Suggested that a single thread should be created to document features that may not be known to new iPod Touch users, I have created a list of some of the ones more commonly posted about. Feel free to post ones not shown below and I will gladly add it to the list 
FEATURES
- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; IN-APP – While running something outside of the Music application (for example, Safari), double tap the Home button to be given on-screen controls to pause, play, skip songs, change volume and be taken to the Music app. This also works when the iPod Touch is locked. UPDATE! This now also works when the iPod is in Cover Flow mode -- no need to any longer complain about the lack of volume/play controls in Cover Flow! UPDATE 2 It appears that doing this shortcut while in Cover Flow has once again, and for unknown reasons, been removed.
- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; LOCK SCREEN – If you are on the lock screen and want to quickly change tracks or adjust volume, simply double tap the home button and the music controls will appear underneath the date and time.
- LEOPARD-TYPE VOLUME SCREEN – Lock your iPod Touch and double tap the Home button. Now, slowly move the volume slider and at the same time double tap the Home button again. A brief image of a speaker and a volume indicator will appear on the screen. This usually appears when plugged into a Universal Dock, and the volume is changed via remote. UPDATE This appears normally when using the volume controls on a 2nd gen iPod touch to inform the user of the new volume level. The 1st gen, however, still exhibits this bug whenever you use the do the above directions.
- SLIDE TO MUSIC MENUS – Slide/flick your finger from left to right while viewing the “Now Playing” screen to be returned to the previous menu (performs the same function as the back arrow button).
- DELETE VIDEOS STRAIGHT FROM IPOD – When in the Videos app, quickly flick your finger from left to right and a “Delete” button will appear next to the video.
- SWIPE TO DELETE PODCASTS - When viewing the separate episodes of podcasts on your iPod, flick your finger from left to right and a "Delete" button will appear next to the selected podcast.
- SWIPE TO DELETE EMAILS - When browsing your emails list, swipe from left to right to bring up the "Delete" button (much in the same way to deleting videos straight from the iPod).
- VIEW LINK TITLE IN SAFARI – When holding down on a link in Safari, the title and URL of the linked page will appear so you can decide whether or not you want to visit it.
- EASILY FIND POSITION IN TEXT – If you are typing a sentence but realized you left a letter out or need to make an alteration, hold your finger over the text and a magnifying area will appear, easily allowing you to find where you want the cursor.
- DELETE MULTIPLE CHARACTERS/UNDO DELETE – While holding the delete button, slide your finger left to delete multiple characters. If you delete too many, drag your finger the other way to undo.
- CHARACTER ACCENTS – If you need to use a character accent while typing, hold down on a letter and after a moment the range of accents available for that particular character will appear.
- AUTO-PAUSE - The removal of the earphones from the jack will automatically pause your music. UPDATE this still applies to the 2nd gen iPod touch. However, if you are listening to music through the speaker and then insert headphones, it will NOT pause again - the music will continue playing, but will merely be changed to now play through the headphones as opposed to the speaker.
- RAPID-FLIPPING THROUGH CALENDAR - When viewing the calendar by month, select and hold down the arrows on either side of the month to flip through the months very fast; this allows you to check past and future dates that may be of importance.
- .?123 DRAG - If you only want to get a single character from the non-Alpha list. For example if you are need to type "A1", to type the "1" you can click the .?123 button and without lifting your finger go to the "1". After you lift your finger, the "1" will be typed and the keyboard will automatically revert back to the "ABC" mode without needing to click on the "ABC" button again.
- EDIT MUSIC LISTS - When in the Music app, select "More" (bottom right hand corner of the screen when not viewing Now Playing). In the top left hand corner an "Edit" button will appear (with a list including Genre, Compilations, Podcasts, etc appearing below). If you select "Edit", you can drag items (Artists, Albums, Playlists, Songs, Genre, Compilations, Composer, Podcasts, etc) and re-arrange them in a way similar to that of the Home screen.
- KEEP HORIZONTAL POSITION WHILE SCROLLING VERTICALLY IN SAFARI - While in Safari and you are zoomed in on a column to read, while you scroll through it, you might accidentally scroll from left to right, obscuring some of the text. To avoid this, simply scroll as you would, but keep your finger on the very edge of the screen. That way, even if your finger moves to the left and right, the screen will only scroll up and down. This works in landscape mode as well. (Demo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsJ1lwuCPI)
- RETURN TO FIRST HOME SCREEN WHILE BROWSING APPS - If you are browsing your apps and wish to return to the first Home screen, simply press the Home button like you would if you were in the app itself. An animation will appear of the iPod flicking past your other Home screens back to the first Home page.
