The Touch doesn't have Bluetooth. I have a 3 year old Palm Life that, without Jailbreak or anything, will do everything the Touch will do, and more. Yep, it's thicker, and only has a 4 GB drive. But the SD slot let's you load the music/videos you want and swap them at your leisure. No transferring at USB speeds.

And with a $19 application, I can use the phone with a Stero Bluetooth headset.

Oh, and if you want it thinner and newer, the Palm TX and use 8GB SD cards. Swap as needed.

I've been told that Apple is releasing a 16GB version of the Touch in January after Q4 earnings reports come out. I actually looked at one the other day and liked what I saw, but $300 for only 8GB capacity seems a bit weak when I can spend the same money for the "classic" model and get 80GB.

I think I'm going to wait on this one.

As with most electronic doohickeys, the people that buy at initial release are suckers that end up getting taken to the cleaners. In a year they'll have much better models and they'll probably be half of what they cost today.

yes, we know...red thinks his Lifedrive is the cat's meow and Wayne hates the iPhone because it doesn't add the right cream to his coffee ;)

Can't speak for the touch, but the iPhone is incredibly tough. I have dropped it multiple times onto asphalt. I have managed to bend the corner (the thin aluminum case portion bows a bit near the ringer mute switch) but the phone chugs right along and I have yet to scratch the screen. I haven't used a screen protector ever and the phone sees use/abuse every single day and has traveled multiple times.

It ain't perfect, but it is the best device of its type to ever come along, period imho. And I've played with them all...

I'm figuring that we might see rev 2 of the phone at MW. At this point I would like MMS, 3G, and live (over-air) calendar sync. I've been able to live quite well without those features, but they would be nice to have.

and a year after that, the same story.

At some point you get in the game. Or you just sit on the sidelines and watch for the rest of your life. Just depends what you want to spend your time/money on. I can say that the iPhone has greatly simplified my device life. I used to be always looking for something that did this or that. I've quit worrying about it...the iPhone does pretty much everything I need. Tossed the rest of the stuff out. Don't read the rumor sites or buy any other trinkets. Same thing happened with my basses about 8 years ago. Found the instruments and amps I liked, and haven't felt the need to "upgrade" since. I'm trying to do that with my HT setup now. I'm close, but still need a tweak or two.

I'm a "sucker" who bought the iPhone at the release. :D No scratches on the screen and I don't use a screen protector either. Works perfectly and mine checks mail every fifteen minutes . . . no battery issues, but I do charge it each night as I have with all my previous phones.

The iPhone has changed the market and is now the leader in market share in the smart phone field. Unix in my pocket and it looks purdy too.

Zealously yours,

Kurt

Yep, it's the cat's meow!

funny thing, youtube works better on my touch than it does on my PC...very entertaining to see what some people will post on the internet.

Evolution of Dance, and Pachelbel Rant are sooooo funny!!!!

OK, here's the devil's advocate position (and possibly the opportunity for someone to convince me to go get one):

The $300 question:

"If I've lived my life just fine up to now without an iPhone, iPod or other 'electronic-doohickey-du-jour', so why exactly do I need one now all of a sudden?"

Sorry to sound Theodore Kaczynski-ish here, but I really find "consumer electronics" to be a rip-off of epic proportions more often than not. I use a computer at work, yes - but it's mostly because I have to, not because I want to. I tend to jot notes to myself on a $0.99 notepad with a $0.19 pencil, which works just as well as a $400 electronic thing-a-ma-jig, and it doesn't need batteries or kill the environment or short out if I drop it in a puddle by accident. It isn't "Made in China" either, which actually means a lot to me. If I need to go somewhere unfamiliar, I use a $2.99 map, not a $999 GPS unit. Or I print out MapQuest directions ahead of time and take them with me. I INTENSELY dislike electronics in vehicles and the tendency towards "digital everything". It ain't necessarily better.

I actually prefer hand sketching to AutoCAD and models to 3D-Studio renderings. It's just my nature I guess. I (generally) prefer the real world to the synthetic world of electronic junk that so many people are so enamored with. I'm not a total anti-technologist here (I do use the Internet a lot and see the value of certain innovations), but I think it's WAY overdone for WAY too many people. I actually don't even particularly like having a cell phone and generally don't use it for much other than calling my wife occasionally or texting a friend about something. I don't see the need (or the desire, personally) to be connected to the world via electronic leash 24/7/365.

