The iPod Touch (with style and is marketed as the iPod touch in lower case, also known colloquially as the iTouch, by analogy with the iPhone) is a portable media player, personal digital assistant console, handheld games, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch interface GUI for the iPod line. It is the first iPod with wireless access to the iTunes Store, and also has access to Apple's App Store, which allows content to be bought and downloaded directly on the device. From March 2011, Apple has sold over 60 million units iPod Touch.
The iPod Touch is running IOS. The first major update after the initial release was iPhone OS 2.0 This update introduces the App Store, which allows third party applications for the first time. iPhone OS 2.0 was released July 11, 2008. IPhone users received the update for free, while iPod Touch users had to pay for the upgrade. The second major update to the operating system, iPhone OS 3. 0, was published on June 17, 2009. iPhone OS 3.0 adds features such as cut, copy and paste, the immobilization of data, and push notification support.
As with the previous major version, iPhone users received the update for free, while iPod Touch users had to pay for the upgrade. iOS 4.0 was made available to the public on June 21, 2010. It was the first major release of IOS to drop for some devices, the first generation iPod Touch and original iPhone are not compatible with IOS 4.0. The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch second generation had limited functionality in IOS 4. 0, while the iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, third generation iPod Touch, and tap the fourth generation iPod had a full functionality on IOS 4.0. The main features introduced in IOS 4.0 includes iBooks, FaceTime, and multitasking. IOS 5.0 was previewed to the public on June 6, 2011, and was released on October 12, 2011.
Apple has been criticized for charging iPod Touch users for major upgrades IOS iPhone users get for free, and the exclusion of certain software features include iPod Touch on the iPhone. Apple has said that you can add features for free for the iPhone, because the revenues that are accounted for on a subscription basis under accounting rules, and not as a lump sum. At the WWDC in June 2010, Jobs announced that Apple had "found a way to" make further updates to the operating system freely available to iPod Touch owners. However, IOS 4.0 and beyond is not available for the first generation iPod Touch, and some functions are only available for the 32 GB and 64 GB third generation iPod Touch launched in September 2009 and the fourth generation iPod Touch launched in 2010.
