So when you're not in a wifi hotspot, what can you do?

[podca]

IF you need the ipod touch for EMAIL and email only....

there's no edge
there's no mail application
there's no notepad

you can't write email/save email. you're disconnected from gmail. you can't use gmail notes or webmail features when you're not online...

so when you're not in a hotspot, is the ipod touch pretty much useless?


can you save webpages atleast for reading? or pdf documents, word etc?

[Freud]

IF you need the ipod touch for EMAIL and email only....

there's no edge
there's no mail application
there's no notepad

you can't write email/save email. you're disconnected from gmail. you can't use gmail notes or webmail features when you're not online...

so when you're not in a hotspot, is the ipod touch pretty much useless?


can you save webpages atleast for reading? or pdf documents, word etc?


Ah....well you can listen to music and watch videos...I guess that's useless.

Idiot.

[podca]

Yes that is useless because of the situation .... which I mentioned first sentence.

This can happen when a person is deaf, or have no "use" for such features.

[Partifaction]

Why get an iPod Touch if your not gonna use it for music nor videos? Just get a laptop or a cel phone with internet, if all you need it for is email, #######.

[podca]

Because laptops are too big.

Because cellphones don't have touch screen keyboard.

Now, please, the question...

Is the iPod Touch useless for writing stuff/email when not on a hotspot?

[Pina_p9]

Well, the iPod Touch COULD have had all these great and seemingly necessary features, but we all know how much Apple loves the iPhone now don't we?

[podca]

I understand. I will still get the iPod touch because the iPhone is useless for me here in Canada.

Now, can you save webpages or PDF for reading offline

[Parak33t]

It is not made to be a pda...if they did want to to be a pda they could have easily done so...any way they are comming out with new apps in feb. so something might happen then...any sorry I don't know if you can do that

[OniRuroKen]

The iPod Touch works like any other wi-fi device; it can only access the internet when near a hotspot. Same as laptops.

It does NOT have a wireless card in it that allows it to just go online anytime. It is not a phone. It is an ipod. An ipod with a touch screen. An ipod that has the ability to go on the internet when in a hotspot.

[LeMansGTi]

Because laptops are too big.

Because cellphones don't have touch screen keyboard.

Now, please, the question...

Is the iPod Touch useless for writing stuff/email when not on a hotspot?

I forget at the moment which phone it is, but one of my buddies has a cell phone with touchscreen and I believe it has a touch keyboard.

Also, you can get a cell phone with an actual keyboard, you dont NEED a touchscreen, thats just something you seem to WANT, and not a actual NEED!! But maybe I am wrong!

[Bob]

IF you need the ipod touch for EMAIL and email only....

there's no edge
there's no mail application
there's no notepad

you can't write email/save email. you're disconnected from gmail. you can't use gmail notes or webmail features when you're not online...

so when you're not in a hotspot, is the ipod touch pretty much useless?


can you save webpages atleast for reading? or pdf documents, word etc?

Email is an option if you jailbreak the touch.
Notes can also be installed.

Email written while away from a hotspot is saved to the outbox until you are back in a hotspot.

If not in a hotspot the touch is not useless - it just reverts back to being a music player/video player.

Really sounds like you need the iPhone - JHollington is also in Canada and uses an iPhone without too much in the way of problems.

[podca]

Yes I need the iPhone and will get an iPhone but not THIS iPhone that's out right now.

Reason:

-New one will be released months away
-New one has 3G
-Will be on Cingular

So at this time, if I get this current iPhone, I'll be faced with...

-slow edge internet
-spotty connections
-a new iPhone release just after i bought the old one

:eek:

[DerekVOF]

I'd be surprised if there was a new iPhone in less than six months.

As for the iPod Touch, people need to buy it for what it is - a media player. Everything else is just gravy. If you need a PDA buy the iPhone but stop b*tching about what the iPod Touch isn't.

[pohatu771]

iPhone is on Cingular now... Cingular is now part of AT&T Wireless.

And I can't imagine it will be much longer until Rogers and Apple work out a deal.

[Phoenixfury]

I'd be surprised if there was a new iPhone in less than six months.

