Impressed by a Touch…….iPod, that is

Got a look at my pal’s partner’s Ipod Touch he got her for xmas, and my oh my did I get involved?
It seems quite an impressive bit of technology (with wi-fi access to hand), and I wondered if there was a consensus for or agin it.

My other half’s suggesting shuffles for her and the wean, and the purchase of a docking station to ‘take us into the 21st century’. I see it as another subtle erosion of my presence in the house leading to the mothballing of my CD player and amp and speakers (admittedly old, but still operational.
However, if the Touch is as useful/entertaining/vfm as my brief exposure would tempt me into thinking, then it could be just the thing for a spring birthday. (That, or a new watch, or a contribution to the new bike pay-off the credit agreement early plan).

Anyone got more experience and a more informed opinion on the product? Also, what about docking stations. She likes the look of Bose, and I heard a mate’s B&W zeppelin shaped thingy. What thoughts?

Just go one for Chrimbo Mike, sweet little gadget! I’ve ripepd about 250 CDs onto it (32Gb) and still less than half full. Just figured out how to get DVDs onto it tonight so thats the next game..

Really handy for quickly checking email etc. but can’t comment on docking stations and car radio-transmitters yet – a work in progress..

Get one, you know you want to!

Watch out for making sure that accessories work with it, especially chargers. They need to supply 5v via the USB pins in the connector. The 2g Touch doesn’t support firewire, unlike previous models.

its good, i got mrs scraprider a 16 gb one for xmas , she loves itas fishboy says . you know you want to 😉

my cousin got one and a friend has the iphone, lovely stuff and def on my list when the price starts to drop a bit

I’ve got an Iphone… all the goodness of the touch… and more..

Can’t reccomend them highly enough…

use my touch in the car with a transmitter thingy, and in the bedroom with adocking-station thingy(got them for my birthday) really good. use the internet stuff for downloading podcasts etc. rather than email.
would never have bought myself a pod, but I quite love it now!

oh dear as a pc tecy, I have an aversions to mac’s (hey I’d be out of a job if we all had em 🙄 ) but my g/f new Iphone has had me enthralled for hours – she keeps asking for it back.

I’m writing this from my iPhone that my lovely missus bought me for chrimbo (mainly to stop me nicking her touch all the time).

Both devices are ace, though I have to say that I rarely use either for actually listening to music. The whole handheld instant-on Internet is great, as is being able to send email from the bog and watch iPlayer in bed. (not too mention the benefits of handheld filth…)

Yep – can’t agree more. I got an 2G touch for my Birthday and it’s ace – wifi is excellent, as are the games…and it plays music quite well too.

I can also relate to the Hifi mothballing – my lovely floor-standing speakers have been relegated to the loft in favour of a sounddock – not bought yet… still trying to decide which one to get!!!

I can recommend the Parrot “made for iPod” handsfree kits too – makes my commute much more enjoyable….and more legal :o)

I don’t see the point of these docks. If you have a nice hi-fi setup then why not just plug your iPod into that (e.g. Via headphone jack to phono cables) rather than wasting money on something that gives inferior sound?

Yep, I got myself an itouch before christmas. The wealth of apps available for it are astounding and the pay for ones are pretty cheap.

Good with wireless, it works at home and anywhere there is free wireless (or indeed, pay for wireless). Lovely piece of kit, can’t recommend it enough.

As above though, there are a few small issues….

It doesn’t charge with my speaker system or my in car ICE system. The battery life is good but nowhere near as good as my ipod classic which can go for days continuous without charging. But I usually use it on the way into work so can charge it when I get there and at home. It charges very quickly.

At the moment, it doesn’t support Java, which for me is a bit of an issue.

They are, (and this is from my professional perspective), extremely insecure, don’t trust them with anything important.

All that aside, I’m really glad I got it. The screen is big enough to watch a full length movie on with no problems and the screen and video quality is awesome. The dark knight looks amazing on it.

Re: charging with your speaker system. Just buy a wall charger? You can buy car chargers too.

Out of intetest, why is the lack of Java an issue? Personally I’d rather see better Flash support.

Writing this on a touch my wife got me at christmas, lying in bed and browsing the web and listening to my music, brilliant,
PJ. 🙂

How does the browser handle proxy servers and similar where a network requires it?

From my experiences the browser is fantastic. The zoom feature is great, I just wish I could get something as good for my Windows Mobile palmtop.

I bought a Mac classic recently but was tempted by the touch. But it is quite expensive for the big storage versions and I have a palmtop which does the internet, but more importantly has a pdf viewer for uni notes. You might be able to get a viewer as an app for the iPod though, does anyone know?

Been using mine since oct 07. They’re a lot cheaper than when they first came out and the external volume and speaker are a bonus on the g2. Griffin auto pilot in the car with line in. Has the controls you need on the charger.
For PDF viewing, I use air share, which acts as an wireles hd.
I’d keep the old amp & just get a dock that plugs into an RCA. Yamaha or Sony do nice ones.
As for apps;
VNC to log into your computer
Snatch turns it into a touchpad mouse.
Gashog for keeping track of mileage.
Farts for amusement.

GrahamS – Member

I don’t see the point of these docks. If you have a nice hi-fi setup then why not just plug your iPod into that (e.g. Via headphone jack to phono cables) rather than wasting money on something that gives inferior sound?

Do Both! I have a Bose SoundStation in the kitchen and a lead for when I want to connect it to the hifi in the front room. The Bose thingy also charges it up as it plays.

I was an ipod sceptic too until I was bought a nano by my former work colleagues as a leaving gift. Fantastic bits of kit.

Yeah that makes sense when you don’t have a hi-fi to put it into, but mothballing a good hi-fi seems mad. I just have a wall charger and phono lead next to my hi-fi and I hook my iPod up to both of them when I want to play music from it.

iPod wall charger is £5 and I already had a phono cable. Bose Sounddock is £150.

You can get ipod docks intended for connecting to a stereo, just a cradle with a power connection to charge it and a phono lead ouput. Same thing as getting a phono lead and a charger really, but it’s a bit neater, and you can probably get one with a remote, which might be handy.

yep, you can get the powered cradles with a remote… which is dead handy if your amp doesn’t have a remote!… i.e. for hitting pause when the phone rings!

Hi, has anyone got a recommendation for one of the powered docks with audio cables, oh and with remote would be good too?

I’ve got a 1st generation, and my wife’s got a 2nd generation, and the speaker although tinny is quite useful sometimes, and the 2nd generation is definitely nicer in your hand.

If you get an Apple Universal Dock, and the special Apple Component Cable (outrageously expensive), you can play telly and films from your iPod into your TV (quite useful on holiday); and you get a diddy white remote.

I have an iPhone 3g and absolutely love it. I hardly use my PC now at all, only to list stuff for eBay and to do table intensive websites. At first it seems a little simple but as you get used to it and find all the stuff it can do the negatives seem less important (no cut and paste, business cards or picture messaging). I will certainly be having a new one when this contract runs out.

I fancy getting one of these, but am torn between buying one outright, and getting one on contract. What do i-phone owners reckon is the best option?

With an iPhone you absolutely must get unlimited data. I have received 944mb since September and I shudder to think how much that would cost me on my last orange contract. £35 a month with o2 has 500mins and 600texts which is ample for me. Get a 16gb one too, I made the mistake of getting the 8gb one and wish I had paid more. I think it might be free now though. No issues with o2 myself either. Getting apple care package is well worth thinking about. I have not damaged mine even though I use it everywhere (including bike) but a work colleague smashed his to bits dropping it 6ft onto tiles at the gym the first week he had it (£70 for new screen!!)