Only available with 1.1.3 and above with the January Software Update (also included in 2.0)
- MOVE ICONS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN - Press and hold any icon on the Home screen and after several seconds they will begin to wiggle; webclips will have a small (x) button to delete them. Press and drag any icon to a desired Home screen or area (you can have up to nine Home screens). You can also have four items in the dock.
- To edit: Drag one icon out of the dock and replace with the desired application.
- Press the Home button to lock the icons in their new positions.
- VIEW LYRICS - If you have added lyrics to your music via iTunes, when on the Now Playing screen, tap the album artwork once to view these lyrics on your iPod.
2.0 Only Features
The following features are only available after buying and upgrading to the 2.0 iPod touch firmware. This update retains the features already mentioned above.
- SCREENSHOTS - To take a screenshot of what is currently being displayed on the iPod, hold down the "Home" button, and while doing so quickly press the "Wake/Sleep" button. The screen will momentarily flash white (much like a Mac when using Photo Booth), and a capture of the screen will be saved to your Photos app.
- GENIUS - To make a Genius playlist on your iPod touch, tap the album artwork on the Now Playing screen to bring up the scrubber/repeat/shuffle controls. You will see the Genius logo directly under the centre of the track scrubber; tapping it will automatically create your Genius playlist (NOTE: you must have Genius enabled in iTunes).
3.0 Only features
- SCRUBBER SPEED - When using the track scrubber, slide your finger down the album artwork to modify the speed at which you forward through the track.
- SHAKE TO SHUFFLE - When activated, shake the iPod while in the music app to shuffle your playlist. This also works if you double-tap the home button while you're on the lock screen and whenever you have the music controls up on the screen.
- ACCESS SPOTLIGHT - When on the home screen, pressing the Home button once will take you to your first page of apps. Pressing it again will take you to the search screen in Spotlight.
- MUSIC SEARCH CONTROLS - When you open a certain field (eg. Artist, Album, Songs, Playlists, etc) in Music, moving the page up will reveal a search box which you can use to find a certain song/album/etc quickly.
- HOME BUTTON SHORTCUTS - Going Settings -> General -> Home allows you to set what opens when you double tap the Home button. These include opening music controls, opening spotlight, or going to the homepage.
- BLUETOOTH - 2G touch only. Pair your iPod with bluetooth stereo headsets and play games against people nearby.
- VOICE NOTES - 2G touch only. If you have a pair of headphones that support a microphone ora microphone that connects to the 3.5mm jack, you can record voice notes.
__________________
FAQ
What is the dock?
The dock is the bottom area of the Home screen on the iPod Touch and iPhone, that by default houses the Music, Videos, Photos and iTunes icons. In firmware 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 the dock was like that of OS X Leopard, with the icons sitting on a reflective "glass" surface; with firmware 1.1.3 and above the dock has become a silver "mesh" like that of the iPhone.
What is the "lock" screen?
The lock screen is the initial screen that is viewed when the Home or Wake/Sleep buttons are pressed to activate the screen; it displays either album artwork or your default wallpaper, the time, as well as a "slide to unlock" button.
What is the "Home" screen?
The Home screen can be accessed by the pressing the Home button (the black, circular button at the bottom of iPod Touch). It features a black background, a dock, and the icons to the applications available on the iPod.
What is "Cover Flow"?
Turn your iPod on it's side (so it sits horizontally) and see the visuals on your iPod adjusted to suit it's new position. Cover Flow allows you to flick through your albums and select tracks, as well as pause and start playback.
1.0? 2.0? What is this?
Any iPod firmware that begins with "1." were free updates for any iPod touch owner, and were released between October 2007 and July 2008. In July 2008, firmware 2.0 was released for a fee of $9.95USD, and includes new features such as the App Store, which allows for the installing of third party applications.
Home? Sleep/Wake? What are these?
The Home button is the circular button below the screen, and is the only button on the front of the iPod touch. On the face of the button is a white square. It's function is to return the user to the Home screen, to wake the iPod from sleep, and to perform shortcuts (such as the double-tap music shortcut).