As for the iPod Touch, people need to buy it for what it is - a media player. Everything else is just gravy. If you need a PDA buy the iPhone but stop b*tching about what the iPod Touch isn't.

I beg to differ about the browser being gravy. Too me this is the biggest selling point of the Touch on the software side of things. It truly is the reason I bought a Touch despite owning two other iPods.

I think it's pretty funny when people say the Touch isn't a PDA when it has basic PDA functionality like calandar, and contacts. Personally I think of the Touch as a mediacentric PDA which is really stripped down on the standard PDA features.. Well at least for now anyway. We'll see where it go's after developers get their mits on the iPhone / Touch SDK in February. I also wouldn't be entirely shocked if Apple throws a mail client into the Touch at some point in the near future. Of course I'm just speculating, but I'm betting they are just cleansing the code of anything that's iPhone related before they officially put it into the Touch.

[s1d]

You can jailbreak and use the iPhone Mail app.

If you have a Windows Mobile phone with a data plan, you can make your WM phone into a wi-fi access point and connect your iPod touch to it :)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=341398

^ Look there

[podca]

You can jailbreak and use the iPhone Mail app.

If you have a Windows Mobile phone with a data plan, you can make your WM phone into a wi-fi access point and connect your iPod touch to it :)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=341398

^ Look there


That's a good trick.

However, I think it defeats the whole purpose of having a truly mobile device by bringing two items with you. iPhone in this case makes more sense even a regular phone or pda with email.

[yinyang]

as has already been mentioned if you jailbreak your iPod touch you can install Mail and Notes, and there is a PDF reader application - in Mail you can still compose emails to be sent when you connect back up. Notes doesn't require wifi, and for the PDF reader, then as long as you leave that page open in safari, i think you can still read the cached version offline. I'm not sure though if you can copy over pdf files over to your iPod touch for the PDF viewer to read - i've yet to really delve into that app yet.

Jailbreaking really does open up the options available for the iPod touch and i'm looking forward to see what comes out after the official SDK release in Feb

[s1d]

That's a good trick.

However, I think it defeats the whole purpose of having a truly mobile device by bringing two items with you. iPhone in this case makes more sense even a regular phone or pda with email.
With an ipod though you'd still have to carry around a phone, so if yours is a WM phone you can do this;)

[podca]

yeah i can see that.

iphone really is the only solution

if one gets the ipod touch, he/she should live with its limitations.

[podca]

it looks laborious to setup the WM to ipod touch wifi though...

[Touchingisgood]

Ummm... you use it as an iPod?

[s1d]

it looks laborious to setup the WM to ipod touch wifi though...Nah, it's pretty easy.:)

[podca]

can u pls simplify it? :)

[sgb1975]

Idiot.
I second that. You're obviously buying the wrong device if you need constant connectivity for checking/receiving e-mail. Go buy a Blackberry, dummy...

[gobygoby]

agreed...your asking for stuff, that just isnt possible from the touch. Get a sidekick or something.

[Phoenixfury]

That's a good trick.

However, I think it defeats the whole purpose of having a truly mobile device by bringing two items with you. iPhone in this case makes more sense even a regular phone or pda with email.


I think more people don't mind carrying more than one device on them than you realize. On most days I usually have both my phone and my iPod on me anyway, so it's not a huge stretch to carry my phone and iPod touch either. Personally I think the concept of carrying a phone that can relay internet via wifi is slick concept. I think if these guys want to use their touch with their phone that way, more power to em'! The only thing I'd really be concerned about is the Touch eating up their data usage. I've heard most carriers spread data plans pretty thin.

With that said I can understand why they would jailbreak their Touch to get the mail app. However I wouldn't be entirely shocked if the mail app and notes ever make it to the Touch. I think it's just a matter of time before they do. I think the only reason the mail app isn't on the Touch right now is because Apple hasn't had the time to clense it of the iPhone only features. Bare in mind they also had an operating system to get out the door too.. With that done, I think the Touch will get some app loving from Apple soon.

