio, and 6-hours for video)
- Built-in wireless support for Nike+
Noting the built-in wireless support for Nike+, this sucks if Apple can’t just push a firmware update for iPhone 3G owners. I won’t necessarily be running with an iPhone as its freaking just too much to worry about and a distraction, but it just makes sense and a goodie for all Apple fans alike.
In terms of price-point, if comparing with the previous one, the new iPod Touch starts at $229 (8GB model) and is definitely worth the upgrade if you are looking to have the feature-set of the iPhone 3G w/o the phone. Now, if being compared against the iPhone 3G and basing on the fact that you are also looking for a phone, I don’t think its a good buy. Other than the subscription fee to a mobile carrier, the only feature that the new iPod Touch has over the iPhone 3G would probably be its built-in wireless integration with Nike+ (for now). With that said, if in the situation I just stated, I would still get an 8GB iPhone 3G over this new iPod Touch.