The iTouch Woes: Long Time Apple Fans Are Not Surprised
The iTouch debuted a few weeks ago and Apple fans, old, new, and the curious, all wanted to get their hands on the new hot device. We thought we had to wait a few weeks after the announcement, but Apple surprised us with stocking a few stores with a few units which quickly sold out.
Almost immediately the negative reports started flooding in, one of the most humorous being the identity crisis. It seems that Apple simply copied the code from the iPhone and loaded it into the iTouch without any modifications.
Some users received units that didn’t even have OSX installed on them. This further supported the iPhone code being used in the iTouch, as there were hints that bluetooth was turned off in the unit, though it contained no bluetooth parts.
Then reports and pictures surfaced arguing that the iTouch’s screen had several problems, with one being the inability to display dark colors.
To top it off, as the world was shouting “Yes, an iPhone without the phone”, Jobs and Co were busy removing features such as the ability to add calendar appointments. Features like this were favored by the masses, as when coupled with the iTunes wi-fi store, your iTouch could operate without the need for computer connection.
As the internets went wild over these issues, I myself thought “So what?”
You see, I have been using Apple products for about 2 years or so now, and I have been witness to some pretty comical product launches from Apple. I have to give them credit for the iPhone launch though. The only thing jacked up about the iPhone was AT&T.
iMacs, macbooks, Macbook Pros, and whatever else you can think of, all shipped with some sort of issue or “flaw” within that first line of units. The most famous being the heat issues in the new Intel chip packed “laptop” that just happened to burn your lap if you used it as it was meant to be used.
With that in mind, most long time Apple users don’t rush to the front lines when a new product is released. Most have learned the hard way as well. I got a 1st product line Macbook, and though I love it to death, prior to the firmware update, I was unable to use it anywhere else but on a desk or flat surface. Apple fixed it, just as they have now fixed the iTouch issues. As usual, they have it down to the exact serial # of the last units affected by the current issues. Serial #’s 9c738 and after all will have revised iTouch units, thus having avoided any of the agony involved with spending $400 on a unit that shipped without the software installed.
Sure it is Apple’s fault, but you have to keep in mind that they do most of the designing and software for all of the products that they produce, leaving a lot of room for little errors like color performance on their best iPod to date.
This post may seem like old news to most of my long time Apple users (Hi guys!), but to the fresh post iPhone group, hopefully you guys take note for the future 
Getting my iTouch soon!
Posted in Apple
You have reached the personal blog of Howard O'Berry. I enjoy blogging about tech and current events, but being that this blog is personal, pretty much anything goes. You can catch me on 
Joey September 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Another good post. Good work.
I am no Apple Fanboy (not just yet, but will be soon). I think Apple is extremely successful with the designing of their products. They really bring creativity, functionality & practicality together. Everything you need & want in one beautiful case. I guess quality control has to be one of the main concerns they should have. As Steve Jobs said that, “Apple is a software company”. Although they make excellent design on both software & hardware together, but they outsource most of their hardware part. Either the chip or battery or screen or etc. I guess they don’t have full quality control on their own hands.?That’s why problems seem to occur often on this aspect.