A little more than a week after Steve Jobs first unveiled it, the iPod touch has hit retail stores. Macworld confirmed that the widescreen iPod was available at Apple stores in San Francisco and San Jose, after a reader reported buying one at the flagship Apple Store in SoHo, New York. Macworld purchased two 16GB models at the flagship Apple Store in San Francisco’s Union Square earlier this afternoon.
iPod fan Phil Hartley, who bought his iPod touch today at Apple’s SoHo store, said he’s very happy with it. Hartley has several iPods, but it wasn’t the traditional iPod features that prompted him to buy a touch. “Wi-Fi was a big factor — I’m not interested in a classic iPod, but having Safari and Wi-fi is huge,” He said.
The iTunes Wi-Fi Store, which Jobs also introduced last week and will be added to the iPhone in a forthcoming iPhone software update, is operational as well, allowing users to preview and purchase tracks directly from their iPod touch.
Apple store employees have told customers that only the 16GB models are currently available. Apple representatives were not immediately available to say when the 8GB model would be available.
The iPod touch was introduced during Apple’s special event on September 5. Taking its design from the iPhone, the iPod touch features a 3.5-inch widescreen display with the same type of navigation buttons found on the iPhone. Icons on the display are for calculator, contacts, clock, calendar and settings. Icons on the bottom of the display allow you access to music, video and photos as well as the newly announced iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.
The iPod touch is available in two configurations — 8GB and 16GB, for $299 and $399 respectively.
Updated: Added details on which models were available and background on the iPod touch. 6:44 p.m.; Interview with Phil Hartley. 7:05 p,m,; Confirmation of iTunes Store features, 8:58 p.m.