Apple iPod Touch Our Rating:
The iPod Touch is Apple’s offering for those who want all the features of the iPhone sans phone. The Touch is by far the most feature-packed iPod Apple has to offer, offering all the functionality of a PDA or Blackberry in a sleek design and full touch screen. The current generation Touch has four external buttons: The Home button below the touch screen, the hold button at the top, and volume control on the left side. Next/previous track buttons may have been more useful but it is still better than the original touch which did not feature the volume control buttons. On the bottom is the jack for connecting the Touch to a PC or Mac via USB, and the audio input.

By default the touch comes with a standard set of apps, similar to that of the iPhone: Calendar, Photos, Videos, YouTube, Stocks, Maps, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Mail, Safari, and of course Music, iTunes, and the App Store. Within the App Store one will find hundreds of additional free and premium apps to install, from Google Earth to Quake. The presence of a built-in YouTube player and the largest screen out of any iPod make it the best choice for watching video. The Touch comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB sizes, so there is bound to be one for everyone.

The Touch does have its downsides. The lack of more external buttons could make it a hassle to have to skip through songs. A much-needed App is a built-in instant messenger. There are several choices from third parties in the App store, but this is such a popular feature that it should definitely be added. However these are small problems when compared to how much the Touch has to offer.

Apple’s iPod Touch is definitely one of the best portable media devices available today, and short of owning an iPhone it’d be hard to find a device to beat it.

Digital Concepts SD/MMC Card Reader Our Rating:

Here we have a useful accessory. This converter drive allows you to read and write to an SD or MMC memory card via USB. While it gets the job done, it has many flaws.

First off, it is bulky. When plugged into my laptop, it so wide that it prohibits the use of my other USB port right next to it, from both sides. There is no way that I can use this and another USB device simultaneously. Also, the plastic cap on the end of the drive easily broke off in days. Another issue is the read/write speed. It is very slow. This is works decently enough for transferring pictures from a card used in a camera and such, but if you plan on using it often for lots of storage, this is not the device for you. We suggest that you consider another card reader.

Western Digital My Book Our Rating:

The Western Digital My Book we tested was the 320 GB Essential Edition. It has a very sleek look, pitch black and glossy, and the blue indicator light fits perfectly. This thing is like a mirror! With an affordable price, small size, and great looks, it is a very nice product.

Right when you plug this into your computer, it’s ready to go. There is virtually no setting up, and if you wish to install the included software, it is a breeze. You will also notice that it is only powered on when plugged into your computer, making it very energy efficient. The transfer rate is also fast – and with it’s USB 2.0 interface, it is compatible and easy to use on a Mac or a PC.

The My Book not only looks and works great, but it sounds great. It makes almost no noise. You can’t even tell it’s on most of the time, and you can barely hear it when you are managing files.

As a wrap up, this external hard drive is great. It looks very nice, works well, is compatable, and is not distracting.