Basically an iPhone sans phone, the iPod Touch is without a doubt, the best iPod we've seen for both both audio and video. The mind-melting elegance of the Mac OS X-based touch-screen interface makes other human/device interactions seem like a grotesque exercise where the user is forced to pound like a caveman at a mystery box in order to unleash the magical melodies within. The Touch can be purchased with 16 gigs of flash memory, doubling the iPhone's current max of 8 gigs, but still relatively low for those with large-ish music collections or video junkies—the device's most glaring flaw. Once converted, videos look fantastic on the 3.5-inch 480 x 320 widescreen, and the player even managed to exceed Apple’s estimated 5 hours of video playback by an entire hour. Wi-Fi support for hotspot access to the iTunes store, YouTube videos, and web browsing make the Touch all the more enticing for those unable to use its AT&T-exclusive big brother. —Carlos Bergfeld
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WIRED__ Thin, elegant design—slightly smaller than an iPhone. Incredibly intuitive and gorgeous multi-touch interface for browsing music, videos, photos, the iTunes store, or the web. Fantastic 6-hour movie playback, with more than 20 hours audio. Ambient light sensor adjusts display brightness to conserve battery.
__TIRED __Transition to the Touch left out some phone-centric iPhone features like the camera and external speakers, but also left out media player-appropriate Bluetooth support as well as Wi-Fi compatible mapping, e-mail, and stocks apps. No external volume controls. Somewhat pricey for storage size.
$400, apple.com
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