[hexonxonx]

I think more people don't mind carrying more than one device on them than you realize. On most days I usually have both my phone and my iPod on me anyway, so it's not a huge stretch to carry my phone and iPod touch either. Personally I think the concept of carrying a phone that can relay internet via wifi is slick concept. I think if these guys want to use their touch with their phone that way, more power to em'! The only thing I'd really be concerned about is the Touch eating up their data usage. I've heard most carriers spread data plans pretty thin.

With that said I can understand why they would jailbreak their Touch to get the mail app. However I wouldn't be entirely shocked if the mail app and notes ever make it to the Touch. I think it's just a matter of time before they do. I think the only reason the mail app isn't on the Touch right now is because Apple hasn't had the time to clense it of the iPhone only features. Bare in mind they also had an operating system to get out the door too.. With that done, I think the Touch will get some app loving from Apple soon.

I too bring my iPhone and iPod with me everyday. I am in my car 8 hours a day for my job so my iPod is my best friend. Why don't I just use my iPhone as my iPod? The iPhone is too hard to control while driving. With my iPod, I can skip songs, pause and turn up the volume without looking at the iPod. The Touch would also be too hard to control while driving.

I use the iPod on the iphone for when I am in the store closing up. Eventually I will also get a Touch too just to have one.

[Naz]

Because laptops are too big.

Because cellphones don't have touch screen keyboard.

Now, please, the question...

Is the iPod Touch useless for writing stuff/email when not on a hotspot?


if you have no wifi, you have no mail. I don't know about your hotspots, but I get service EVERYWHERE (except when I'm moving like in a car) and my email works on my jailbroken touch.

[podca]

I second that. You're obviously buying the wrong device if you need constant connectivity for checking/receiving e-mail. Go buy a Blackberry, dummy...

Blackberry is not available in my area.

[podca]

agreed...your asking for stuff, that just isnt possible from the touch. Get a sidekick or something.

Neighter does sidekick or whatever that thing is.

[s1d]

can u pls simplify it? :)
Just download and run that program on your windows mobile phone. How much simpler do u want it:confused:

[asmallchild]

Neighter does sidekick or whatever that thing is.

Yes it does.....

[Harley05]

Ipod Touch is a Media player, not a mobile PDA. It has Wi Fi but unless you live in a large city with hotspots everwhere your not going to be happy with it based on what you want to do. There are a number of devices out that will do the job (Iphone) or others that have full time connectivity, no matter how slow the connection.

Ipod Touch... nothing in the name implies it's a mobile device, it's an IPOD with a TOUCH screen, the rest is a bonus. Buy it for that or move on, not that complicated.

[studogvetmed]

If you can wait until February when the SDK for the iPod Touch and iPhone are released, some of the extra functionality that you hope for outside of a hot spot may appear.

It could just be a waiting game.

[Phoenixfury]

I apologize if I offend anyone here but I really want to clarify something. There's a huge difference between a PDA and a smart phone. PDA's didn't always have phone functionality, and only when mobile phone functionality become commonplace in them they began to be called smart phones. So by this logic if the iPhone is a smart phone, then how could the iPod Touch not be a PDA? Just because Apple doesn't call it a PDA doesn't mean it isn't one. Remember were talking about the same company that refers to computer mother (or main) board as "logic boards." However I can agree the iPod Touch is a media player first and a PDA second. However all iPod's for the past few years have been light weight PDA's with the exception of the Touch.. The Touch has the potential to become a full blown PDA, especially since you can edit both the contacts and the calendar on the go easily.

The only reason Apple's treading lightly and trying to distance itself from calling the iPod Touch a PDA is because of the Newton being a market failure. To be honest I think they are just being superstitious. I recall some saying that if you dye a skunk's stripe black it's still a skunk.. So that's how a lot of people see the Touch.. Apple might not call it a PDA, but that doesn't change the fact it is one.

Sorry to argue this point, and again I apologize if I offended anyone here who believe otherwise. I think it would be fair to say the iPhone is for a different customer than the Touch is. In my mind's eye the iPhone is for someone that needs a media player with a smart phone. The Touch is for those that need a media player with a pda.

[wytwolf]

If you want a touch screen, with email why don't you just get the HTC Touch smartphone since the iphone is not available to you.