I don't know how PCMag.com's Michael Muchmore timed the various app tests in...

Why iPod Touch Owners Shouldn't Upgrade to OS 3.0

But, I'm accepting them at face value. If accurate (and I'm assuming the data is accurage), I interpret the findings in two ways:

1. The iPhone 3GS is even more blazing fast than I assumed
2. The 2nd generation iPod touch is much faster than the iPhone 3G and nearly as blazing fast as the 3GS even after the OS 3.0 upgrade

FYI regarding processor speed. Here's what is said to be true about it since Apple doesn't release this information.

iPhone 3G: 412MHz
iPod touch 2nd generation: 532MHz
iPhone 3GS: 600MHz

Here's one example from the article: Load weather app and fresh weather [data]
- iPhone 3GS: 1 second
- iPod touch w/OS 3.0: 3.3 seconds
- iPhone 3G w/OS 3.0: 7 seconds

Here's another common task: Load Twitterfon and refresh tweets
- iPhone 3GS: 6 seconds
- iPod touch: 6 seconds
- iPhone 3G: 13 seconds

So, although a 2nd generation iPod touch running OS 3.0 is slightly slower (in raw time, not percentage) than one running OS 2.2.1, it is still very fast and comparable to the iPhone 3GS. And, both are much faster than the pokey iPhone 3G I have :-)