I finally got my hands on an iPod Touch.
*Glee*
Answering a Burning Desire
When the iPhone came out I wanted one so badly it hurt, but my contract with Verizon wasn't up for a few months, and $600 was too much. A few months later my contract was up and the iPhone had dropped to $400, but AT&T's coverage around here is even worse than Verizon's (which is, itself, terrible), and the extra $20 per month for the iPhone data plan brought the eventual cost to $880 (with a two year contract), so I still couldn't justify it. I renewed my (and my wife's) contract with Verizon, and got a MotoKrzr. It's an alright phone, and I love being able to use a bluetooth headset, but the internet functions are terrible, and everything else it does it does worse than the iPhone, or for additional monthly cost (damn you for locking down all of the great features, Verizon), or not at all.
I got a fantastic deal on a Palm Tungsten E2 some time later and liked it well enough, and it sated my desire for a super portable device that would hold my contacts, calendar, notes, etc... at least for a while. After a few months the little issues got to be too much (the mail program didn't work, it constantly re-formatted phone numbers, addresses, and even contacts' names, it added numerous empty contacts for no reason, the syncing was clunky overall and as often as not it failed due to some mysterious problem, etc.), and it stopped syncing contacts altogether (I think it's an incompatibility with Leopard). With regret I realized that the Palm just wasn't going to cut it. I'd really come to like having that sort of device at hand though, it helped both personally and professionally.
By this time, Apple come out with the iPod Touch, essentially an iPhone without the phone (or camera, or bluetooth). Initially it looked nice, but it didn't do e-mail, notes, or a couple of other things the iPhone did, and that I needed or wanted. Then Apple updated the Touch with Mail, Notes, and more. With the iPhone/Touch SDK on the horizon, it looked like the Touch had finally become a viable PDA replacement. It did what I needed already, and held the promise of doing more down the line. Then the 32GB version came out, and I knew I had to have it.
Also by this time I'd become self employed, so I had a new tool at my disposal: business expense deductions. If I can justify something as a business expense, and if the business itself can afford it (using money left in the business account for this purpose), then I can get it and claim it as a deductible expense come tax time. The rule of thumb seems to be that you get somewhere between 25% and 30% of a business expense back in tax savings, assuming you are profitable (though it helps even if you aren't). Since I'd been using the Palm mostly for business, it's reasonable to call its replacement a business purchase. I already had a business line of credit with Amazon.com, and enough in the bank, so I went for it. I even got one of the clip-style iPod Shuffles for free with it. I've always been a fan of the Shuffle (I still use my 1st Gen Shuffle regularly), so I figured why not?
Thoughts So Far
I'm really happy with the Touch. It looks fantastic, the interface is responsive and fun to navigate, and it syncs flawlessly with Address Book, Mail, iCal, iTunes, iPhoto, etc. The WiFi internet feature works beautifully, and has already proven itself. While I was out and about the other day, I realized that Id forgotten to make an important online bill payment. I pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant that offers free WiFi, and using my iPod Touch logged in and made a payment in just a few minutes. A few minutes later I received an e-mail confirmation, also on the Touch. I used the time in between to send a few emails I'd been meaning to send. Brilliant.
Of course, it's not all roses. The Notes feature is nifty, but it seems oddly hobbled. It doesn't seem to sync with anything, even Mail's notes, which I think are the same thing (they even look identical, graphically). You can e-mail yourself a note, but it would be handier to have them automatically sync both ways. Also, the iPod Touch is apparently incompatible with my Harmon/Kardon Drive+Play. Harmon/Kardon says it should work, but it keeps shutting itself off when I try it (I've sent them an e-mail, we'll see if there's any way to make it work). It also doesn't work with the Logic3 dock/speakers I have on my desk. Well, it works, but it makes strange sounds over the music. I've tried it with other, newer speakers and they work without problem. To be honest, I've been looking at replacing it anyway, but it is annoying. Oh, and I really wish it wouldn't scale photos down so much when it brings them in from iPhoto. It has this beautiful interface for zooming, panning, and exploring photos, and then it scales them down until they look terrible even when zoomed to fit. Meh.
Web Apps, SDKs, etc.
Most of what's available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, for additional software, comes in two varieties: web apps, and apps you install after "jail breaking" the device. I don't have any interesting in jail breaking - I'm neither adventurous nor desperate enough to try it - which leaves me with web apps, for now. There are actually some pretty good ones. So long as I'm in a WiFi area, I have access to currency converters, loan calculators, detailed weather, Sudoku, phone directories, FedEx package tracking, etc. And all from the Touch's home screen, thanks to the ability to rearrange and add to it. It's pretty cool, but having to be in a WiFi area reduces its usefulness. Some I've found are "data URLs", which apparently means they can work offline. Cool, but most of those seem to be very simple so far.
What I've been more impressed by are some of the ways people have found to enhance the web browser using the bookmark function. I have an app called 1Password, which stores passwords and allows you to use them by remembering one master password. It's handy, and actually works quite well. The latest version includes the option to export your passwords to an iPhone (or Touch). The cool part is that it allows for autofilling. Go to a page you want to access, then pull up your bookmarks and select the "1Password Logins" bookmark. A small window pops up asking for your master password, once you've entered that it fills in the necessary fields. Very cool, and very useful.
Even more interesting (to me) is a Bookmarklet called "Tabulate". Hitting this bookmark while on a page gives you more options for opening links. Rather than simply opening in the current tab (or a new tab if the link is programmed to open in a new window), a window pops up giving you three options: Open in this tab, open in a new tab, or save for later. Save for later will collect links, then open them all at once when you tell it to. This dramatically eases web browsing for me, especially on news site, when I will typically open a number of new tabs while still browsing the original page. Major props to the people behind Tabulate.
As for the SDK, it looks like that will be a little ways off. Oh well, there will be third party apps eventually, and right now the Touch does all of the important things I need it to do, so I'm OK with that. That being said, here are a few apps to make if you want my download, or even (if it's really good) my money:
1. A solid task management program, preferably one that's streamlined, has a desktop component, and that syncs with iCal.
2. A program that lets me view full sized photos on the Touch, or at least much larger ones than I currently can, but using the same interface as current photos.
3. A wireless syncing program, even if it only syncs Contact, Calendars, Mail, and Bookmarks, so I can sync over my home WiFi without even being in the same room.
4. A way to sync notes with something on the desktop computer. It's stupid that they're stuck in the Touch like they are (Megaphone looks nice, but I think I'll hold off to see if someone comes up with an even more integrated solution).
5. Some fun little games would be nice, the Touch is practically made for point and click adventures, and simple shooting and puzzle games.
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