Why I'll Pass on the iPod Touch
Wed Sep 5, 2007 7:17PM EDT
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Apple just announced the iPod Touch! Now we're talking, but what does this mean for the iPhone? The main reason I was holding off on the iPhone was price. Now I'm an avid Apple fan, but first and foremost, I like to spend my money wisely. Despite a few gripes regarding the touch keypad, most of the reviews I've read about the iPhone are decent, nothing but praise. But again, price was definitely an obstacle for most, especially if they had to switch phone carriers. Somehow, opening your checkbook to pay early termination fees, $60 and up for an unlimited data plan, and over $500 for the device itself just hurt too much.
Today, I finally did it. I bought an iPhone.
Yes, I know I said I'd wait for the next generation, but I just couldn't resist the $200 price drop. Anyway, I'm taking my chances, because this may be the only chance at nabbing the-soon-to-be-obsolete 4GB model for under $300 (it's OK, I'm not proud). Now why would I buy an iPhone, when I could've waited for the $299 8GB iPod Touch, you ask? Here's my logic:
No Phone: The new iPod Touch may have more storage, but it doesn't have a phone. This means you still have to carry two devices: a phone and the iPod Touch. I don't know about you, but I'm not one to carry an iPod everywhere I go. That's why I say no thanks to the iPod Touch. I'll just stick to an iPhone and eliminate all the excess baggage.
No Camera: The 2-megapixel camera is gone.
No Bluetooth or EDGE: This means no bluetooth headphones, headset, or access to the Internet when you can't find a hotspot. Bummer.
Wi-Fi: Woohoo, it has Wi-Fi — but what's the use of having Wi-Fi if you can't always access a hotspot outside the house? Once you walk out the door, the only place you have free access to the Internet is at Starbucks to buy music.
Storage: Why, oh why on earth would you pay $299 for an 8GB iPod or $399 for 16GB? OK, so it's flash-based, has a multi-touch interface, a beautiful 3.5-inch display, and Wi-Fi capabilities, but the price just seems outrageous when the 160GB metal iPod Classic is only $349. Makes me wanna weep.
No New Features: The iPod Touch is just an iPhone without a phone. And why didn't they add new colors, FM radio, an expansion slot, or a microphone to give it VoIP capabilities? Even the Sony Mylo and Zune have some of these features. Why make it look and act like a PDA, yet leave out important things like a microphone.
The good news is we now have options. Options are great when you don't have to to decide between carriers, or find ways to unlock the iPhone without it blowing up in your face. The iPod Touch has great features, but doesn't compare to the iPhone. Now that the iPhone is cheaper, why not go for the one with the most features at the expense of storage? Besides, I already have plenty of storage for music on my four other iPods.
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2 Posted by alpyne2 on Wed Sep 5, 2007 9:09PM EDT Report Abuse
Good analysis! The Touch doesn't offer enough storage to justify the price - for that kind of money, my son's 80Gig iPod can save far more movies or an order of magnitude more music. I won't be replacing my Shuffle anytime soon - if they were to add a FM radio to it and (please!) a 1 or 2 line display, then they would get me thinking. Who care what color it is when you can hide it just about anywhere? I have a relative who took an iPhone to Japan - where he gets no phone service - now he should have waited for the Touch (although he does use the camera a lot). Cheers,
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3 Posted by techiedivas on Wed Sep 5, 2007 10:33PM EDT Report Abuse
Mauimallard00: My decision to get an iPhone was mainly because it's a camera, a music player, a phone, a mini-computer and sort of a PDA. I already carry enough gadgets in my bag to carry an iPod too, but now that I got an iPhone, I certainly won't mind having a music player with me at all times. I just wouln't carry one in addition to all the crap I got in my purse.
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4 Posted by holickyj on Thu Sep 6, 2007 8:16AM EDT Report Abuse
Thanks for the analysis and logic. The striking part of the post was the last sentence "Besides, I already have plenty of storage for music on my four other iPods." Chuckle. Most people I know that have an iPOD have more than one iPOD. Thanks to people like you - Apple just needs to keep coming out with new iPODS every year or so - for a booming business. To this day there is nothing compelling for me the buy an iPOD. In another review the iPOD Touch still comes with no radio. I bought a little Sansa 4GB unit - came with a radio but the best reason was a removable AAA battery. I tend to forget plugging in the cell at times - so as long as I have an extra battery (NiMH), my music will never die. Until they come out with batteries that actually work for more than 10-20 hours (like weeks) and their lives outlive the actual units they power, I will pass on non-removable battery devices where possible. At any rate, why Apple comes out with these devices with certain features missing is beyond me-but regardless, there will always be an repeat Apple customer ready to buy the new Apple device. Cheers!
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5 Posted by suprman12 on Thu Sep 6, 2007 3:02PM EDT Report Abuse
Hey guys. I just wanted to say that I bought a touch control Philips 30GB mp3 player from WalMart for $158. It only has a 2.5 inch color LCD screen but it's plenty. It has a recorder and a radio on it. Not to mention it is 3 times the capacity for half the price. What is the reason to pay so much more for the Apple name?
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1 Posted by mauimallard00 on Wed Sep 5, 2007 8:43PM EDT Report Abuse
But if you're not one the carry an iPod everywhere you go... why would you want an iPod in your phone?