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2nd Generation iPod Touch Faster than iPhone

I suppose while on the surface, a silent update of the processor clock speed (which given the ever on-going battery tech improvements) is understandable and predictable ... i guess its going to mean that games (which are the only programs that will push the limits of the system really) will only run on a rolling set of products ... maybe 2 or 3 years ...

But then again ... considering that its likely will release a new iPhone each year and that a contract lasts around the 2 year mark, then this should be ok

I guess many people will just take offence at feeling like a 2nd class citizen when their baby is replaced but get used to it ...

PC's are a billion times worse at depreciating performance and value so i don't care and personally am actually VERY happy Apple is already bumping the underlying tech infra.
 
I'd noticed this already!

I bought an iPod touch for my wife a couple of weeks ago and I was amazed by how fast it seamed compared to my 3G. I thought that it could have something to do with the fact that her iPod was brand new and hardly had any applications or contacts.

After all these days, her contact list is now filled with entries, she has a couple of pages of apps, lots of music and the thing still performs brilliantly, much better and far more fluid than my iPhone.
 
so all the whiners complaining about no streets view on their touches now have some reason to gloat...;)
 
MacRumors said:
From Handheld Games Corp's experience, the 2nd Generation iPod touch is the fastest model "by far", followed by the iPhone 3G, iPhone and finally the 1st Generation iPod touch lagging behind (at least with respect to 3D gaming). Due to these differences, Handheld Games Corp's CEO does not recommend anyone interested in gaming to even consider buying a used 1st Generation iPod touch.
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Translation: "Since we can't do a good enough job programming on the slower hardware you should spend more money buying newer hardware."

Okay, I got it.

Reality check: there is plenty of serious gaming without the latest greatest hardware.
 
pubwvj said:
Translation: "Since we can't do a good enough job programming on the slower hardware you should spend more money buying newer hardware."

Okay, I got it.

Reality check: there is plenty of serious gaming without the latest greatest hardware.
Click to expand...

You're mistaken...
If you read the whole article, they clearly state that they have tweaked the game to run flawlessly on every device.
They reduced the poly count on the tennis players' models (from 1500 to 1000) on the iPhone and iPod Touch 1G versions so they could run at the same framerate as the iPod Touch 2G version (which has a higher poly count) without being visually inferior.

They just advise people that are looking to buy one of these devices for gaming to get the one with the fastest hardware because future games will surely take advantage of it.
 
rockinrocker said:
hmmm, never would have expected this...
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This makes sense if you stop and think for a second about one thing: Battery life. Faster processor, more juice needed, less battery life. The iPhone is primarily a phone, so I can see why they would ratchet down the processor speed to save battery power. I can also see why those restrictions would matter less for the iPod Touch, as it's a music device and it's not critical if you drain the battery and can't play your tunes. It is a bit more disconcerting if you drain the battery on your phone and need to make a call!

I certainly see this performance issue changing over time. I think the pure utility of the device makes this a negligible performance issue. If you buy an iPhone as a gaming device that's a bit silly. You should buy an iPhone because you need the functionality, IMHO.
 
Michael CM1 said:
OR with the iPhone busy doing so much else due to the 3G radio and GPS, maybe the iPod touch could afford a performance boost without sacrificing battery life.
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No offense to your post whatsoever but why does everyone think the slow down is due to the radios and the gps?

How many games do you play (I realize there are some online games) that require the 3g and/or the gps and/or the wifi or even edge to be active?

Yea I realize its a phone and you probably want those functions kept on in case an important or any call comes through and therefore since most people aren't going to turn all of those radios off wouldn't you think the iphone would need the faster processor to kind of counteract these floating/constantly searching radios and such in the background so that performance is not hindered in the least bit?

Doesn't make much sense. "Ok, so were gonna put a faster processor in our touch that has nothing more than wifi, (if you want it on) an ipod and the ability to run all app store games. BUT! Were gonna keep the iphone 3G with the slower processor that has 2 or 3 radio antennas constantly roaming/searching/locking on and off with gps, camera etc etc etc. Yea the phone doesn't NEED anymore power right?" pshhhh whatever...

I guess it comes down to battery power right?

