I was fortunate enough to attend World Youth Day 2008 this past summer in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, I lost my Apple IPod while I was there!
Once I arrived back in the States, I hopped on to my favorite website to buy gadgets…Ebay…and started looking for an IPod Touch.
Eventually, I won a brand new 32GB version complete with a software upgrade for about $410 with shipping included. (This model retails for $499 on Apple.com.)
I have had my IPod for about four months now and can say positively that I love it. It’s sleek and stylish and has a multitude of new features the other IPod models could only dream of.
Pros:
1. It’s pretty (like all Apple products.)
2. The program features are similar to that of an Apple computer: Safari, Stocks, Mail, Photos, Calendar, Contacts, Weather, Youtube, etc. You can also add additional applications free of charge from ITunes. I have added a Facebook application as well as various movie applications such as for show times and trailers.
3. There are more ways to get to what you want faster. Instead of always pressing the back button like on an IPod Classic, the IPod Touch has a bottom menu in the music application to easily select playlists, artists, songs, albums, and “more” options which leads to another menu for genres, podcasts, etc.
4. The IPod Touch has two design options. If kept upright as in the photo above the text reads vertically. However, if turned to the side the entire face of the screen flips horizontally. This is especially useful if reading a website on the Safari application or watching a video stored on the device or through the YouTube application. If you’re listening to music it also feels way more “gadgety” to flip through the albums like so:
Cons:
1. The IPod must be completely still to switch in between vertical and horizontal faces. If you’re on the treadmill at the gym, this can be difficult.
2. The headphones plug in at the bottom of the IPod. This isn’t really a bad thing, it was just strange to get used to as all of the other IPod models are the opposite way.
3. And then there’s the Wi-Fi connection… In order to use Safari or an application that needs the internet like Facebook or Google maps, you must be near a wireless internet connection. Being that I live in a major city (Los Angeles) I find that it’s not difficult at all to find a wireless connection, even if I’m driving through a neighborhood. I’ve even pulled over in my car when lost to use the maps application. However, if you live in a rural area, this scheme might not work for you.
All in all, I love my IPod Touch and would totally save it if my dorm caught on fire. It’s pretty expensive, but in the end it’s like a small computer, which can be handy in a number of situations. I am still a committed Apple Macintosh fan and hope you are too.
Pax Christi, Rebecca.
Thanks to Kelly for the heads up on a great post entitled 20 iPhone Apps to Increase Your Productivity. The selected apps include choices for organization, money & business, travel, and home/personal tools.
I’m having fun playing around with all of the new applications offered on my iPhone through the App Store. Even though I haven’t upgraded, my phone still feels like a new toy/tool for productivity. I thought I’d investigate a few of the apps in the Productivity category of the App Store and share my thoughts with you. I will only be reviewing the free apps, but if anyone wants to give me access to their tools with fees, I would love to check those out as well and share my thoughts 
My Brother works for one of the large cell phone companies and is always telling me different cell-phone tips. This one, I use quite a bit, and it comes in handy too.