Dj R
03-12-2008, 11:54 PM
I've been lurking for a loooong time. I pulled the plug and now I'm an owner. Thanks to all of you who have posted valuable info. I enjoy the board and look forward to participating more in this community.
This is a thread for anyone on the fence. If you already own a Touch, you prolly know all of this, so you can "skip".
Why is this my first Ipod product ever? The touch is the 1st product that isn't 1 dimensional. It's does so much more than play mp3 + allow me to show off pics / play vids. I use this Ipod Touch everyday. A regular ipod? I can't say that I would. I've had it for one week. Purchased at Costco. Reason: their 90 day return policy. It had the mail, maps, etc applications on it prior. But I still installed the free update, 1.1.4. There hasn't been one issue yet. Very pleased.
Sync with Outlook. I am a Treo 700p owner. So I'm frequently using my calendar/contacts/notes options on the phone and syncing with Outlook on my PC. It was very easy to sync the Touch with my calendar and contacts. This isn't a big deal, but worth noting. I'm seeing some contact's email addresses are improperly labeled as "home or work". I'm guessing this is due to which email addie was listed 1st on the treo, since it doesn't separately label work/home/other. "Notes" stored in a contact do not get sync'd. Just name, company name, phones, email addies, pics for that contact. Speaking of "Notes" (memos), they are not available on the touch. Calendar sync'd, no probs.
Sync Photos. I have a million photos. So I took the sd card from the treo, inserted it into my pc. I used the same roots from the photos I kept on the treo. Made a new folder in my documents. "Touch photos". Inside this folder are various folders of different types of photos, so I can keep them organized on my pc, and know what's what. Sports, car, work, home, dog, gf, etc. Drag and drop the photos into the various sub-folders. Then sync the one main folder with your Touch in a breeze. Once on the Touch they are in the same sub folders you designed. EXTREMELY SLICK. Viewing is incredible. Slide show. The screen flips. Etc.
Music I have a bunch of playlists and everything works great.
Home. My home theater receiver (Pioneer Elite) came with a plug and play Ipod interface. The touch display turns off once the pioneer detects it. Titles appear on the pioneer display. The Pioneer remote takes over since the the screen is not active on the Touch. So the Pioneer remote controls the ipod. The interface was designed to also send video thru the pioneer to the tv display. I have NOT yet tried this with the touch. But I hear there are governing issues with this, and Ipod had to stop this feature.
Car. Just like home, I have an interface for my car stereo. Alpine 9855. However, this time I had to purchase the interface. I was forced to use the "old school" slow transfer date interface kca-430i. I read horrible reviews about finding artists, songs, folders, searching, etc. I think these folks had other Alpine decks. The 9855 is fantastic for controlling the Touch. Again the touch screen dies, and the controls are all done with the head unit. SQ is excellent (I rip @ 320).
Other nuggets:
Maps is great. Fun and intelligent. You can search for store names and get directions, see where you are. However, itt shouldn't replace your tomtom or other gps device.
Multiple alarm feature with choice of days of the week.
Weather feature is incredible. You can set up mulitiple cities in various countries. Each time you hit the button, your favorite city comes to life, updates you with the weekly forecast. From here you may drag your finger across the screen and select other cities you may be interested in (vacation property, family in other regions, etc). Again, VERY slick!
Browsing the web is incredible. Bookmarks are nice, set up folders, name them, move them around. I can't say enough about how great it is to browse with this toy.
Email is pop and sync'd no trouble at all. Work and home emails are coming in FAST and going out the same. In the email app, you can't turn the screen sideways like landscape, my only issue. I am stuck with portrait, so the keys are smaller than if the screen rotated like in web apps.
There is a password protection system for the touch. Four digits. Although there doesn't seem to be an area to put "owner info" like in a cell phone. This stinks. Because in case there is an honest person out there who finds a touch and would like to return it, I doubt it's possible!
Easter eggs I lay in bed each night and catch up on emails and forum chatting. The buttons on my treo are just loud enough to keep my gf up. The touch, well... there are no buttons obviously;) So everyone is happy.
Cases, there are many out there. Best idea is to go to the big stores and open the packaging and try them out. Do not buy one blindly. If you like the prices online, take the time to check them out prior, in person. You want a case for this, and a screen protector. I have two cases, here goes...
This case really helps keep the headphone wires in check and not in a tangled mess, when not in use! So, when I'm going to be using the headphones/traveling/everyday use... :
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/8577/8577729_ra.jpg
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8577729&st=jam+jacket+touch&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1190411436802
But if I don't need the headphones... heading to work, maybe dinner, a party, or a club, I dress up the Touch and also protect the screen from spills, etc... : (avail in 3 colors)
http://catalog.belkin.com/images/product/F8Z227/FUL1_F8Z227.jpg
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=388479#
Sorry this is so long. I like to scour the web/boards for info, when I find it, I'm happy. On the flip side, I'm also happy to share.
