Apple announced the iPod touch last week at its Special Event held in San Francisco, initial units were estimated to arrive in stores, and with customers around the end of September; but some stores in America are already stocking the iPod touch and PC Magazine managed to get hold of a pre-release review model.

The PC Mag review favours the iPod touch over many other media players and gave the device 5 out of 5 stars.

The relatively hefty $300 and $400 price tags for 8 and 16 GB, respectively, don’t bug me either. Why? This is probably the best portable media player ever made.

The magazine also writes that the iPod touch is “much skinnier” than the iPhone, a tad shorter and a bit wider. The review also looks at the iTunes W-Fi Music Store which is said to be well integrated into the device.

One feature of the iPod touch which is demonstrated in Apple’s Guided Tour is the “double-click” home button.

Pressing the only tactile button on the player twice makes music controls appear over whatever screen mode you happen to be in—Safari, YouTube, etc. Even if the player is locked, double-clicking will bring up a set of music controls that features track information, play/pause, forward and backward within a playlist or album, a Music button to take you directly to the Now Playing screen, and a Close button to escape.

The magazine rounds off the review with:

At $300 and $400 for 8 and 16 GB, respectively, these are not cheap devices, especially considering the storage limitations. Still, factor in the slick interface, elegant Web browser, the beautiful glass display, the seamless integration of the WiFi music store, and the iPod touch is worth the price. No portable media player has ever done this much so easily, or looked so good doing it.

iPod touch Unboxing | Courtesy FlickriPod touch Unboxing | Courtesy Flickr

One user over at Flickr has posted a few pictures of the iPod touch unboxing process, it is very similar to that of the iPhone.

Gizmodo also offers a selection of pictures and a video of the iPod touch.

Apple has met the early release of the iPod touch by unleashing the support website which comes with a Features Guide (PDF).