The iPod touch is widely referred to as the iPhone without the phone. That’s because the iPod touch has almost all of the iPhone’s features except for the connection to AT&T’s EDGE network, meaning that it doesn’t offer nationwide connections to the Internet. Still, with its big screen, WiFi connection, and 16GB and 32GB storage capacities, if you like the features of the iPhone, but don’t want to pay its price tag or two-year mobile phone commitment, give the iPod touch a look.

The iPod touch may be an indication of where Apple is taking the iPod line: instead of a small device focused on music playback with some video features added to it, the iPod touch may signal that Apple is envisioning the iPod growing into a full portable media player. These devices tend to include large storage capacities, big screens, and WiFi to connect to networks.

The iPod touch has all of these things, though its storage could stand an upgrade. The key difference here is that the touch uses flash memory, which is lighter and thinner than the hard drives used in most portable media players. The touch comes in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models currently.

Apple rates the iPod touch as offering 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video.

The touch features the biggest screen in the iPod line up at 2.5 inches. Like the iPhone, it plays video horizontally and allows you to scroll through your music library in both standard and CoverFlow modes.

Though the touch has a WiFi connection to allow users to download content and take advantage of services like Google maps, Safari, and YouTube, there is one key difference between the touch, the iPhone, and other iPods: Apple charges for software updates to the touch. While new features are rare on the iPod, and freely and regularly released on the iPhone, touch users must pay a small fee to add software updates that offer substantial new features. The fees have run around US$20 recently, but that extra fee for features that are included on the iPhone may put off some users.