Tag Archive for 'iphone'

iPhone vs. iPod Touch: Which to buy?

Now that I’ve sold my old iBook, it’s time to waste some money!  And what better way to waste money than to buy Apple products?

As someone who is very good at selecting none but the most successful portable devices (I have a both a Cybiko AND a Game.com), I feel that the time has come to buy another useless electronic gadget!  With that in mind, I’m currently looking at either buying an iPhone or iPod Touch.  Since I plan to jailbreak either device, the software would end up completely on-par, regardless of which product I bought.  As such, the differences come down to two factors: the hardware, and the price.

Both the iPhone and the iPod Touch can function as basic PDAs with standard PIM functions, in addition to more advanced features such as music and video playback, and the Internet via Wi-Fi.  In addition to everything included with the iPod Touch, the iPhone, at an additional cost of $100, offers basic phone functionality, an internal speaker and microphone, and a camera.

So which to get?

Right now, I use a Motorola v330.  It’s been good and durable, and has only broken once, at which point I was able replace it with an identical phone I got at a yard sale for $0.50.  I’m pretty sure that with an iPhone, a $0.50 would be somewhat hard to come by.  While I like the idea of a phone that can do everything a PDA can do, I’m a bit wary about carrying such a fragile device with me everywhere, thanks to me tendency to…you know…drop things.  I also like the external speaker on the iPhone.  I mean, how are you supposed to watch YouTube properly without it!?

According to several sources, the 3G iPhone is coming out this June.  While 3G functionality isn’t something I particularly care about (I use T-mobile pay as you go, which A. doesn’t come with access to the internet and B. T-mobile doesn’t have a 3G network, anyway), a new iPhone means something else: all the early adopters will sell their old 2.5G phones, and the prices will plummet!  Maybe!

So should I get an iPod Touch now, or wait, and get an iPhone?

Instead of offering a real conclusion, I think I’ll just wait until June, see what happens, and decide then!