I wonder what the iphone3G to 2ndgentouch user ratio is? Hrmmm, I feel a poll brewin'.

:D
 
KingYaba said:
Has anyone compared these iPhone and iPod processors to an equivalent, in clock speed, G3?
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Most of my small integer and floating-point benchmarks run between 30% and 2X slower on my iPhone 3G compared against a Beige G3/266 (with the iPhone running ARM with VFP, not Thumb with emulated FP). Similarly, the benchmarks seem about 4X to 6X slower on a 3G than an iBook G3/800. Thus, should be maybe around 2X to 3X slower than a G3 at the same clock rate (assuming no major system differences in memory latency/bandwidths, etc.)


.
 
I bet if we put our iphones on airplane mode it would be faster. apple is just trying to save our battery life. Us with iPhones will be laughing all the way to our next FREE software update. iPod touch... $10. haha
 
Has anyone compare the chip numbers on the teardowns?

They could be using a CPU chip revision which tested out at a lower power consumption for the same clock rate, or at a higher clock rate for the same power consumption. There could also be differences in the amount of RFI/EMI allowed inside a phone, either to not interfere with the phone, or to pass stricter FCC regulations on phones.


.
 
Chrysaor said:
This screws up everyone.
Developers need to develop and test for different devices. Customer doesn't know how well the game is supposed to run on their device.
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Developers only need to test on the slowest device for which they plan to market their product. Then, if they want consistent game play on all devices, just throttle the frame rate on any newer/faster devices to the max level they can squeeze out of the slowest device. The user benefits by greater battery life.


.
 
Daydreaming...

So where do you draw the line?

The sales pitch on these 2 products may sound something like this...

"Ok so we have the ipod touch. Ipod, internet in your pocket and game, music and podcast downloads over wifi only and the fastest, smoothest processor for gaming out of all our portables with options for 16 and 32gb storage space."

"Or. The iphone 3G. Ipod. GPS. Internet in your pocket and game, music and podcast downloads over at&t's edge, 3g or wifi connection nearly making online gaming and updateing available virtually anywhere. You also get an 'ok' 2mp camera. Here's the only kicker sir, and I assure you its only minor, (customer: "huh? Yea ok, I'm listening, can't wait to play the most of the 1500 games available which is just the icing on the cake! Wow! What geniuses at apple to create an app store!") the iphone has an inferior processor that can only handle so much as opposed to the touch, so your nearly perfect all-in-one pocket device is going to lag behind when playing games due to a slower processor than the touch. >insert pompous chuckle< Haha, who plays games anyways, or should I say, who wants to take advantage of the best games there are to offer in the appstore, you look like a puzzle/soduko kinda guy, am I right? So anyways, as I was saying, your iphone is underpowered and your battery life is going to suck anyways."

Now which one will you be taking home today?

:D

Guess now we have something to look foward to at MW, or will they keep us waiting until WWDC??? Hell, I dunno. Screw it. LoL
 
Oh yeah! Games run better on a 500mhz than my 800mhz core shutting Crapbook Air!! Now I know what to do! Just switch the F processors! At least i'll get it to run youtube smoothly! And now that I cracked my Crapbook Air open after throwing it out of the windows (like a frisbee, only thing it can be used for) the touch processor is going to be easier than ever to install! Oh yea!
 
I myself don't care about the battery life I would want the speed. I had the first gen iPhone, I bought 2 other docks so I could put one at a friends and one at work. I also had http://cgi.ebay.com/FM-TRANSMITTER-FOR-iPHONE-3G-CAR-CHARGER-CRADLE-G3-DOCK_W0QQitemZ120334628120 what didn't work as a FM thingy but it charged from dead to full in about 15 minutes... Anyways it got stolen and I am thinking about buying a new iPhone. I don't want something slower, if they can fix it by software upgrade fine I'll get one. Hardware upgrade... Screw that... I want to know is the iTouch better in hardware then the iPhone? :apple:
 
Interesting.

