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Apple's New iPod Touch: Should You Get It?

Apple iPod Touch
As many people hoped, prayed, and figured, Apple announced the new iPod Touch today. If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, check out our quick answers to your questions below. [For coverage of Apple's other announcements, check out our posts on the new iPod Classic, the Nano "Fatty," red Shuffle, and the iTunes downloadable ringtone store for iPod. Happy Apple-lusting!]

So What Is the iPod Touch?

This touch-screen iPod is, for all intents and purposes, an iPhone without the phone. Like that recently-announced iconic gadget, the new iPod Touch features the multi-touch screen, the Cover Flow interface that lets your finger flip through virtual 3-D album art, and a feature that lets you pinch your fingers on the screen to resize images. It also includes the motion sensors that automatically readjust the screen to landscape or portrait mode, depending on how you're holding the device. In fact, it looks exactly like an iPhone without the microphone and ear speaker. It's also thinner, coming in at just 8mm.

What's New?
Aside from the touch screen, this thing has built-in Wi-Fi, or wireless connectivity, just like the iPhone. That feature might makes sense on a smart phone, but how does it work on an iPod? Essentially, it means that you'll be able to get online with this new iPod and even browse with the superb mobile version of Apple's Safari Web browser. You can also get on YouTube to watch videos, just like an iPhone. But the really cool and new (for Apple) use of Wi-Fi on the the new iPod Touch (and the iPhone) is that you'll be able to buy music right from the iTunes Wi-Fi music store and download it right to your iPhone -- on the fly.

What Does It Cost?

The new iPod Touch comes in both 8- and 16-gigabyte versions for $299 and $399 respectively. For those concerned about battery life, don't be: Apple is promising 22 hours of audio and 5 hours of video playback.

Should You Get It?
Maybe. With the exception of the phone capabilities, the new iPod Touch gives you everything the iPhone has but in a thinner package that contains twice the memory. Ask yourself whether or not you need to carry only one device. For city dwellers or those who travel a lot, having a phone and iPod in one package is a nice luxury, especially during the summer months when nobody wants to carry around a bunch of expensive gadgets. Plus, 16-gigabytes of memory isn't exactly the 40-80-gigabytes we've come to know and love, so you might want to wait for the next generation of this thing, which will likely have the capacity for more of your media. That said, $100 is a pretty steep price jump if you're happy with your current carrier and phone (and that's the type of person that would be happiest with the new iPod Touch). Besides, with that $100 you could get a nice, functional phone and never look back.

From Engadget's Live Coverage

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