I'm going on a long train trip from Kansas to DC next week to attend DrupalCon, and I've got a big audio book to listen to, but after some thought I'm planning to use my Windows Mobile smartphone instead of my iPod Touch to listen to it. I thought I'd post my reasons here to see if some of you iPhone fans can help me change my mind!
First, a caveat: "my" 8MB iPod Touch is actually my employer's, this magazine's. Because I don't know how soon I may have to return it, I haven't bought any accessories (such as a power adapter or case) or paid software for it. So I may be missing out on part of the full iPod Touch owner's experience.
Here are the factors in favor of using my smartphone, a Pantech PN-820, as MP3 player instead of the iPod:
- Battery life. The PN-820's battery lasts for 2-3 days at a time, and playing MP3s seems to have no effect. Making calls or roaming into an analog area, of course, does. When the battery does run low, I can plug the phone into either my computer or an AC plug, which will be handy on the train and in the stations, or swap in the battery from my last phone (which got water damage). The iPod did not come with a power adapter, and I haven't bought one, so when its battery runs low after 4-5 hours of use, the only place I can plug it in is my computer, which will not always be handy while traveling. Swapping the battery is not an option.
- Volume controls. I can adjust the volume of the PN-820 without removing it from my pocket. Try that on the iPod Touch. It's possible, but it would take a lot of practice.
- Removable media. I can add or remove tracks or entire CDs from the PN-820 by plugging its mini-SD card into a USB adapter and putting it in any computer. I don't have to use a particular account in a particular program on a particular computer. I don't have to add this audio book -- which came from a public library -- to my music library on my computer, where it has no business being because it is not my property. Also, I can delete the CDs from the phone as soon as I'm done listening to them, without having to sync with my computer. I haven't found any way to do any that on the iPod -- it may require additional software that I haven't found yet. Suggestions welcome.
- Durability. Whose idea was it to put the touch-sensitive, high-resolution, glass screen on the outside of the device? My PN-820 is a clamshell -- I can throw it in my pocket and not worry about it getting scratched. I've dropped it down concrete steps, and into the sink, and it kept right on playing. OK, after dropping it in the sink I had to replace it, but doing so cost me just $70 (and an extension to my phone contract), compared to the iPod's $300. Since I don't have a case, I carry the iPod in a foam envelope.
- The "Is that an iPhone?" factor. You know what I'm talking about. People on trains are friendly. I'm not always in the mood for friendly, especially when I'm listening to an audio book. Also, in my experience, the closed quarters of a train are no deterrent to phone theives. I'll whip out the iPod at DrupalCon, make no mistake. But on the train and particularly in Chicago's Union Station, the smartphone is more discreet.
So those are my reasons. I'm eager to hear what suggestions you may have to make the iPod Touch compare more favorably!
My $.02
For all your reasons, you should stick to your phone.
It is true the touch will be a drag if you can't charge it.
The touch will be more likely to be lifted.
I could never do what you are planning on doing.
I use my phone as a phone.....that's it.
I don't do much texting, so dial and answer is it.
I check my mail, read news feeds, read books/magazines,
check contacts/calendar, play Sudoku, listen to music and
watch videos on my touch. To do ANY of those on a phone
is ridicuous. The screen real estate is miniscule and the navigation
design is enough to make me want to throw it in a river.
.....but I'm a mac guy and love intelligent design....
Thanks for the feedback
Thanks for the feedback, wonder777. I have to agree that having an iPod Touch has made me use my smartphone a lot less for some of the functions I used to. My smartphone calendar and address book, for example, are now so out of sync as to be nearly useless. But that has more to do with my new Mac (which I got at about the same time as the iPod, and now use more consistently than the phone) than with their own merits. When they were up to date, I found the Windows Mobile calendar and address book quite usable on the PN-820.
What I thought was odd and worth blogging about is that even though we all know the iPod Touch as an iPhone without the phone, it is still called an iPod, which implies that it's primarily a music player. And I've come to the opinion that that's actually one of its weaker functions. Perhaps it should be sold with VOIP capability and renamed the iPhone WiFi Edition or something.
By the way, a correction to the above: I said the iPod had 8 MB. Obviously I meant 8 GB. Thanks for not calling me out on that!
ipod/itouch
Ben,
It is true that the touch was introduced as an ipod, and it does do music and video like one.
it is a little more cumbersome than my old 30 gig ipod for playing music etc., but when I saw
that it also combined contacts and calendar, I couldn't help myself, I hoped my Newton was
back.....unfortunately, not so. When I bought my touch, I was an avid Palm supporter (after of
course the Newton was nixed) and loved my Tx. I decided to give the touch a try while keeping
my Tx in the charger to be ready at a minutes notice. Well, the only reason I even picked it up
was to get access to some passwords stored on it. It sat charging for over a month before I put it
up on Craig's list. i didn't expect to be so satisfied with my touch.
I am not much of a convergence guy either. I like having my phone and PDA apart and separate.
Maybe some day I'll be as surprised by moving to the iPhone, but not too soon.
Thanks,
Steve
good post
but if you have a 2g it has volume controls
telephone engineer
its wonderfully written. i really like it.its great.
The ipod Touch is useless
The ipod Touch is useless until the price is dropped $99
I disagree
I disagree, I don't think a lower price would make it more useful, just more affordable. I've found plenty of uses for my Touch, including watching video podcasts, but I still use my phone for MP3s. The Videos app has some of the functionality that's missing from the Music app, such as allowing you to delete stuff you don't want to play again.