I can now twirl the iPod Touch about my fingers like a pencil, which says a great deal about just how dramatically thin the new model is. The fourth generation iPod Touch has become the closest to bridge the gap between iPod and iPhone. It has the latter’s speed and power, its Retina display, back and front-facing cameras, HD video recording, and with FaceTime, can even make a call. It’s so very close to becoming an iPhone 4 in its own right, that it would almost be easier to point you to my iPhone 4 review and tell you what’s missing than to go through all the features it now has.

 

At 7.2 mm thin the Touch is nearly ready to slide into your wallet, next to your I.D. cards and family photos. In my hands, which are used to holding an iPhone, the difference is laugh-out-loud extraordinary and says a lot about just how much space a phone and its antennae consume.

The backing is still metal and beveled for a curved grasp in your hands. At a glance you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between it and any of the earlier Touch generations.

Turn it on and you’ll find significant changes through Apple’s retina display and the boosted performance of the A4 processor.

Apple’s retina technology achieves such a high pixel density that subtle details, especially text in ebooks and mail, have all the crispness of the printed page. While a number of new screen technologies, including Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens, offer a greater sense of brightness and a colour range that noticeably pops, Apple’s Retina is superior in my opinion for its richness of detail and clarity. Compared to the previous generation devices, it’s like getting new prescription glasses.

One of the shortcomings of the iPod Touch was its inability to run all of the features included in the iPhone software. Now with the A4 processor its speed and performance is a match. 3D animations run with almost a liquid smoothness, and apps load with greater speed, sometimes too fast as loading screens that offer instructions and tips now go by too fast for you to read them.

Although there are very few apps to make use of it, the new Touch includes a three-axis gyro which allows apps to detect a wider range of motion as you hold the device in different positions. It’ll eventually play an important role in future video games and considering the iPod Touch’s popularity as a game machine, it’s nice to know the iPhone won’t be able to leave it behind in this area too. Something I’ve felt should have been present in the very first iPod Touch is a built-in microphone. Apple likes to promote their device for schools, but without a voice recorder for lectures or the ability to use Skype without connecting an awkward headset and mic combo, it seemed like a poor match. Now with a built-in mic you can do both those things and just like the iPhone you can use it to pick up speakers even if they are sitting across the room.

A camera is the other feature many have pined for and now Apple has added two, although the sill camera isn’t the same quality as the 5 Megapixel camera included with the iPhone 4. By comparison the iPod Touch’s back-facing camera is of a lower resolution (960 x 720), a lens with a narrower angle, meaning it doesn’t capture quite as much of the view, and a sensor that doesn’t perform as well in low-light conditions. It also lacks a flash and without a built-in GPS relies on your Wi-Fi connection for geo-tagging your photos and video clips. It’s a decent camera and you’re sure to enjoy the photos it takes, but it’s not a replacement for a standalone digital camera.

The same can be said of its camcorder capability. Yes, it records in 720p High Definition and the image quality is quite good for a device in this class, but it’s no replacement for a Flip pocket camcorder which also has a wider-angle lens and a better camera sensor. Where Apple has the edge is in software, in the ability to simply touch the screen to focus on a specific subject and with the optional $5 iMovie app, using the touchscreen to edit and assemble complete home videos on-the-go with surprising simplicity.

I’m not sure how much use FaceTime will get initially, a feature that only works between fourth generation iPod Touch devices and iPhone 4s, but there’s something very satisfying about being able to make a call, even if it’s just being made over the internet. The feature uses both built-in cameras and smoothly allows you to switch between both in the middle of the video call. You can hold the screen in portrait mode to allow the front-facing camera to capture yourself, or hold it in landscape mode to squeeze in some friends. A tap on the screen smoothly switches the view to the back-facing camera allowing you to aim the device like a camera and show off the world around you.

Making a call is very easy on the Touch. Without a phone number, others instead use the e-mail address associated with your iTunes Account to dial you. Your iPod Touch will even ring using the same custom library of ringtones or vibration alerts. The quality is fairly smooth, but again it’s limited to Apple’s latest devices and it’s something you can only use within Wi-Fi range.

The iPod Touch remains one of the best pocket devices short of a Smartphone and Apple’s fourth generation it’s most significant leap forward. The enhanced display, performance, voice recording capabilities and built in camera make it a worthy upgrade if you purchased the original and an essential companion for those looking to avoid the hassle of a cell phone contract.