Engadget, and others, review the new iPod Touch and Nano

The new iPods will be arriving in stores tomorrow and many will be getting them in the mail over the next few days as well.  Fittingly, Apple has lifted the embargo on reviews and they’ve come flooding in.

Engadget weighs the pros and cons of the new Touch:

As we noted last week, the iPod touch doesn’t get the same IPS display as the iPhone (above).  It doesn’t have a GPS or a good still camera either.  But that’s about the only bad things you can say about these things which for many will be fantastic portable devices.  It gains A4 processor, Retina display, front and back cameras, gyroscope, and vibrate.  They continue to have the same price-points (Apple sold a previous generation 8GB version for $199 before)

I personally would have traded a few millimeters of thickness for even a two or three megapixel still camera and GPS.  The screen angle differences in the real world won’t matter that much.  On the Flip side, cameras add a whole new dimension to these devices and gaming with the new screen, processor, Gyros and A4 chip is going to be on a whole other level.

The Nano review, because it is an entirely new form factor, is a bit more interesting…

http://www.viddler.com/simple/90492021/

I still think people are going to wear this like a watch and clearly by Apple’s watch screen, that idea isn’t lost on them.  It is a bit unfortunate that the nano loses the ability to play videos, record videos and no longer has contacts, calendars, notes, games…not to mention the loss of a lot of pixels and size on the display.  In fact, it is almost closer to the old Shuffle than the old nano.

But if you want that functionality, the iPod touch is now more of a no-brainer, whereas before there was some confusion because the iPod touch didn’t have a camera and the Nano did, along with a lot of other fun features.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of this stuff come back in a firmware update.  Since this is the 1.0 of the new nano, maybe calendars and contacts will show up later at least.

Also, I’d like to be able to watch videos on my Dick Tracy Watch even if the screen has been squooshed to a paltry 1.5 inches and 240×240 pixel display.

iPod Touch starts at $229 ($5 off at Amazon), while the iPod Nano starts at $149 ($4 off at Amazon).

Engadget’s Nano Review

Engadget’s iPod Touch review

Also Macworld,  CNET, USAToday, PCMag, Businessweek, The Loop, and Slashgear and I’m sure the WSJ and NYTimes will have theirs up shortly.