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The iPod touch is an iPod portable media player designed and marketed by
Apple Inc. The device, which features a Multi-Touch interface, was unveiled to
the general public on September 5, 2007 as part of an event dubbed "The Beat
Goes On", - an event which featured the introduction of Cover Flow to the iPod
line. The iPod touch uses 8 or 16 GB of flash memory, costing US$299 and US$399
respectively. It also has Wi-Fi and includes Safari, Apple's web browser. The
iPod touch is the first generation of the iPod line to include wireless access
to the iTunes Store. The iPod touch also has the capability to detect the
current and last 10 songs playing in a Starbucks café within the vicinity of the
device, and offers the user the opportunity to download the tracks in the iTunes
music store. This feature will slowly be offered in limited markets. There are
currently no plans to expand into international Starbucks stores.
User Interface and Applications
The iPod touch has a touch screen interface similar to that of the iPhone. Like
the iPhone, it includes a physical home button separate from the touch screen.
The home screen includes a list of buttons corresponding to the available
applications: Music, Videos, Photos, iTunes on the bottom button row. Safari,
YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator, and Settings are at the top. The
iPod touch comes preloaded with 28 wallpaper photos (some of which are figures
from the iPod advertisements).
On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted onto Apple's webpage,
announced that a SDK for the iPhone would be made available to third-party
developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs's praise of
Nokia's digital signature system, it is also suggested that Apple will adopt a
similar method. The SDK will also apply to the iPod touch.
Wi-Fi
The iPod touch is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and, like the iPhone, includes
a mobile version of Safari browser and a viewing client for YouTube. The
device's Wi-Fi capabilities can also be used to purchase music from the iTunes
store wirelessly. The device supports both L2TP and PPTP VPNs. There has not
been any mention of UPnP AV media rendering support, as of now.
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