Is the Ipod Touch worth it?

[marillion]

So one of my co-workers has an Ipod Touch and loves it.. He downloads all kinds of music, movies and TV shows..

I'm kind of pushing for one for Christmas, but am wondering a couple things...

1. What size to I need? I don't have tons of music to download from my computer and I really don't download from the net...

2. how's the internet speed?

3. should I just save my money for a Blu-ray?

4. What do you find you use it for most often?

I know I can read online reviews, but I wanted to hear some thoughts from this crowd...

 

[firehawk12]

#3 just seems out of place.

Anyway, your best bet would be to just test it in store... and size is a personal preference thing, although I would go bigger because you can't expand the size.

It's strange, because when the iPhone came out, I was clamoring for an iPhone without the Phone part... but when I got a hold of the Touch, I just couldn't be bothered to ditch my Nano.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

I have the iPhone, not the touch but I can comment on the size thing. Get the SMALLEST size one possible. Here's why:

There is a program called Simplify Media which lets you stream all your music from your computer to your iPhone over either the phone network or wifi...so if you had a touch, you could put just the stuff you must have when you are away from wifi, and then stream the rest when you are in a wifi area.

In my case, I do this, and I have plenty of space left over for video and apps...and I have the 4gig iPhone, the smallest. By the way, with Simplify, you can also stream from your friends...so for example, I can listen to my brother's entire collection anywhere I am too, so long as his comp is on.

As far as your question about internet speed, I was just thinking about it this morning as I woke up and was surfing in bed. It is literally as fast as my 2006 Macbook, but not as fast as my 2008 Mac Pro. So, in other words, over wi-fi, it's plenty speedy.

What I find I use my phone for most often is playing the game app called Versus Chess. It's great to play another person online over wifi (or in my case with the phone, also over the phone network) anytime for a quick game of chess. Second thing I use it for would be listening to podcasts, music, and finally surfing, using the Moblie AP news app or playing other games.

It's a fantastic device...(well at least I've found the original phone to be)...I think you'll love it.

 

[Small White Car]

I love my iPhone and my wife loves her iPod Touch. I highly recommend either one.

1) Any size will do, really. I lived with a 4 GB iPod Mini for years. You just have to rotate out the things you need at any given moment. Obviously bigger is better, but it's possible to get by with less.

2) Wi-fi depends on your own ISP, but generally it's fast. I just tried loading bestbuy.com on my wife's Touch and it loaded the whole thing in about 10 seconds. It took 6 seconds on my high-powered desktop machine.

3) Nah

4) E-Mail, Web browsing (this thread, for example), game playing, Youtube/my movies from DVDs. In that order. There are other things I use it for (like AIM or syncing photos to show people) but those are the top uses.

There is a program called Simplify Media which lets you stream all your music from your computer to your iPhone over either the phone network or wifi...so if you had a touch, you could put just the stuff you must have when you are away from wifi, and then stream the rest when you are in a wifi area.

A) The quality is lower than if you have the media on your device.

B) I find the connection to be very sporadic. Some days it works and some it doesn't.

It's a great program, but I wouldn't depend on it.

 

[JacksonArcher]

I bought the iPod Touch recently. My old iPod Classic broke, and I was considering getting the new 180GB, but instead I opted for the Touch. To answer your questions...

1. I have the smallest size, the 8GB, which holds 2,000 songs. That's fine for me, since I only right now have about 1,500 songs or so on my computer. It also leaves space for photos and movies. So if you don't have that many songs, the 8GB should be fine for you.

2. The Internet speed is fine...depending on your WiFi connection. Unlike the iPhone, you have to find a wireless connection, it does not come with the Touch. So if you are in a place, like Starbucks, that has a great high-speed wireless connection, you should be fine.

3. Yes.

4. I have always used my iPod primarily for the music. I listen to music every chance I get...on the el, walking home, or when I'm just making dinner or being creative. I'll use it for Internet when I need to check my e-mail, but other than that, mostly for music.

Hope that was helpful.

 

[msbae]

1. What size to I need? I don't have tons of music to download from my computer and I really don't download from the net...

The 8GB base model should suffice. Don't be surprised if it starts to fill up quickly, though.

2. how's the internet speed?

In my experience, it tends to be rather slow. However, it could have just been the wireless networks I was using to check my e-mail.

3. should I just save my money for a Blu-ray?

No.

4. What do you find you use it for most often?

Music that I ripped from any of my hundreds of CD's or accquired from other sources.

 

[Rii]

A) The quality is lower than if you have the media on your device.

How's this? I assume the iPhone is running 802.11g? Should be able to stream MP3/AAC ten times over.

 

[Warp Coil]

I recently purchased the iPhone and I absolutely love it. I've got the 8 GB model which is plenty of space for me. I don't have a massive music collection. The App Store is just all sorts of awesome.

 

[Small White Car]

A) The quality is lower than if you have the media on your device.

How's this? I assume the iPhone is running 802.11g? Should be able to stream MP3/AAC ten times over.

Now that I think about it, I'm thinking of using it on AT&T's cellular network. So yeah, obviously Wi-Fi is going to better than my own experiences.

I still think it compresses it somewhat (even on wi-fi) to improve performance. Or it used to, maybe the newest version doesn't anymore.

I can't find any documentation that says one way or the other, so who knows.

 

[Bisz]

Have the iPhone and love it!! I use it for games and taking pictures and listening to music at my desk and in the car.

 

[Brikar99]

I have the iPod Touch, 16gb and I love it. Sometimes I just play with the touch screen, which is just freakin' cool. But otherwise, I use it a lot for just listening music, but also for it's various PDA functions - it's my calendar, Instant Messaging when I'm not at my computer (and, by extension, text messaging since I don't have it on my phone), check the weather, and I use the Maps for directions...

I also love the apps, which lets me play games and lots of other fun but sometimes worthless functions.

So yeah, the iPod Touch is totally worth it. It just depends on what size you want to get. Don't just think about how much music you HAVE, think about how much music you want or think you'll get in the time that you'll own the iPod.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

When it comes to size though, think about this:

Whatever the difference in price is, is it worth that extra cash to never have to swap out music? Swapping out music only takes a few minutes - it's hardly inconvenient. Also, for someone like me, who has 6500+ songs, is it really necessary to have every single one at your fingertips 24/7? It all depends on what your value of these considerations is worth.

 

[Quo Vadimus]

I waited for the new one to come out, went to the Apple store, and bought an old 16 GB touch for less than the 8 GB new touch. I love mine, it's really neat. I can even check/post on the BBS using Safari.

 

[Bloodwhiner]

I have the touch and am satisfied with it. Mine is the 32gb and has about 25gb used up.

One thing to seriously think about is how many open networks are around you. I live and work in a rural area with lots of retirees. I have found very few open networks and that seriously impacts the usefulness of the touch.

There is no open network at my office (need a certificate to get in and IT won't let iphone or other private browsers have one).. I also can't get on a network at my grocery store, Lowes, WalMart, the mall, courthouse, etc.. More and more homeowners and business's with networks are closing them to outside access for security. Many retailers don't want you to have access while shopping so you cannot compare prices.

Without open networks where you want to use the touch, it is really just an iPod with a touch interface instead of a clickwheel.

I'm not complaining because I purchased mine new from apple for $150 when a friend bought a macbook for school. But if you think your going to surf everywhere, better check for open hotspots first.