iPod Touch 3rd Generation Review
The Operating System
Contents
The iPod touch comes with OS 3.1 preinstalled, but it can very easily be upgraded to iOS 4. Just attach your touch to the computer, start iTunes, and perform the update. The caveat here is that only the 32 GB and 64 GB iPod touches will get the full benefit of iOS 4. The full benefits of iOS 4 include multi-tasking, some great accessibility options, Bluetooth keyboard support, and home screen wallpaper. We especially like the zoom feature that lets you magnify the entire screen of any application.
All of the iPod touch 3rd generation models, including the 8 GB model, get the ability to create folders to store your apps. With the iTunes store offering over 100,000 apps, this is a very welcome organizational tool.
All models also get iBooks, which lets you download and organize Apple’s book selections on your iPod touch.
iOS4 also has a unified inbox which lets you organize your email messages by threads and allows you to see messages from various accounts in one place.
Built-in apps include a calendar, contacts, notes, stocks, weather, and a calculator. Of course, if you have a Wi-Fi connection, you can download additional apps directly from the iTunes store or you can download them to iTunes on your PC or Mac and then sync the touch with the computer.
As with the iPhone and previous iPod touch models, the built-in accelerometer allows the on-screen keyboard to easily change between horizontal and vertical orientations when you turn the device. The keyboard in vertical orientation is shown in Figure 8. The keyboard in horizontal orientation is shown in Figure 9. As you can see the horizontal orientation gives you a little more finger room. In either orientation, however, the on-screen keyboard is very responsive.
Figure 8: The on-screen keyboard in vertical position
Figure 9: The on-screen keyboard in horizontal position