I spend VERY little on electronic fads every year, and don't generally regret it. I've considered (and rejected) getting an XBox 360, an iPhone, a plasma television, HDTV and VOIP - all just within the past year. However, if there's someone out there who can convince me as to why exactly any of these things are so indispensable and cool and why I absolutely will be better off with one, I'll take it under advisement.

Salesmen, take your best shot and convince me here. Am I missing something entirely? Am I being hopelessly "old fashioned" or am I really (as I suspect) peeling back the B.S. veneer of yet another overpriced toy that will be in landfills in under three years?

you are correct, this device is not for you.

Luddite!

Soon you'll be throwing your sabots into the machinery...

Made in China bothers you? You better go through and toss out most of the stuff in your house. And car for that matter. How about Hencho en Mexico? Is that ok?

You have taken the luddite/anti-tech/digital-backlash position. That is fine. I understand that quite well actually. Hell, I actually study it. The bottom line is that there are a TON of things that you don't *need* in the world. Take a look around your kitchen, bathroom, living room, garage, etc. Do you need power tools? Do you need a food processor, electric can opener, microwave oven, etc?

Of course one doesn't *need* the iPhone. If you go to a 3rd world country for awhile, you can see the things you actually do need to live...and it is a pretty small subset of what most Americans own. The question really is, given that you have disposable income, does something make your live easier? Does it give you enjoyment? Does it increase your productivity? Note that these are not necessarily overlapping things.

When I take inventory of my "stuff", I find that I am in excess in some areas that *I* care about, and in deficit in others I don't. I'm into technology, and in fact, get paid (in part) to know wtf I'm talking about in the area. Plus I live a very digital work and lifestyle. Could I live less digital? Sure, and I actually am trying to do that. But my iPhone allows me to be connected when I want regardless of location. That is important to me, increases my productivity, and makes my bosses happy. And if I don't want to, I don't have to answer/look.

If you accept that this type of digital connectivity is important to you, then you have a number of choices. Plenty of products out there vying for your attention. And while I value performance and capabilities, I also have a strong sense of aesthetic. To me, form and function cannot be separated. As such, the design of the technology is important. Not just shiny fluff, but serious thought put into how things work, and the analog (person) digital (device and data) interface. To me, Apple consistently does this better than any other company out there. So it invariably becomes a pretty easy choice. I still will look at some of the other offerings, largely because I need to keep up on them. But when I play with them, I find them lacking. Kinda like having to leave your 911 in the garage while someone tries to talk you into a Corolla.

FWIW your pad of paper is almost certainly from China:)

I bought one of these a month or so ago. Then upgraded my accompanying sound setup. Is it indispensable? Of course not. Is it cool? Depends what you're into.

I love music and sound. Been a musician since I was 8 years old. I love to get lost in a good recording (and also love to get lost playing music as well). I can hear the difference between a $100 pair of speakers and a $1000 pair of speakers. It gives me great pleasure to sit and listen to music that I love presented with a big soundstage and great detail. To me, that is cool. So I spend a chunk of money to chase what I think the music should sound like.

Over the past few years I've gotten more into video and cinema, and lately it has become part of my job(s). As such I've been doing the classic cinema school student activity of watching a lot of movies. I love analog. I love film. But I can't buy 35mm prints of movies and theaters aren't showing the films I want to see. So a plasma with a good upconverting dvd player allows me to get a much better "filmic" experience. I can see the movie in the right aspect ratio, the colors are rich, I can see the detail that the director saw, etc. To me, that is cool. So I spend a chunk of money to chase what I think the film should look like (and sound like, but that is covered by the above chasing).

No sales pitch. You either care about this stuff or you don't. There is no right or wrong. I don't have a garage full of nice tools, nor do I have a closet full of nice clothes and shoes. Or a kitchen full of nice cooking stuff. Or expensive furniture. Just clean functional stuff, a really nice sound/video setup, musical instruments and studio setup. Horses for courses, and different strokes...

Yea I agree with you. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. These devices are cool and if that's what floats your boat - fine by me.

It just seems to me that a lot of these devices developed (at great expense, damage to our own economy, at high environmental cost due to toxic materials and embedded energy costs of production, etc.) to supposedly "make our lives easier" really do the opposite.

