iPod Touch, 1st Gen V 3rd

[smiddlehurst]

Hey everyone, I hope this has't been done before but I was recently debating whether to upgrade my 1st gen Touch and couldn't find much info on the relative speeds and other benefits between the first and third gen models. As I took the plunge today thought it worth posting up some times. Both devices are running the latest OS, more-or-less the same data set (actually the 3rd gen device has a couple of gigs more than the 1st) and the same apps installed (about six pages worth). Neither is full with the 1st gen 16Gb having about 1.5Gb free and the 3rd Gen 32Gb having about 17Gb free.

Might as well start with some figures I guess so Web Browsing

To make it as even a test as possible both devices were allowed to load http://news.bbc.co.uk with no other pages open. They were both then refreshed and the time taken to load measured with a stop watch.

1st Gen: 20 Seconds
3rd Gen: 6 Seconds

I'm only listing whole seconds because it's a bit of an inexact science this when you're running two touches and a stopwatch on your own and for the sake of comparision this is good enough.

Another test on www.engadget.com was absolutely ridiculous. For this one I left the previous page open, started a new page and timed how long it took to finish loading the engadget home page.

1st Gen: 64 seconds
3rd Gen: 13 seconds.

This is a big page full of images and ads but even so... Safari seemed to stall on the 1st gen for a few seconds but even alowing ten seconds (the time above is raw data btw, no adjustment has been made) for that it's still getting killed by the new unit.


Built-In Apps

Hopefully I can expand this when I've got more time but for now this'll have to do. I put a postcode into google maps and let it load all the way before pressing the home button. I then timed how long it took to load the app and show the map in full at that location.

1st Gen: 3 seconds
3rd Gen: 1 second

Next, loading a calendar with an average of two events a day

1st Gen: 2 seconds
3rd Gen: < 1 second

And finally, loading the Music app in song selection

1st Gen: 8 seconds
3rd Gen: 2 seconds

I'd say that's about right, the new unit is more-or-less instant when you load a standard application and the same when navigating within them. The 1st gen Touch isn't unusable by any means but it's not as slick and you have to wait for it to catch up at times.

3rd Party Apps

I've tried a few games out and in general the gameplay is much smoother on the new unit, to the point that games almost feel like entirely new titles in some cases. Load times are FAR lower as well:

Galcon Lite Load time
1st Gen: 4 seconds
3rd Gen: 1 second

Civ Rev Load Time
1st Gen: 10 seconds
3rd Gen: 7 seconds

Modern Combat: Sandstorm to initial cutscene
1st Gen: 10 seconds
3rd Gen: 4 seconds

General Thoughts

If you've got a first gen and use it a lot then there's no doubt this is a fantastic upgrade. There's the obvious hardware tweaks and bonus features like bluetooth but for me the speed improvements are worth it on their own over the first gen. It kinda takes me back to the days of the 486 and Pentium 1, 2 and 3... when you upgraded after a couple of years to a new box the speed improvements over your old rig were ridiculous and you really felt like everything was shiny and new, even those apps and games you'd used a million times before. It just makes everything so much more pleasant to use and even little things like refreshing info in a twitter application become FAR less of a chore than before.

If you use your touch just for media... I'd say stick with the 1st gen until it's properly dead, you'll get better hardware for less money the longer you mange to wait between upgrades. If however you're using a first gen device as an all-purpose device, browsing the web, checking e-mail, gaming and using a ton of apps then check out the current Touch, it's definately a worthwhile investment.

Hope it helps someone, please please please if you have any comments or any experiences with upgrading to the new Touch from the first model then feel free to put 'em in below.

[sanddunes21]

I agree. My friend just bought a 3rd generation iPod Touch, and compared to my 1st generation it definitely is a lot faster.

[xraydoc]

1st gen iPod touch is much slower than even the original 2G iPhone (from experience; I have a 1st gen 16GB iPod touch and my son uses my old original iPhone).

[elpmas]

That's some major writing you've done. Hopefully this will out others in the same position. Kudos.

[smiddlehurst]

Originally Posted by elpmas

That's some major writing you've done. Hopefully this will out others in the same position. Kudos.

Heh, cheers but it's mostly white space

[Cje60]

Tried to download the new sky sports app today for the free 3 month trial...no joy, need 3rd gen (in about it says i have 2.2.1, i guess this is 2nd gen...doh). So is it worth keeping my touch hardware and just upgrading my software?
C

[elpmas]

Originally Posted by Cje60

Tried to download the new sky sports app today for the free 3 month trial...no joy, need 3rd gen (in about it says i have 2.2.1, i guess this is 2nd gen...doh). So is it worth keeping my touch hardware and just upgrading my software?
C

If you're happy with it, just upgrade the software. You'll save a few hundos. If not, sell it then take the money you just made and buy a 3rd gen. Or just wait until the first quarter of 2010 to see what Apple has to offer

[Scarpad]

One other consideration is the scren is a whole lot better, better contrasts and more vibrant colors , my 1st gen was the definition of a drab lifeless washed out screen. The 3g looks leaps and bounds better.

[Cje60]

I guess i have a 2nd gen as i have a good picture so i have joined the wrong forum, sorry. Just have to wait till next year as you advise and get my golf on sky then!
Thanks

[FearNo1]

What about battery life? Is the battery life of the 3rd gen touch superior to 1st gen? I get crappy batt life on wifi. Its too bad apple did not add a camera to 3rd gen touch, then the purchase would be a no brainer. I’d be p*ssed to buy a touch and next year the camera is added to 4th gen…