Muncher said:
It's battery life is better when watching movies and the like, but it's not all that great playing intensive games.
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Most likely due to 3D being compute intensive relative to processing specifically ripped movies.
I have a feeling apple has big things planned with that PA semi acquisition. In two or three years I see a much more powerful iPod/iPhone, timed to be released with new battery tech (see zinc-air and others).
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I'm not sure what Apple is up to with PA Semi. Frankly I don't believe anything they say publicly as they have contradicted themselves extensively. Of course they have to, to keep the competition off balance.

In any event even if PA isn't in the equation I would expect Apple to have some very advanced handhelds by next summer. If PA doesn't deliver there are a bunch of other companies make ready with the latest ARM stuff. We could easily see three times the current performance, if they can manage a 1.2 GHz ARM. Actually the new ARM cores are so improved that they wouldn't have to hit 1.2 GHz, but think of it as an equivalent performance target.

You are also on target with respect to batteries, a huge amount of research going on here. The big issue is some body has to take the dive and invest in manufacturing and marketing. A shaky affair for the foreseeable.
Definitely. I watched a episode of a tv show (~40 min) and a game or two of anaconda, with almost no battery gone.
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I'm really surprised just how much better my iPhone 3G is after the 2.2 update. I have to wonder if the clock rate was accelerated. What ever they did it is nice.
Also, doesn't it seem like the 'image' of the iPod Touch has changed dramatically more than once?
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No not at all if you ask me. Apple needs to get the message out to people that these devices are very flexible.
First, it was/is a cut down iPhone.
Then, it was/is apple's attempt at a mobile net device.
After, it became/is an expandable PDA (after App Store).
Now, it's a gaming device that also play music.
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No it is all of the above. Apple only has so many seconds for a commercial, better to target a specific feature than to leave people confused. In any event the lack of 3G on the Touch limits the device as an mobile net device, a role that iPhone fills much better.

BTW, I'm not arguing with this progression. I like the direction it's moving in. :p:D
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I like it too!!! However I need to see Apple get off this one product line up and get a few more devices out there in portable hand held land. If Apple wants to bury the competition the way to do that is through choice. First on their list should be a checkbook sized Touch device with lots of memory!

Dave
 
TapTap

For everyone who tried the last version of TapTap on an iPhone or iPod Touch 1G, it lagged like crazy! Everyone in my family used my iPod Touch 2G to play TapTap, now I know why!
 
I won't argue with that. When playing online, Tap Tap stutters a bit even on my 2G, and it's not my internet.
 
Man... this situation is getting confusing. The reason you buy apple products is for consistency, you can assume everything to be compatible.

But now there appear to be substantial unacknowledged differences between the machines, which makes it difficult to determine if the game will run adequately on your particular piece of hardware (e.g. first gen iPod touch).

Apple may be trying to market their ipod touch and iphone like a portable console, but consoles are consistent. You can run a listed-compatible game on any psp/xbox/ps2, regardless of which revision it may be. However running the latest whiz-bang 3d game on a first gen iPod touch may not be playable, even though it is listed as compatible.

Disappointing. apple.
 
amusiccale said:
While it seems important to keep releasing faster devices with better battery life, it does seem counterproductive to release products with different gaming capabilities before a user base and gaming market is established (how many iterations of the Gameboy, Gameboy pocket, gameboy color did we all have?), particularly if the processor is, at a hardware level, the same. [Can anyone confirm this?] For iphone/1g touch users, how about an old-school "turbo" button in the firmware? :)
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2nd gen touch is a new processor, that i believe is why the jailbreaks aren't available yet (proc is where the bootloader is, one of them at least).
 
mrsteveman1 said:
2nd gen touch is a new processor, that i believe is why the jailbreaks aren't available yet (proc is where the bootloader is, one of them at least).
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Ok so, it's a NEW processor, which came first? The 2nd gen Touch or the iphone 3G?

There still may be hope! :D
 
firewood said:
They could be using a CPU chip revision which tested out at a lower power consumption for the same clock rate, or at a higher clock rate for the same power consumption.
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That has been my thought since i heard about this speed difference. They wouldn't likely just up the speed on the new device without some "give" on the heat and power use end. This 2nd gen touch gets a little hot where the proc is, but i suspect if it were a first gen touch clocked at 532 it would get hotter.
 
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