I Love My iPod Touch

Nathan Voxland November 14, 2008 Mobile 2 Comments

Have I mentioned how that I love my iPod Touch? Probably not, this is a new blog…

I see the iPod Touch as not a music player, but an instant-on computer that you can carry with you all the time.  What is not to love about that?  What makes it a computer and not a PDA is having a real web browser.  I have carried a PDA with me since the Palm III and have always loved having pre-downloaded news (remember AvantGo?), ebooks, music, applications, and games with me at all time, but without the Internet it is just a PDA.  My Palm T3 had the ability to connect to the Internet via bluetooth and browse the web, but the browser was so bad it firmly stayed in PDA territory.  With the Safari browser on the iPod Touch, however, you have a real browsing experience and that makes it a real, pocket-size computer–the first of its kind.

At this point in time, the need for a computer can be broken down into two distinct areas: Internet and Desktop Apps. Both are important, but they have have very different requirements.  Desktop Apps need screen size, keyboard and mouse control, and processing power (think video editing, office, programming).  Internet, on the other hand, needs to be with you all the time.  The Internet is all about information, and the information you want is the most valuable NOW.

While you can certainly fire up Firefox on your deskop/laptop the next time you are near it, what you really need is a Internet platform that you can ALWAYS have with you.  The only device that currently matches that requirement is the iPod Touch/iPhone.  There are times when I look at netbook computers like the Asus eee and the MSI Wind and the gadget geek in me says “I reaaaaaly need to get one of those”.  When it comes down to it, however, they are too small for desktop apps yet lack the portability required for the Internet.

Now if only the iPhone was available in my area…..

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2 Responses to “I Love My iPod Touch”

  1. Javier said:

    Nov 20, 08 at 1:21 pm

    What about psp?

  2. Nathan Voxland said:

    Nov 20, 08 at 2:06 pm

    To be honest, I have used a PSP only in passing. I would, however, say that form factor of the the ipod touch will allow you to keep it in your pocket all the time while the PSP will not. That always-available feature is huge in an Internet platform.

    Also, the PSP does not have a touch screen if I remember correctly. The ability to zoom in and out of a page with a touch is a big part of what makes the browser on the iPod as useful as it is and I don’t see how a non-touch browser could implement the same ease of use.

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