New iPod Touch 2013 16GB with No iSight Main Camera Sells for Php 12,490, Out Now! What Its Existence Tells Us
Steve Jobs used to call the iPod Touch "The iPhone without the Phone." And almost two years after his passing, that's still the most accurate way to describe the iDevice.
Thanks to Apple's masterful marketing strategy and to major upgrades that the portable media player gets with every fresh release, iPod Touch has went on to become one of the best selling portable gaming devices in the world - eclipsing even Sony's PSP and Nintendo Gameboy Advance - with more than 100 Million units sold since its release in September 2007.
TechPinas has witnessed how the iPod Touch became better year after year. In 2009, we saw how it got the very same innards as that of the iPhone 3GS, Apple's flagship smartphone that year. In 2010, the 4th Generation iPod Touch - which was a TechPinas Favorite then - received a major redesign resulting in a very slick body with tapered sides and even got the dual camera treatment from the Cupertino company. Finally, last year, iPod Touch became the thinnest iDevice ever and was given a higher resolution iSight snapper at the back with LED flash.
Really, I'm used to seeing the iPod Touch get big upgrades every time Apple churns out a new version so the release of this new 16GB iPod Touch with downgraded specifications comes as a surprise to me.
Flaunting a design identity similar to that of iPod Touch 5th Generation, the new iPod Touch features the same display and set of innards but comes with three notable deletions when placed vis a vis its predecessor.
First, it lacks the 5 MegaPixel iSight back camera with LED flash of iPod Touch 5th Generation, which means that it can't really double as a digital camera. Second, it only has 16 GB of non-expandable internal storage as opposed to 32GB and 64GB options that Apple offers on the previous release. And third, you can only get it one color: Silver with Black front-frame.
Nonetheless, what's particularly attractive about this release is its very affordable price tag of only Php 12,490 -- that's Php 4,000 less than the official SRP of iPod Touch 5th Generation 32 GB variant. So if you're on a tight budget and you've long been wanting to experience what Apple has to offer in this category, this could very well be the ideal device for you. Oh, and it also doesn't hurt that the package includes the new Apple Earpods, which I love.
Mark of TP Thoughts:
Looking at the technical specifications of Apple's previous mobile device releases, it's hard not to notice that downgrades in one category usually indicate an upgrade in another or the release of a new line altogether.
In September 2009, Apple released the first iPod Nano with integrated camera at the rear for taking videos. This model was received relatively well by Apple fans but interestingly, the camera feature never made it to the next iterations of the device. Instead, the iPod Touch line, which used to not have any imaging capabilities, received dual snappers in 2010.
In October 2012, the Cupertino company announced a new iPad with smaller screen and specifications similar to an iPad released in 2010. This fresh tablet with downgraded specifications - called the iPad Mini - heralded a new category in Apple's current product line-up.
These things considered, I'm inclined to believe that the recent downgrade that the iPod Touch line got is merely indicative of the imminent release of a new Apple product, which will sport whatever was taken away from the portable media player line. Now, I don't know about you but I really think it's going to be the cheaper version of the iPhone with plastic enclosure.
Thanks to Apple's masterful marketing strategy and to major upgrades that the portable media player gets with every fresh release, iPod Touch has went on to become one of the best selling portable gaming devices in the world - eclipsing even Sony's PSP and Nintendo Gameboy Advance - with more than 100 Million units sold since its release in September 2007.
TechPinas has witnessed how the iPod Touch became better year after year. In 2009, we saw how it got the very same innards as that of the iPhone 3GS, Apple's flagship smartphone that year. In 2010, the 4th Generation iPod Touch - which was a TechPinas Favorite then - received a major redesign resulting in a very slick body with tapered sides and even got the dual camera treatment from the Cupertino company. Finally, last year, iPod Touch became the thinnest iDevice ever and was given a higher resolution iSight snapper at the back with LED flash.
Really, I'm used to seeing the iPod Touch get big upgrades every time Apple churns out a new version so the release of this new 16GB iPod Touch with downgraded specifications comes as a surprise to me.
Flaunting a design identity similar to that of iPod Touch 5th Generation, the new iPod Touch features the same display and set of innards but comes with three notable deletions when placed vis a vis its predecessor.
First, it lacks the 5 MegaPixel iSight back camera with LED flash of iPod Touch 5th Generation, which means that it can't really double as a digital camera. Second, it only has 16 GB of non-expandable internal storage as opposed to 32GB and 64GB options that Apple offers on the previous release. And third, you can only get it one color: Silver with Black front-frame.
Nonetheless, what's particularly attractive about this release is its very affordable price tag of only Php 12,490 -- that's Php 4,000 less than the official SRP of iPod Touch 5th Generation 32 GB variant. So if you're on a tight budget and you've long been wanting to experience what Apple has to offer in this category, this could very well be the ideal device for you. Oh, and it also doesn't hurt that the package includes the new Apple Earpods, which I love.
Mark of TP Thoughts:
Looking at the technical specifications of Apple's previous mobile device releases, it's hard not to notice that downgrades in one category usually indicate an upgrade in another or the release of a new line altogether.
In September 2009, Apple released the first iPod Nano with integrated camera at the rear for taking videos. This model was received relatively well by Apple fans but interestingly, the camera feature never made it to the next iterations of the device. Instead, the iPod Touch line, which used to not have any imaging capabilities, received dual snappers in 2010.
In October 2012, the Cupertino company announced a new iPad with smaller screen and specifications similar to an iPad released in 2010. This fresh tablet with downgraded specifications - called the iPad Mini - heralded a new category in Apple's current product line-up.
These things considered, I'm inclined to believe that the recent downgrade that the iPod Touch line got is merely indicative of the imminent release of a new Apple product, which will sport whatever was taken away from the portable media player line. Now, I don't know about you but I really think it's going to be the cheaper version of the iPhone with plastic enclosure.
| Name | New iPod Touch 16GB |
| Type | Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen) |
| Price Category | Midrange |
| Dimensions | 123.4 x 58.6 x 6.1 mm |
| Weight | 86 grams |
| Available Colors | Silver; Anodized Aluminum back case, Black front frame |
| Operating System | iOS 6.1 |
| Display | 4-inch (diagonal) widescreen display with Multi-Touch IPS technology, Retina display, 1136-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical), 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical), Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating |
| Processor | Apple A5 Processor |
| Camera | 1.2 MegaPixels front facing Facetime camera |
| Video Capture | 720p HD, 30 frames per second |
| Audio and Video Playback | TV and Video: H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p Audio: Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV User-configurable maximum volume limit |
| Ports | 3.5 mm audio jack, Lightning 9-pin dock connector |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Memory | 16GB, non-expandable |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, 3-axis Gyroscope |
| Battery | Built-in rechargeable Li-Ion battery Charging times: Fast charge in about 2 hours (80% capacity), full charge in about 4 hours |
| Uptime | Music playback time: Up to 40 hours when fully charged Video playback time: Up to 8 hours when fully charged |
| Value-Added Features | One of the thinnest iDevices ever, smaller Lightning port, new Apple EarPods included in the package |
| Announcement | June 2013 |
| Availability | June 2013, Out Now |
| Price | Official SRP: Php 12,490 |
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