Please help.... do I have a 2nd or 3rd gen iPod touch?

Question

I bought an iPod Touch for my father in February from an Amazon seller (happybook1). I ordered a 3rd generation iPod Touch on purpose because I don't have Snow Leopard OS and I wanted to be able to plug it into my OS 10.4 computer.
Yesterday my father decided to bite the bullet and asked me to upgrade his iPod Touch from iOS 3.1 to iOS 4.1. However, when I tried it kept freezing (not the issue here). I wen't to apple.com and put the serial number into their warranty section and it said the iPod is a 2nd generation iPod!!!!!!!!!
Here is the serial number 9C035RM475J
Angrilly, I wrote the Amazon seller and insisted she give me a refund.... I couldn't believe she had sold me a 2nd generation iPod!! But she immediately responded with this:
Thank for your e-mail, the ipod I sent you is considered the 3rd gen, its part number MC086ll/A  is the part number matches amazons listing category for the 3rd gen.  You can find this part number on the bottom of the box as well as under settings.
The part number for the 2nd gen. touch is MB528LL/A.  The model MC086ll/a does show in apples website as a 2nd gen because the only difference between the two is that the 3rd gen. model MC086ll/a came preloaded with the iphone 3.1 software and the second gen. didn't.  So apple changed the part numbers and the software from the 2nd to the 3rd but it will show as a second in their website, there is no touch that shows as a 3rd gen in apples website.
Apple can verify this with you if you call them but I just wanted to explain why it shows that way in there site, but I did list it in Amazons 3rd gen. category because it is listed by the part number and they categorize it as a 3rd.
So I just wanted to let you know I didn't list it wrong you can check it by the part numbers in Amazon.  Apple is up to 4.2 software version now so it will prompt you to update the software anyway when you connect it so you should have the lastet software.  Is the ipod working ok now that you updated.
Now I'm confused.... do I have a 3rd gen or is this seller just lying her pants off??
I was able to restore the software into 4.1 but it is sluggish..... I'm thinking because it is really a 2nd gen with a slower processor?
Can someone please help me to figure out the truth?? Should I insist she refund me (though she probably won't) or accept this answer as the truth? Does it make a difference... the difference between 2nd adn 3rd gen?
Please help... thanks!!

Answer 1

Look at the back of the iPod. What model number is actually shown on the unit? And what is the capacity of the unit? If it's an 8GB iPod touch it's a second-generation, regardless of what your seller is claming. Apple never made a 3rd-generation 8GB iPod touch. Some resellers incorrectly refer to the 8GB with iOS 3 as "3rd generation", but that was never a designation approved by Apple."3rd-generation" properly only applies to the 32GB and 64GB iPods Apple released in September 2009, models which have faster hardware. 
Regards.