The Sleep/Wake button is situated on the top, right-hand side of the iPod (when looking at it from the front). The function of this button is to, when tapped, but the iPod to sleep and, when held down for several seconds, to give the user the option to power off the iPod.
Both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons can be pressed at the same time to take a screenshot.
How do I reset my iPod touch?
If, for some reason, your iPod touch has frozen or appears to not be performing to the best of it's standards, hold down both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons until the screen turns off and the Apple logo then appears.
How do I power off my iPod touch?
To power off your iPod touch, hold down the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears at the top of the screen, saying "Slide to power off". Use the slider to turn your iPod off.
__________________
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION IPOD TOUCH
Wi Fi receiver
- The Wi Fi receiver on the first generation iPod touch is situated in the upper left-hand corner of the backplate, and is very square-shaped.
- The receiver on the second generation touch is more of an oval shape and is situated between the upper left-hand corner and the center of the backplate.
Backplate
- The backplate on the first gen touch is rather flat, and curves only at the edges.
- The backplate on the second gen touch is tapered; it's thicker at the middle and curves around to become thinner at the edges (much like the iPhone 3G).
Thickness
- Contrary to what some people say, the second gen touch is actually 0.5mm thicker than the first gen.
Bezel
- The first gen touch has a black aluminum bezel around the screen.
- The second gen touch has a chrome bezel, like the iPhone, which is in fact a continuation of the chrome backplate that curves around to "hug" the screen.
Volume controls
- The first gen touch features no external volume controls.
- The second gen touch has volume controls on the left-hand side of the device (when looking at it from the front).
Packaging
- The first gen touch comes in a black box. "iPod touch", the Apple logo and the device's capacity are embossed on the sides. The front of the box shows the iPod touch playing music (usually the box will display either a Macy Gray or John Lennon song playing).
- The second gen touch comes in a clear plastic box, like the iPod nano and shuffle. Over the iPod is a sticker which shows the default look of the Home screen.
MISCELLANEOUS
- The second gen touch has an inbuilt speaker. The first gen does not.
- The second gen touch has Nike+iPod support, whilst the first gen does not.
- The second gen supports audio recording and headphones with a microphone and volume controls.
FEATURES
- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; IN-APP – While running something outside of the Music application (for example, Safari), double tap the Home button to be given on-screen controls to pause, play, skip songs, change volume and be taken to the Music app. This also works when the iPod Touch is locked. UPDATE! This now also works when the iPod is in Cover Flow mode -- no need to any longer complain about the lack of volume/play controls in Cover Flow! UPDATE 2 It appears that doing this shortcut while in Cover Flow has once again, and for unknown reasons, been removed.
- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; LOCK SCREEN – If you are on the lock screen and want to quickly change tracks or adjust volume, simply double tap the home button and the music controls will appear underneath the date and time.
- LEOPARD-TYPE VOLUME SCREEN – Lock your iPod Touch and double tap the Home button. Now, slowly move the volume slider and at the same time double tap the Home button again. A brief image of a speaker and a volume indicator will appear on the screen. This usually appears when plugged into a Universal Dock, and the volume is changed via remote. UPDATE This appears normally when using the volume controls on a 2nd gen iPod touch to inform the user of the new volume level. The 1st gen, however, still exhibits this bug whenever you use the do the above directions.
- SLIDE TO MUSIC MENUS – Slide/flick your finger from left to right while viewing the “Now Playing” screen to be returned to the previous menu (performs the same function as the back arrow button).
- DELETE VIDEOS STRAIGHT FROM IPOD – When in the Videos app, quickly flick your finger from left to right and a “Delete” button will appear next to the video.
- SWIPE TO DELETE PODCASTS - When viewing the separate episodes of podcasts on your iPod, flick your finger from left to right and a "Delete" button will appear next to the selected podcast.
- SWIPE TO DELETE EMAILS - When browsing your emails list, swipe from left to right to bring up the "Delete" button (much in the same way to deleting videos straight from the iPod).
- VIEW LINK TITLE IN SAFARI – When holding down on a link in Safari, the title and URL of the linked page will appear so you can decide whether or not you want to visit it.
- EASILY FIND POSITION IN TEXT – If you are typing a sentence but realized you left a letter out or need to make an alteration, hold your finger over the text and a magnifying area will appear, easily allowing you to find where you want the cursor.
