Top Apple iPod Touch 4 Alternatives ','

Apple tries to be very secretive about its new product launches but people find their way around this firewall with leaks from every nook and corner of the globe. That, along with our regular analysis makes for some educated guesses about what to expect. With the launch of the iPhone 4, we listed a few alternatives and people paid way more attention to those than the iPhone 4 itself.


Thus, we to believe that people want to know more about what else they can buy as an alternative to an Apple product. Everybody has their own reason; some dislike Apple's closed system, some can't afford their premium pricing, while a few just hate Apple in general. But you've got to admit it, they do create some innovative products that make other manufacturers work very hard to come up with a product with similar usability. It is like Apple creates a base, a platform if you will, and everybody tries to outdo the Apple product. We talked about this earlier when we wrote about 5 things that the Galaxy Tab did better than the iPad.

The iPod Touch is possibly going to get great additions like a Retina display, dual cameras for Facetime and taking snaps etc. Whatever the improvements may be, one will mostly still not escape their inability to copy-paste music via a file manager. Or the need to convert/downscale videos before they can be played back on the device, or the lack of support for popular video formats like DivX and MKV. For people distressed with these and other unchangeable factors about iPods, look beyond Apple! There are many manufacturers that already have or will soon have media players that could suit your needs. Here are our top 5 alternatives to the impending iPod Touch 4.

Archos 32 and Archos 43

French PMP specialist Archos has released 5 new "tablets" in all imaginable shapes and sizes. Starting from pocketable dimensions of a 2.8-inch screen on the Archos 28, all the way up to the 10-inch iPad-competing Archos 101. We're interested in two models that can be deemed worthy as iPod Touch competitors; the Archos 32 and Archos 43. The former has a 3.2-inch 240 x 400 pixel screen, while the latter has a bigger 4.3-inch screen with a 480 x 854 pixel resolution. Unfortunately, both these screen will be based on the older resistive touch screen technology, unlike the iPod Touch's finger friendly capacitive one. However, both are fairly powered on the inside.


The Archos 32 comes with an 800 MHz Cortex A8 processor and a graphics accelerator for better 3D gaming. They still retain the USP of previous Archos devices, yes we're talking of video format compatibility. Both will be able to play up to MPEG-4 HD, H.264 HD and WMV9 with all supporting up to 720p resolution playback. As for file extensions, as long as they are encoded in these mentioned formats, they should play a variety of file extensions including AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF and 3GP. For audio, it supports all popular formats and FLAC as well. Lastly, the bigger Archos 43 has a little more muscle under the hood, thanks to the 1 GHz Cortex processor.

The Archos 32 comes with a camera at the back that shoots clips at a measly VGA resolution. You can even output to a TV using separately sold composite cables. But the Archos 43 does 720p video recording via a 2 megapixel sensor and has a HDMI output to stream video to your LCD TV (cables need to be purchased separately). Both have Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. There's also a microphone and a accelerometer for motion-based gaming.


Oh, and did we mention both will run Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) on sale? So, all those people who already crossed this device off their list for lack of app support can relax, Android's growing 70,000+ market will fulfill all your entertainment and productivity needs. The only thing we're apprehensive about these devices is the sensitivity of the now passe resistive screen.

The 8GB Archos 32 will sell for USD 150 (approx. Rs. 7,000) while the 8GB Archos 43 will cost you 200 dollars (Rs. 9,400).

Philips GoGear Connect

It was raining Android media players on August 31. Along with Archos' army of devices, Philips too officially released its GoGear Connect media player. From the photographs we have seen it looks like it has a brushed metallic frame with a 3.2-inch HVGA (480 x 320 pixel) display. They haven't clearly mentioned whether the screen is a capacitive type, but from what we could gather on the web it seems to be so. Background chatter can be eliminated on this device by the bundled sound isolating ear-phones.