You have to spend SO much time downloading upgrades and patches and accessorizing these things, configuring them, etc. that it actually takes MORE time in the long run than simply solving the problem(s) they're meant to address another way. Computers are a perfect example. Why the hell do I need to spend $1,500 on a computer, god-knows-how-many hours of some IT geek's time to configure and maintain the stuff, just to draft and write a 2-page letter that I could write by hand in 10 minutes or type on an "old fashioned" typewriter in five? Yes, I understand there are SOME applications where the computer word processor might make more sense - if you're having to make many letters to a mailing list, or embed graphics or whatever. But the point is, 99% of the people out there DON'T need that particular tool. They've been convinced by slick marketing, not by superiority of product. I guess when the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems start looking like nails. And Bill Gates, Sony, LG and Apple are excellent marketers of hammers.

One of the reasons I like my 911 so much is because the most complicated electronic gizmo in it is the headlight switch. :)

OK maybe I am being a little "backlash" against electronics. I guess I just get sort of turned off by the throngs of people that mindlessly swallow this marketing crap and sell out our country to China in the name of getting more of it - for no REASON other than to have more of it. Yes, it bugs me.

you don't use a Mac, do you? ;)

what part of "god knows-how-many hours of some IT geek's time" didn't you get LOL

well this is my 3rd iPod and in my family alone we have 7...all of which are being used daily and as intended. If my older iPod ever does stop working then it deserves it.

Like Todd I really enjoy the quality of Video and Sound through these and other devices. We all make choices and with me it's my bikes, and video/sound equipment that "float my boat". Now with 4 kids I must make some good choices as if the toys don't last then I can't afford to get new ones.

But I am a tech geek for sure, always have been.

My next computer will be a Mac for sure!

Yea, I guess that was my way of saying "PC". :)

It's kind of funny the trend we're seeing in AAPL right now. IMHO their products have ALWAYS been better. They simply got out-marketed by Micro$oft who was able to establish themselves as the standard. Now that those walls are breaking down, people seem to be realizing that the Apple products are not only better, but easier to use and slicker.

I'm not saying that their products are necessarily bad, just that I'm turned off by the over-popularization of electronic gadgetry - it has a lot of downsides and the only upside in a large percentage is a PERCEPTION of increased efficiency, not an actual one.

The trend right now is to use technology and electronics as a substitute for common sense and intelligence. That's a real problem. How many high school graduates today could solve rudimentary math problems without a calculator, laptop or other gizmo? I'd bet precious few.

One of my favorite ways to evaluate whether someone "gets it" or not in my own profession (architectural design) is NOT to give them an AutoCAD competency evaluation (which many expect at interview time), but to slide a blank sheet of paper and a pencil over to them, describe a simple design problem and ask them to sketch out a solution. You'd be surprised how few people can actually do that. Schools seem more concerned today about cranking out good computer terminal occupants that can make the computer draw funky forms, not necessarily developing the gray matter of the individuals they're "teaching". Personally I don't really care how cool your 3D CAD renderings are - can you visualize things in three dimensions without the computer? Can you think about adjacencies and code issues as you plan spaces for people to live and work? Can you "sense" the character of the spaces you are drawing - or are you just directing the computer to slap lines down on a screen without much meaning behind them?

Technology in the right hands for the right purpose is awesome and can be very useful. It really CAN enhance efficiency and solve problems quicker. But it's misused more often than not. I guess that's my core gripe. People don't want the tool to help them do the work better - they want the tool to do the work for them entirely. . .

This is going to become a real problem in the coming years if we keep going down the same path. Yes, gizmos are cool, but "cool toys" are not enough to build or sustain a culture or an economy.

I'll buy one when they put ~500GB of storage in it. Until then, I can't put all my music and videos on it. And you just know Apple is holding back with 16GB.

Then again, I never bought a Discman because they kept getting cheaper, then iPods became available! :)

Funny you should say that! Even if you have the skills coming out of High School/Uni/College, you can easily lose them very quickly in the workplace.

I work as an analyst at an Investment Bank and deal with numbers constantly. Yet recently during a night out, I was unable to add up the tip on the bill for dinner! Why? Well basically, I hadn't used my head to calculate anything for about 10 months!

Anyway, moral of the story - keep using your brain or you'll lose it!