So far into the series of iPod Touch competitors, I’ve taken a brief look at four alternatives and how well they stack up against the iPod Touch. They’ve all been very tough competitors, but I think that this one is the toughest and most promising of the bunch. Released at around the same time as the iPod Touch, Samsung looked to capitalize on the same niche of the market with their product, the P2. From what I’ve found, there are three things that make the Samsung P2 exceptional.

Source: http://www.gadget-paradise.com/news_images/000071_samsung-p2.jpg

Aesthetics

The Samsung P2 definitely succeeded the most in this department in contrast to the rest of the iPod Touch competitors – it’s arguably the darker, sleeker, smaller twin brother of the iPod Touch. Its GUI looks great – typical Samsung quality (which is meant as a good thing, although some can interpret otherwise). It sports a 3″ screen – smaller than the iPod Touch’s 3.5″, but larger than the iPod Video’s 2.5″; the resolution is similarly slightly smaller in comparison to the iPod Touch (480x272px vs. 480x320px). The Samsung P2 is definitely a looker.

Video

I know that the Archos brothers play movies very nicely on their 800x480px screens, but the Samsung P2 is no wimp. Sporting a 480x272px screen, as mentioned a couple of sentences ago, it’s got a nearly perfect 16:9 resolution. With all this talk of widescreen and hi-def nowadays, the Samsung P2 sounds more like a device from the future than the norm.

Source: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1159/1406111980_f6b6c5ce29_o.jpg

The Future of the P2

It’s got Bluetooth 2.0 integrated into it, which allows it to connect it to wireless headsets – ones similar to the headsets used with cellular phones. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg – rumour is Samsung plans to incorporate file sharing, between other P2s and PCs, which is actually a very feasible addition (all they’d have to do is mod the firmware, since the hardware is all ready to go).

A Couple of Cons

There’s only eight gigabytes of storage on the Samsung P2 – comparable to the cheapest version of the iPod Touch, but the difference is vast when the full potential of the iPod Touch is acknowledged (the maximum storage on the iPod Touch is thirty-two gigs – whopping, eh?). Also, there is no wi-fi incorporated into the P2 – I’m dearly hoping that Samsung retains the sleek shell of the P2, but incorporates wi-fi connectivity and more storage the next time around. All-in-all, it’s not too bad.

If you’re serious about how your gadgets look on the outside, or if you need something that just plays music or has a touch interface and you’re on a budget, the Samsung P2 is for you. However, if you desperately need wi-fi connectivity or have a huge multimedia collection, move on up the list of iPod Touch competitors, because this is the last.

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It’s been great writing this series, but I’ll probably be leaving the runner-ups alone. To be honest, I’ve gotten pretty sick of writing about personal media players/digital audio players, and I’m pretty sure you’re just as sick of reading so many of them in such a short time. It’s ok – I’ve got a more broad variety of material planned for the next week or two.

Other iPod Touch Competitors:

1. Olympus M:Robe 500i
2. Archos 605 Wi-fi
3. Cowon Q5W
4. Archos 705
5. Samsung P2

Runner Ups:

• Cowon iAudio X7
• iRiver Clix 2
• Microsoft Zune

Donald Bell, Senior Editor for CNET’s Digital Audio & MP3, describes it as “the most super-duper, feature-packed video player we’ve ever gotten our hands on.” Released on December 1st, 2007 (so last year), the Cowon Q5W appears to be competing in a similar field to the iPod Touch – albeit, with a lot more storage at a much higher price. However, Bell definitely wasn’t exaggerating when describing the Q5W’s features.

Source: http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/13998_large.jpg

It’s got a 5-inch screen – a huge size advantage over the iPod Touch’s own, plus a whopping 800×480 resolution to match, giving the Archos 605 Wi-fi a run for its money. In contrast to the Archos 605 Wi-fi however, the Cowon Q5W does look much cleaner without the buttons on the side that the Archos 605 Wi-fi sports. The Cowon Q5W, like the Archos 605 Wi-fi, is capable of surfing the internet via wi-fi as well. The Cowon Q5W also has bluetooth, and a variety of other features – not to mention the Cowon Q5W also comes with a whopping 40GB of storage, arguably enough to install a whole operating system upon one might suggest.

Source: http://www.windowsfordevices.com/files/misc/cowon_q5w.jpg

An operating system it is! The Cowon Q5W comes with Windows CE 5.0, basically a stripped down embedded version of Windows. This function allows the personal media player to double as an ultra-portable PC – not with the greatest interface though. The interface is in fact quite old, and could’ve done with either a custom skin from Cowon or – heck – a Cowon-modded version of Linux.

Source: http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/17/0,1425,sz=1&i=175949,00.jpg

What the Cowon Q5W lacks in the GUI department it makes up for in its client, the actual media player aspect of the Cowon Q5W – what did you think they’d use, Windows Media Player? Pft. But besides that, video playback in the client is great thanks to the high-res screen – which does make it a bit larger-sized and clunkier. I think it’s a trade worth making – if you wear baggy jeans or clothes. Otherwise, unh-unh.