Sound enhancement is also provided in the form of Philips' patented "FullSound" tech. It is said to run Android 2.1 (Eclair) on release, which in our opinion is a fairly functional OS. It plays WMV, MP4 and AVI (encoded in MPEG-4 or H.264) up to a 720p resolution. You've also got Wi-Fi for internet, GPS and compass for mapping and location-aware apps. Adding a GPS in a non-cellular device seems weird. How many times are you going to find Wi-fi access outdoors to use mapping applications? (GPS does not function indoors)

There's a built-in camera but the image or video resolution support isn't specified. The built-in 16GB memory can be upgraded by adding a microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy Player YP-MB2

Looks like Samsung has defined Apple as their arch-nemesis; and they've infiltrated Apple's territory many a times. Be it with the Galaxy S to compete with the iPhone 4 or the Galaxy Tab with the iPad. Now they're doing exactly what Apple did with their celebrated entertainment device. After the launch of the iPhone, Apple stripped the phone components and created a cheaper, internet-friendly media player that we today know as the iPod Touch. From the leaked photos and videos we've seen, it seems that Samsung is giving the same treatment to their Galaxy S to create the Galaxy Player YP-MB2.
It will retain the same gorgeous 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and internal hardware of Samsung's flagship phone, but without the phone capability. I have to say that even if the iPod Touch 4 has a Retina display, the former should trump it. My colleague had shared his experience with both the type of displays and according to him, Super AMOLED would be better suited for watching videos and photos.

Powered by the 1GHz "Hummingbird" processor and 512 MB RAM, the Galaxy Player should handle 720p videos encoded in DivX HD and even in the MKV container, just like the Galaxy S did, without need for down-scaling/conversion. That is brilliant and is way more convenient in my opinion, when you have to simply drag and drop your videos to the device for instant playback. The camera at the back is reduced to 3 megapixels according to sources, and it should hopefully retain the front-facing camera to enable those Fring video-calls over Wi-Fi. By the time it comes to market, it should ideally be running Android 2.2.

Microsoft Zune HD

It is a pity that India never got to see the Zune HD. But we keep hearing how good a media player it is from our friends in the West. A 3.3-inch capacitive OLED display portrays the Metro UI, which looks like what was the prime inspiration for Windows Mobile 7's UI design. It is available in three sizes; 16, 32 and 64GB. The Zune makes good use of the Wi-Fi chip inside by letting you buy and stream music straight on the device, and even wirelessly sync music from your PC.

Graphically, there's a beast sitting inside the housing; an NVIDIA Tegra APX 2600 chip. This allows projecting 720p content onto an LCD TV using an optional Zune Dock. It also has a viable alternative for people using iTunes to purchase their digital music. Called the Zune Marketplace, you can buy over 6 million tracks, TV, movies and a small collection of apps. Also, instead of paying a dollar per song like iTunes, the "Zune Pass" gives you access to their entire store with unlimited streaming and downloading music for USD 15 (Approx. Rs. 700) per month.

Sony Walkman A-series NWZ-A845/B

A non-touch screen player as an alternative to the iPod Touch? We know it is somewhat unusual, but we couldn't miss this opportunity to let this Sony Walkman in. While most are so excited about the possibility of loading their multi-functional media player with apps and games, some dudes (and gals) just want some pure audio-video on the go.

Sony recently announced the Walkman A series, which is possibly a favorable alternative to the new iPod nano. While the latest nano added extra bells and whistles, like a camera, the Walkman offers the most important aspect of any media player -- good audio-visual experience. With a 2.8-inch OLED 240 x 400 pixel screen, which sounds fairly big to enjoy videos on, this slim player also promises superior audio quality and digital noise cancellation. Although there's no HD playback on this one, you can play up to DVD-quality (720 x 480) videos encoded in either MPEG-4, WMV9 or H.264.

The Walkman should also trump the average ear-phones that Apple has been thrusting at consumers, with Sony's EX series cans that have large 13.5mm drivers. Sony also boasts of a 29-hour continuous audio play time with this baby.

So there you go, five seemingly kick-ass options to buy instead of the Apple iPod with their own set of pros and cons. Got any more to recommend? Let it out in the comments below. Also, don't forget to tell us why you would prefer buying an iPod Touch over a phone (like the iPhone) in the poll to the top-right of the page.