If you want an iPod Touch, get an iPhone.
When I recently argued that the iPhone is a better buy than the iPod Touch, even if one never uses the iPhone’s phone functionality, I should have explained myself in detail in a front-page post instead of going back and forth with Maxator on his blog. At least now, I feel somewhat justified, because if I hadn’t refuted him, he’d have two iPod Touches at home instead of two mint iPhones that he just activated with AT&T.
Nevermind the activation, however, because the gist why the iPhone is better will henceforth be summarized:
The iPhone, using third-party, free applications, can be faux-authorized to make it look as though it underwent authorization with AT&T. This allows an iPhone user to have all the non-phone features of the iPhone available, effectively turning it into a Touch “Pro”. I make this distinction because the iPhone has numerous features that the Touch does not have, and even if one doesn’t need things like another digital camera, bluetooth, et al, the iPhone still has a slightly bigger screen, external volume controls, an external speaker, and better video quality than the Touch. Furthermore, the iPhone is not gimped, whereas the Touch is missing various applications and features, such as the e-mail application and the ability to add/edit calendar events. Nevermind that the iPhone can be used as a phone if one wants, and has been “jailbroken” to allow for the installation of third-party applications.
For those still unsure about the Touch versus the iPhone, an excerpt from my conversation with Maxator:
My advice to any consumer is this: if you want a Touch, buy the iPhone and don’t use the phone functionality. You will get a better media player, with more functionality, for the same price as the Touch by picking up an iPhone. The only thing you give up is 8GB of memory, but you gain so much more from the iPhone’s other features. And, if you’re one of the people who do want to make calls on the iPhone, then you can get cellular service on it quickly and easily. In the meantime, you’ll enjoy the Touch “Pro”.
The iPhone: same price as the Touch, with more features, and no need to pay a monthly fee if all one wants is a media player. Hackable, capable of cell phone use, and an all-around better gadget. How many uninformed people will be walking around with a Touch at the end of this holiday season, when they should instead be caressing the superior Apple touch-screen tech-toy. Uninformed masses.
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Although I appreciate your advice and the great amount of help you provided with questions about the Iphone, I wouldn’t exactly cite you “refuting me” as the reason or even the main reason I got an Iphone. As I have said before, if one is happy with their carrier/phone, doesn’t want to sell their soul to AT&T or have to hack their product after every firmware update; or is just interested in a media player, the Touch is still a great product. If I hadn’t happened to be able to end my wireless contract on the week I was buying my Ipod Touch, I would be the proud owner of one. As luck would have it, I was in the market for a new carrier and an Ipod at the same time and I decided to make the leap.
After several days of using my Iphone, I will be the first to admit that I love it (http://theworldofmaxator.blogspot.com/2007/09/nerdgasm-my-first-24-hours-with-iphone.html), but I quote a wise and learned man who once told me, “the iPhone is a novelty whose features do not surpass that of most other phones. Quite simply, getting a much cheaper cellular telephone and an iPod is a better deal until a second-generation iPhone hits the market.” This wise man was WyldKard himself… Well put sir. Well put.
The refutation may not be the reason you got two iPhones, but it undoubtedly influenced your decision to pick them up in lieu of Touch’s. As my current mantra goes, after all, they do more than the Touch with the same amount of money spent.
Your blog post, BTW, is already linked in the opening paragraph of this mendax.org entry.
As far as my quote goes, it was made when the iPhone could not be unlocked, when native apps didn’t exist to the extent they do now, and when the iPhone was $200 more expensive. Things have certainly changed since then, and similarly, the Touch may one day become a better buy than the iPhone if prices drop considerably or additional functionality is included, but at present, it’s a poor buy.
[...] concrete enough, since the radio firmware can’t yet be downgraded, resulting in an iPod Touch Pro, and not a phone-capable [...]