Top “10″ Features I Want On the iPod Touch

I’ll be honest; this isn’t really the top 10 anything. Depending on how you count, it’s the top 9, top 15, or top 16 things I want changed about the iPod Touch. But I hear people like top 10 lists, so I thought I’d try to entice you with the post title. With that caveat, let’s get to business.

I have a new toy, an iPod Touch. I just got it last week, and I have been having a lot of fun with it, especially using Safari to browse the web (on a tiny screen, but still–it’s pretty nice not to have to boot up my laptop to check my email and Twitter feed).

But not to worry, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Apple is set to release version 2.0 of its mobile operating system (which runs on the iPhone and iPod Touch) early next month. With that in mind, here are the ways the fanciest iPod model needs to be fixed–just through software (and note that most of these changes could, and should, be implemented in the iPhone as well). Let’s hope we see these features in just a couple of weeks.

First and foremost, I use this thing to play music. So my biggest gripes are with the “Music” app. Here are the things Apple should do to improve it:

1. Make cover flow optional.

   I don’t care about cover flow. It’s cute and all, but I NEVER browse my music by album, anyway. I certainly don’t want it to pop up every time I accidentally turn my Touch sideways.

2. Put the song progress bar on by default, all the time, and make it easier to adjust one’s place in a song/podcast.

   As it is, there’s a huge slider for volume across the bottom of the screen that I thought, from screenshots, MUST be a progress bar. Let’s go ahead and make it the progress bar, and put the volume slider somewhere else on the default screen.

3. Related to #2: Adjust the default music playing screen.

   Why are artist name, song title, and album title in such tiny print? The Touch is great because it’s screen is so big–let’s go ahead and use it, so I don’t have to squint to see what’s playing. Furthermore, go ahead and put more information on the default screen. I like having the album cover on there, but it doesn’t need to take up the whole face of the device. How about that progress bar, to start with, and/or the names of the last two and next two songs slated to play, so I can keep track of where I’m at? And let’s throw the song star rating on there, too (for more on ratings, see #5, below).

4. Show both song title and artist in playlists.

   When I’m going through a long playlist (e.g., music added in the last 6 months), I’m not necessarily familiar enough with everything by song title. Let me see the artist, so I can navigate to the beginning of the album I’m looking for.

5. Include ratings in the shortcut screen.

   They won’t do this one. I’m probably one of 8 people in the world who care about this. But I want to be able to rate songs (or adjust existing ratings) from the shortcut screen, Apple.^*. It would make my life a lot easier, since I have a ton of songs that are currently unrated, and often I’m waking it from sleep solely to add a rating.

   ^* The shortcut screen, or whatever it’s called, is great. When you double-click the home button, in any application, a window pops up telling you what song is playing and allowing you to skip ahead or back, or adjust volume. It also works when the device is asleep, so you don’t have to unlock the device for these basic operations.

Other software improvements I’m hoping for:

1. The ability to see passwords as I type them, rather than asterisked versions.

   I know, I know, security or whatever. But it’s already enough of a pain in the ass to type on this thing–don’t make it so hard for me to tell whether I’ve at least gotten the ridiculous wifi network password right.

2. Syncing: don’t complain about not having enough space for the playlists I choose.

   Give me the choice of loading a random selection from one or multiple playlists, up to a size I choose. This functionality is more or less already available for the Shuffle, so there’s really no reason I shouldn’t be able to do it with a Touch.

3. Store zoom sizes per website.

   Okay, this one is pretty picky. Right now, Safari loads every page such that you can see the entire width of the page on the screen. But for sites I have already visited, I would like Safari to remember if I have zoomed in (so I can actually read the text, for example).

4. eBook Reader

   This one is big for me. We’ve got this decent-sized, high-resolution screen. I want an eBook Reader application that is integrated with iTunes, so I can browse the library and buy books, either from the Touch or from my PC. This would be a blatant, shameless ripoff of the Kindle, but screw it. eBook functionality would turn the Touch into a subway godsend.

Okay, fine, a few hardware suggestions for the next generation iPod Touch (which won’t be along for a year or two, I’d guess).

1. GPS.

   If you’re going to keep charging $100 more for the Touch than the iPhone, at least include everything that isn’t in the iPhone. GPS would be really helpful for the many location-based 3rd party apps coming out starting next month. As it is, I’m going to be left out of most (if not all) of that stuff, even in places with available wifi.

2. Volume buttons on the side.

   The iPhone has them, and they would make life much easier. As things stand, I have to unlock the iPod (first you press a button, then you swipe a finger across the screen) just to adjust volume or pause.

3. Related to #2: Go nuts, add a couple more buttons on the face of the device.

   I understand that Apple likes to keep it simple with its hardware, especially the first iteration. And the touchscreen is really cool and fun to use. But I really want to be able to skip tracks and pause while it’s in my pocket, and as long as I have to use the touchscreen for these things that will not be possible. Moreover, a couple of buttons would open up some opportunities for lots of applications (like games!)

4. Speaker.

   Again, the iPhone does this, and I think the Touch should, too. Now that we’re working with a decent sized screen, and playing video and everything, it would be nice to be able to listen to audio over a tinny speaker rather than pop in headphones all the time. I’m not asking for great audio quality, just something loud enough that I can set it on the counter and listen to podcasts while I do the dishes.

5. Ditch the chrome backing.

   I know this design touch is synonymous with the iPod line, but it’s time to move on. The chrome back gets scratched up immediately, is kind of slippery, and at this point it’s a bit of a cliche. Show me something new, design gurus.

6. QWERTY keypad.

   I know this won’t be happening for a year or two. Apple likes to limit its input options to its revolutionary new innovations (e.g. the mouse on the old school Mac, the touchwheel on the 2nd generation iPod, etc.), so for the next little while there’s no way it’s going to admit what we all know–that using a real QWERTY keypad is a far superior option for extensive mobile typing. But eventually, I am sure, this is coming. And when it does, I will be first in line. Not literally.

Okay, those are the biggest gripes I have with the current version of the iPod Touch. It’s not a perfect device, but even as it is I’m really enjoying it. The screen is pretty big, and easy to look at–even high-res video looks respectable on this thing. Having a wifi-enabled handheld with a touchscreen and a decent web browser comes in handy all over the place (as a wifi-detector, if nothing else). Mine holds 16 gigs, which is not nearly big enough for my entire music collection but is more than big enough for a pretty good selection. Overall, it’s already a really cool toy, and I have no doubt that next month’s OS update will make it much more versatile and fun to use.

I’ve got just one more suggestion, one that I have no doubt Apple will take to heart right around back-to-school season:

Lower the price.

Right now, an 8 gig iPod Touch will run you $299. And the new 8 gig iPhone is going to cost you $199. While it’s true that $100 deficit doesn’t take into account the massive monthly outlay the iPhone entails (at least $70/month for phone plus data service, I believe), it is glaring nonetheless. Flash memory is cheap, nowadays, too cheap for Apple to keep charging such a premium for the Touch. All the early adopters (including me) have splurged–it’s time to bring the rest of the public into the fold. I’m as sure as anyone can be, with respect to Apple and unannounced price cuts (i.e., 65%)–the iTouch will cost the same or less as the iPhone by November. Remember, you heard it here first.