Meet the iPod touch
Mac Tip #311/17-Oct-2007
The iPod touch is quite different from the iPods that have gone before it.
iPods have a smallish screen, and a clickwheel, except for the iPod shuffle (no screen). Spin the wheel to scroll or change volume. Click the top, right, left or bottom part of the wheel to select certain actions such as going to the menu, or the next track, or play and pause. Click the centre button to select a track.
The iPod touch changes all that: the device is all screen. There are only two physical buttons: one for on / off / sleep, and another to return to the menu. To interact with the iPod touch you touch the screen itself.
In addition, if you have a wireless network at home, or available when you’re out and about, then you can use the iPod touch to surf the web, view YouTube videos, or to access the iTunes Store.
Unfortunately though, you still have to plug in a cable to connect the device to your Mac to transfer addresses, calendar appointments, music and photos.
When you first connect the device to your Mac it copies your location, timezone, the correct time and date, Safari bookmarks, and iTunes logon information.
How to use the touch screen
With most applications hold the iPod any way up and the content on the screen flips accordingly.
If you need to enter text, such as an URL to go to a web page, tap in a text entry field to bring up an onscreen keyboard. Tap the various letters to type them.
The iPod’s onscreen keyboard displays letters only as upper case, whether you’ve depressed the ‘Shift’ key or not. The Shift key itself lights up when engaged, and it’s a Shift key not a Caps Lock key, by default, though you can change the behaviour in the settings.
Most punctuation is available after tapping the punctuation key which switches to the punctuation keyboard. Some characters, such as the * are available only after a further keypress.
Scroll by putting a finger lightly on the screen and ‘flipping’ up or down — or sideways, if that’s relevant.
Zoom in by putting your thumb and finger tips together, touching them lightly to the screen and then moving them apart.
Zoom out by doing the reverse: put your thumb and finger tips lightly on the screen and ‘pinch’ them together.
Photos
This post has a gallery of a dozen photos of the iPod Touch in action. As I had to hold the camera, balance the iPod in its tiny plastic stand and operate the controls please excuse the slightly odd angles.
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- Bookmarks in iPod Safari.
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- Click and hold a link to see the URL.
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- Calendar in List View.
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- The default keyboard.
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- Extra keyboard characters.
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- Even more keyboard characters.
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- Mark All As Read in NetNewsWire.
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- The TWiT video podcast.
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- My old blog web page.
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- Calling up a new page in Safari.
A new way of working
Some people have described the iPod touch as the ‘iPhone without the phone’. I couldn’t say, as the iPhone is not yet officially available in New Zealand and I haven’t seen one in real life. But apparently the interface is very similar.
Apple brought ‘point and click’ to the masses a couple of decades ago. Now they’ve brought us ‘pinch and flick’.
This little device can’t yet replace a laptop, but it’s one to watch. And as iPods go, it’s my favourite of all the iPods I’ve owned — and that’s a good half dozen since the first iPod several years ago.
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The keyboard on mine… Well I clicked on the status thing on facebook and it just like goes away and the keyboard doesn’t come up and I’m just like what the heck but anyway is that a problem with my itouch or facebook and is there another way to bring the keyboard up? Thanks!