- DELETE MULTIPLE CHARACTERS/UNDO DELETE – While holding the delete button, slide your finger left to delete multiple characters. If you delete too many, drag your finger the other way to undo.
- CHARACTER ACCENTS – If you need to use a character accent while typing, hold down on a letter and after a moment the range of accents available for that particular character will appear.
- AUTO-PAUSE - The removal of the earphones from the jack will automatically pause your music. UPDATE this still applies to the 2nd gen iPod touch. However, if you are listening to music through the speaker and then insert headphones, it will NOT pause again - the music will continue playing, but will merely be changed to now play through the headphones as opposed to the speaker.
- RAPID-FLIPPING THROUGH CALENDAR - When viewing the calendar by month, select and hold down the arrows on either side of the month to flip through the months very fast; this allows you to check past and future dates that may be of importance.
- .?123 DRAG - If you only want to get a single character from the non-Alpha list. For example if you are need to type "A1", to type the "1" you can click the .?123 button and without lifting your finger go to the "1". After you lift your finger, the "1" will be typed and the keyboard will automatically revert back to the "ABC" mode without needing to click on the "ABC" button again.
- EDIT MUSIC LISTS - When in the Music app, select "More" (bottom right hand corner of the screen when not viewing Now Playing). In the top left hand corner an "Edit" button will appear (with a list including Genre, Compilations, Podcasts, etc appearing below). If you select "Edit", you can drag items (Artists, Albums, Playlists, Songs, Genre, Compilations, Composer, Podcasts, etc) and re-arrange them in a way similar to that of the Home screen.
- KEEP HORIZONTAL POSITION WHILE SCROLLING VERTICALLY IN SAFARI - While in Safari and you are zoomed in on a column to read, while you scroll through it, you might accidentally scroll from left to right, obscuring some of the text. To avoid this, simply scroll as you would, but keep your finger on the very edge of the screen. That way, even if your finger moves to the left and right, the screen will only scroll up and down. This works in landscape mode as well. (Demo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsJ1lwuCPI)
- RETURN TO FIRST HOME SCREEN WHILE BROWSING APPS - If you are browsing your apps and wish to return to the first Home screen, simply press the Home button like you would if you were in the app itself. An animation will appear of the iPod flicking past your other Home screens back to the first Home page.
Only available with 1.1.3 and above with the January Software Update (also included in 2.0)
- MOVE ICONS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN - Press and hold any icon on the Home screen and after several seconds they will begin to wiggle; webclips will have a small (x) button to delete them. Press and drag any icon to a desired Home screen or area (you can have up to nine Home screens). You can also have four items in the dock.
- To edit: Drag one icon out of the dock and replace with the desired application.
- Press the Home button to lock the icons in their new positions.
- VIEW LYRICS - If you have added lyrics to your music via iTunes, when on the Now Playing screen, tap the album artwork once to view these lyrics on your iPod.
2.0 Only Features
The following features are only available after buying and upgrading to the 2.0 iPod touch firmware. This update retains the features already mentioned above.
- SCREENSHOTS - To take a screenshot of what is currently being displayed on the iPod, hold down the "Home" button, and while doing so quickly press the "Wake/Sleep" button. The screen will momentarily flash white (much like a Mac when using Photo Booth), and a capture of the screen will be saved to your Photos app.
- GENIUS - To make a Genius playlist on your iPod touch, tap the album artwork on the Now Playing screen to bring up the scrubber/repeat/shuffle controls. You will see the Genius logo directly under the centre of the track scrubber; tapping it will automatically create your Genius playlist (NOTE: you must have Genius enabled in iTunes).
3.0 Only features
- SCRUBBER SPEED - When using the track scrubber, slide your finger down the album artwork to modify the speed at which you forward through the track.
- SHAKE TO SHUFFLE - When activated, shake the iPod while in the music app to shuffle your playlist. This also works if you double-tap the home button while you're on the lock screen and whenever you have the music controls up on the screen.
- ACCESS SPOTLIGHT - When on the home screen, pressing the Home button once will take you to your first page of apps. Pressing it again will take you to the search screen in Spotlight.
