iPod Touch

Posted by Hugh
Apr 14, 2009 at 05:45 PM

I want to add to Ken’s comments in a recent thread about the iPod Touch as a PDA (and implicitly the iPhone as a PDA).

I received an iPod Touch as a present a couple of weeks ago, having been a long-time Palm owner. So far, so exceeding my expectations by a long way.

Plus points:

- it’s a beautiful object with an exceptional screen (more pocketable and less clumsy than my TX)

- my pre-conception was that for most purposes using a finger on the screen would be prohibitively awkward. But it isn’t. Coupled with Apple’s gestures and no need to unholster a stylus every time, it’s generally as efficient as the Palm’s system

- the applications are generally easier to use than the equivalent on the Palm, partly because of Apple’s UI uniformity

- for certain applications, synch-ing is easier than on the Palm

- the Apple App Store is an impressive asset, with most apps free or much less expensive than the Palm equivalent (though it has to be said, probably an app-for-app comparison would show the iPod apps are less sophisticated)

- although the range of traditional outliners available is small, one at least seems satisfactory for most purposes - http://carbonfin.com/ - comparable to, say, Thought Manager

Negatives:

- no OS cut-and-paste as yet

- less inter-operability between some apps than might be expected; other than music, you can’t run apps in the background yet

- no equivalent of Docs To Go - but you wouldn’t want to write a long document on the iPod

- no external keyboard available, and the software keyboard can be tedious to use in portrait mode, though better in landscape (however Shapewriter - http://www.shapewriter.com/ - is better still - I think I’m already as fast with it as I am with Graffiti on the Palm)

- synch-ing with certain applications can be more cumbersome than on the Palm

- you need a Mac to get the full value of some of the best iPod/iPhone apps.

Some of these weaknesses are likely to be addressed with the release of Version 3 of the OS this summer. But even now, it’s still a very useful device.