With a price tag of CDN$499.99 for the 40GB version and an extra CDN$50 for the 60GB version, you’re going to have to shell out a bit more than you would for an iPod Touch. Due to issues with the interface, its slightly bigger design, and uber-high price, I’m going to give this battle to the iPod Touch. However, if you’ve got the money and video playback is your priority or you need an UPC, go with the Cowon Q5W.

Other iPod Touch Competitors:

1. Olympus M:Robe 500i
2. Archos 605 Wi-fi
3. Cowon Q5W
4. Archos 705
5. Samsung P2

Runner Ups:

• Cowon iAudio X7
• iRiver Clix 2
• Microsoft Zune

Tired of the same old interface? Jealous every time you see someone whip out their iPod Touch? It’s quite alright – I was too, at first. Then I decided “Hey, I’m better than that. It’s just superficial tech-lust anyway.” I had finally seen the light. But I wanted to do something to get back at them, to make them see that my iPod (named Glassy for its glass-y features, haha) was just as good as their iPod (I’ll call them Touchy or something).

Just yesterday, I found a hack for the iPod Video 5g/5.5g. I discovered that this hack had been out there for a couple of months already and regretted not being connected deeper into the iPod hacking community, but hey – what can I do? I’ve been bombarded with stuff as of late. I found the steps on the iPod Wizard forums and DrivenDesign to be a bit lacking in substance, so I’ll offer you a guide with pictures and all, although it really isn’t as hard as I’m making it sound. In fact, you can do it in two easy steps!

1. Downloading the iPodWizard Client and Touch Firmware

The iPodWizard is used for a variety of things, mainly editing themes on the iPod, and updating firmware in our case. The iPodWizard program can be found at http://www.getipodwizard.com. Don’t be intimidated, the Wizard is very user-friendly and will work their magic for you.

Next, you’ll need the actual firmware files of the iPod Touch. Scroll to the bottom of http://drivendesign.us/touch.html and download the respective firmware file for your iPod Video. You’ve got a 5g iPod Video if your iPod’s the thicker 30GB version or if you have the 60GB variant. You’ve got a 5.5g iPod Video if your iPod’s the thinner 30GB version (nice choice) or the abundantly-equipped 80GB branch in the iPod family tree. Remember, this hack is not applicable to iPod Classics!

2. Mount the Touch Firmware on your iPod via iPodWizard

Now that you’ve got both the firmware and the mounter, the obvious next step is mounting it. Connect the iPod to your computer via USB. Open up iPodWizard; if you’re running Windows Vista like myself, you’re going to have to right-click it and select Run as Administrator (darn Vista, haha).

Change the Edit Mode to Firmware File and select Open Firmware.

Then, browse to wherever it is you extracted your Touch Firmware and select TouchHack 2.0.bin. Finally, select the Mount button.

Be careful – do unplug the iPod until it’s been restarted into the Touch GUI.

You’re done! Hopefully your iPod Video is still intact, and even better – livened up with the Touch GUI. There are a few bugs and kinks to be ironed out, but we’re just going to have to wait for TouchHack 3.0.bin, I guess.

A quick Word

I might’ve let on more to my personal life than I wanted to – so here are the answers to the questions you’ve been dying to ask.

• Is Herbert addicted to World of Warcraft? Does he play and eat nachos all day?
  • No, I play for recreational purposes. I’m just curious as to how this game works and why it’s so addictive. For those who do play, I am still a Level 12 Draenei Paladin – whoa, did that sound as nerdy as I thought it did? Anyway, I play an average of probably a good half hour to an hour with my friends (high-level 50s).
• Does Herbert not talk to people on Windows Live Messenger?
  • One word – YODM3D.

Back on topic – I hope the TouchHack firmware works well for you. I’m willing to suggest why this is a great alternative to Rockbox, in case there are some of you out there wondering. In fact, I think I’ll write a nice lengthy post about it.

As of recent times, the iPod Touch has presented itself as a typical, world-class iPod product. Usually with such scenarios, there are many other devices out there that can outperform for a smaller price, and we aim to find one such device to fight the iPod Touch. Examples of successful iPod competitors would be Creative’s Zen Vision:M, Creative’s Zen V Plus, Microsoft’s Zune, Toshiba’s Gigabeat, just to name a few.

What classifies a product as an iPod Touch competitor? First and foremost, they have to have a touch-screen – and such a unique requirement already weeds out a good portion of the portable media player market. Next, they had to be dedicated digital audio players, meaning that PDAs and cell phones are going to be left out of the picture (yes, even the Walkman). For the products that I felt couldn’t be left out of the picture, I put in the Runner Ups – they’re all what I’d consider to be somewhat “Touch-impaired”, but still worth taking a look at.

Source: http://www.menstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/ipod-touch-16gb.jpg

Throughout the next couple of weeks, we’ll be taking a look at some of these iPod Touch alternatives and I’ll be telling you what I think of them. Do they stand a chance? You can bet your behind they do.

1. Olympus M:Robe 500i
2. Archos 605 Wi-fi
3. Cowon Q5W
4. Archos 705
5. Samsung P2

Runner Ups:

• Cowon iAudio X7
• iRiver Clix 2
• Microsoft Zune