- MUSIC SEARCH CONTROLS - When you open a certain field (eg. Artist, Album, Songs, Playlists, etc) in Music, moving the page up will reveal a search box which you can use to find a certain song/album/etc quickly.
- HOME BUTTON SHORTCUTS - Going Settings -> General -> Home allows you to set what opens when you double tap the Home button. These include opening music controls, opening spotlight, or going to the homepage.
- BLUETOOTH - 2G touch only. Pair your iPod with bluetooth stereo headsets and play games against people nearby.
- VOICE NOTES - 2G touch only. If you have a pair of headphones that support a microphone ora microphone that connects to the 3.5mm jack, you can record voice notes.
__________________
FAQ
What is the dock?
The dock is the bottom area of the Home screen on the iPod Touch and iPhone, that by default houses the Music, Videos, Photos and iTunes icons. In firmware 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 the dock was like that of OS X Leopard, with the icons sitting on a reflective "glass" surface; with firmware 1.1.3 and above the dock has become a silver "mesh" like that of the iPhone.
What is the "lock" screen?
The lock screen is the initial screen that is viewed when the Home or Wake/Sleep buttons are pressed to activate the screen; it displays either album artwork or your default wallpaper, the time, as well as a "slide to unlock" button.
What is the "Home" screen?
The Home screen can be accessed by the pressing the Home button (the black, circular button at the bottom of iPod Touch). It features a black background, a dock, and the icons to the applications available on the iPod.
What is "Cover Flow"?
Turn your iPod on it's side (so it sits horizontally) and see the visuals on your iPod adjusted to suit it's new position. Cover Flow allows you to flick through your albums and select tracks, as well as pause and start playback.
1.0? 2.0? What is this?
Any iPod firmware that begins with "1." were free updates for any iPod touch owner, and were released between October 2007 and July 2008. In July 2008, firmware 2.0 was released for a fee of $9.95USD, and includes new features such as the App Store, which allows for the installing of third party applications.
Home? Sleep/Wake? What are these?
The Home button is the circular button below the screen, and is the only button on the front of the iPod touch. On the face of the button is a white square. It's function is to return the user to the Home screen, to wake the iPod from sleep, and to perform shortcuts (such as the double-tap music shortcut).
The Sleep/Wake button is situated on the top, right-hand side of the iPod (when looking at it from the front). The function of this button is to, when tapped, but the iPod to sleep and, when held down for several seconds, to give the user the option to power off the iPod.
Both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons can be pressed at the same time to take a screenshot.
How do I reset my iPod touch?
If, for some reason, your iPod touch has frozen or appears to not be performing to the best of it's standards, hold down both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons until the screen turns off and the Apple logo then appears.
How do I power off my iPod touch?
To power off your iPod touch, hold down the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears at the top of the screen, saying "Slide to power off". Use the slider to turn your iPod off.
__________________
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION IPOD TOUCH
Wi Fi receiver
- The Wi Fi receiver on the first generation iPod touch is situated in the upper left-hand corner of the backplate, and is very square-shaped.
- The receiver on the second generation touch is more of an oval shape and is situated between the upper left-hand corner and the center of the backplate.
Backplate
- The backplate on the first gen touch is rather flat, and curves only at the edges.
- The backplate on the second gen touch is tapered; it's thicker at the middle and curves around to become thinner at the edges (much like the iPhone 3G).
Thickness
- Contrary to what some people say, the second gen touch is actually 0.5mm thicker than the first gen.
Bezel
- The first gen touch has a black aluminum bezel around the screen.
- The second gen touch has a chrome bezel, like the iPhone, which is in fact a continuation of the chrome backplate that curves around to "hug" the screen.
Volume controls
- The first gen touch features no external volume controls.
- The second gen touch has volume controls on the left-hand side of the device (when looking at it from the front).
Packaging
- The first gen touch comes in a black box. "iPod touch", the Apple logo and the device's capacity are embossed on the sides. The front of the box shows the iPod touch playing music (usually the box will display either a Macy Gray or John Lennon song playing).
- The second gen touch comes in a clear plastic box, like the iPod nano and shuffle. Over the iPod is a sticker which shows the default look of the Home screen.
MISCELLANEOUS
- The second gen touch has an inbuilt speaker. The first gen does not.
- The second gen touch has Nike+iPod support, whilst the first gen does not.
- The second gen supports audio recording and headphones with a microphone and volume controls.