Do not loan your Touch to anyone, unless you get a deposit from him/her. It's that much fun to play with, and own. Cheers, Dj R.
This is a thread for anyone on the fence. If you already own a Touch, you prolly know all of this, so you can "skip".
Why is this my first Ipod product ever? The touch is the 1st product that isn't 1 dimensional. It's does so much more than play mp3 + allow me to show off pics / play vids. I use this Ipod Touch everyday. A regular ipod? I can't say that I would. I've had it for one week. Purchased at Costco. Reason: their 90 day return policy. It had the mail, maps, etc applications on it prior. But I still installed the free update, 1.1.4. There hasn't been one issue yet. Very pleased.
Sync with Outlook. I am a Treo 700p owner. So I'm frequently using my calendar/contacts/notes options on the phone and syncing with Outlook on my PC. It was very easy to sync the Touch with my calendar and contacts. This isn't a big deal, but worth noting. I'm seeing some contact's email addresses are improperly labeled as "home or work". I'm guessing this is due to which email addie was listed 1st on the treo, since it doesn't separately label work/home/other. "Notes" stored in a contact do not get sync'd. Just name, company name, phones, email addies, pics for that contact. Speaking of "Notes" (memos), they are not available on the touch. Calendar sync'd, no probs.
Sync Photos. I have a million photos. So I took the sd card from the treo, inserted it into my pc. I used the same roots from the photos I kept on the treo. Made a new folder in my documents. "Touch photos". Inside this folder are various folders of different types of photos, so I can keep them organized on my pc, and know what's what. Sports, car, work, home, dog, gf, etc. Drag and drop the photos into the various sub-folders. Then sync the one main folder with your Touch in a breeze. Once on the Touch they are in the same sub folders you designed. EXTREMELY SLICK. Viewing is incredible. Slide show. The screen flips. Etc.
Music I have a bunch of playlists and everything works great.
Home. My home theater receiver (Pioneer Elite) came with a plug and play Ipod interface. The touch display turns off once the pioneer detects it. Titles appear on the pioneer display. The Pioneer remote takes over since the the screen is not active on the Touch. So the Pioneer remote controls the ipod. The interface was designed to also send video thru the pioneer to the tv display. I have NOT yet tried this with the touch. But I hear there are governing issues with this, and Ipod had to stop this feature.
Car. Just like home, I have an interface for my car stereo. Alpine 9855. However, this time I had to purchase the interface. I was forced to use the "old school" slow transfer date interface kca-430i. I read horrible reviews about finding artists, songs, folders, searching, etc. I think these folks had other Alpine decks. The 9855 is fantastic for controlling the Touch. Again the touch screen dies, and the controls are all done with the head unit. SQ is excellent (I rip @ 320).
Other nuggets:
Maps is great. Fun and intelligent. You can search for store names and get directions, see where you are. However, itt shouldn't replace your tomtom or other gps device.
Multiple alarm feature with choice of days of the week.
Weather feature is incredible. You can set up mulitiple cities in various countries. Each time you hit the button, your favorite city comes to life, updates you with the weekly forecast. From here you may drag your finger across the screen and select other cities you may be interested in (vacation property, family in other regions, etc). Again, VERY slick!
Browsing the web is incredible. Bookmarks are nice, set up folders, name them, move them around. I can't say enough about how great it is to browse with this toy.
Email is pop and sync'd no trouble at all. Work and home emails are coming in FAST and going out the same. In the email app, you can't turn the screen sideways like landscape, my only issue. I am stuck with portrait, so the keys are smaller than if the screen rotated like in web apps.
There is a password protection system for the touch. Four digits. Although there doesn't seem to be an area to put "owner info" like in a cell phone. This stinks. Because in case there is an honest person out there who finds a touch and would like to return it, I doubt it's possible!
Easter eggs I lay in bed each night and catch up on emails and forum chatting. The buttons on my treo are just loud enough to keep my gf up. The touch, well... there are no buttons obviously;) So everyone is happy.
Cases, there are many out there. Best idea is to go to the big stores and open the packaging and try them out. Do not buy one blindly. If you like the prices online, take the time to check them out prior, in person. You want a case for this, and a screen protector. I have two cases, here goes...
This case really helps keep the headphone wires in check and not in a tangled mess, when not in use! So, when I'm going to be using the headphones/traveling/everyday use... :
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/8577/8577729_ra.jpg
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8577729&st=jam+jacket+touch&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1190411436802
But if I don't need the headphones... heading to work, maybe dinner, a party, or a club, I dress up the Touch and also protect the screen from spills, etc... : (avail in 3 colors)
http://catalog.belkin.com/images/product/F8Z227/FUL1_F8Z227.jpg
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=388479#
Sorry this is so long. I like to scour the web/boards for info, when I find it, I'm happy. On the flip side, I'm also happy to share.
Do not loan your Touch to anyone, unless you get a deposit from him/her. It's that much fun to play with, and own. Cheers, Dj R.