Tech Opinion - iPod Touch Issues?

Date: 2012feb21 Product: iPod Touch Q. iPod Touch Issues? A. I recently got a chance to be up close with an iPod Touch and without really looking for issues I found a bunch. - I find it amusing that the startup manual just lists some built in apps and their descriptions. How about telling us that you need to hold down an app's icon for a few seconds to make it shake so you can then click on the [X] to delete it? Is that supposed to be obvious? - The on-screen keyboard is always uppercase. On Android the letters in the keyboard change when you press the shift (or capslock) key. So when I was entering an lowercase password on the UPPERCASE keyboard I had a quick second to glimpse at the letter before it turned into a security dot. I was honestly shocked by this. - You must use iTunes to copy MP3s to the device. With an Android device you'd just drag'n'drop them to the USB-connected device. In Apple land you need to install the massive iTunes program and register with your full name and address. I am not 100% certain registering is necessary but I could not find a way around it. Luckily handing over a credit card number is optional. You *can* drag and drop to/from the DCIM (photos) folder, at least. - Hardware feels solid and its slim but: - Nonstandard USB cable. Costs more if lost or damaged. - Can not upgrade flash memory yourself. Say you underestimated how much memory you need and want to upgrade. With Android, just plug-in a new SD Card. - Can not update the battery yourself. Batteries wear out so this is something everyone will want to do. - Its good that the headphone/earbud jack is standard. - Hyper-annoying free apps. A free app where a cat will say the words you speak is nifty (well kinda). But it is always popping up dialog boxes asking if you want to get on a mailing list. Since you want to get rid of this dialog quickly its easy to click on "yes" by mistake. Is there an opt out later or are you on the mailing list for life? In any case this is very annoying. With Apple's famous tight approval process for apps how could something this annoying and semi-deceptive get thru? - The cost. It has to be about twice as expensive as the comparable Android device. - Pretty nice if don't think about this stuff. Yes, its a pretty nice device. (Once setup with your iTunes account) its easy to download apps and play with them which I guess is the purpose of the thing.