14 DAY TRIAL // The iPod touch might have seemed like the perfect device to many early adopters, but after actually purchasing the gadget, some are greatly disappointed. It would appear that there are issues with the displays of the new iPod touch, big issues.
Although the number of complaints so far has been relatively small, it is constantly increasing. Although there have been all kinds of observations made, the most common occurrence is that of an overly dark screen that obscures the vast majority of details. It may sound dodgy, but side-by-side comparisons with iPhones indeed show a very dark iPod touch screen, where nearly everything is one uniform shade of black.
As the iPod touch is seen as an iPhone sans phone, it makes sense that people would simply place the two devices side by side for comparison. However, this practice might not be valid if the actual screens used in the making of the two gadgets are not identical. Furthermore, some reports indicate that there are iPhones out there with overly dark screens, but given the large number of the devices already in circulation, they are a very small percentage. Another important factor is usage, as iPhone owners are not as likely to make heavy use of the movie playback capabilities of the device as iPod owners are, and that is where the darkness of the screen is most visible.
If this is a quality control issue, no doubt Apple will get on top of it and offer replacements. However, if the difference is caused by the actual screens used, things might be a bit more complicated. One TUAW user attributes the issues reported to the viewing angles of the screen. If the iPod touch uses a cheaper screen whose viewing angles are not overly wide, this would explain both the darkness and the 'negative effect' that users are reporting, which can also be seen in other PDAs and laptop screens.