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

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