ipod 3G phone vs. ipod touch

[bm196]

If you buy a 3g phone, but don't subscribe to a phone service, will you then have an Ipod Touch--or will there then be functions missing from the no phone service 3G which the
Touch has? Downside ? (3G is $100. cheaper, it seems).

[touchy]

I'm not completely sure, but my understanding is that 3G iPhones will not be sold without an AT&T contract.
(as AT&T will now be paying for part of the price of the iPhone upfront instead of revenue sharing)

But if one fell off the back of an Apple loading dock then i can't see why all the functions expect for cellular-related wouldn't work,
provided one could figure out how to activate it without "activating" it...

[kornchild2002]

The $199 price that you see is with a 2 year contract, the price will increase if you purchase the iPhone without a contract (that is even if they offer it without a contract).

An iPhone without phone service is more or less an iPod touch. I think the iPhone has some applications that the iPod touch doesn't but the July firmware update should fix all of that and put them more on an equal level.

You would be better off just purchasing an iPod touch if you don't want the phone features of the iPhone. Not only that but there is no reason to get a 3G iPhone if you don't plan on using it on a 3G network. That is the whole point of the 3G iPhone, you get faster data rates over a 3G wireless network.

An iPhone without phone service is like getting a nice 2009 Ford Mustang GT and never filling it up with gas. Sure, you can still do things with it but the whole idea of a car is to drive it around just like the whole point of the iPhone is to carry it around to make phone calls and surf the internet using a cellphone network.

[daihard]

The biggest change for me personally is that iPhone 2.0 will have Japanese language input enabled. That with the announced prices ($299 for 16GB), I am definitely going to trade in my iPod touch for a new iPhone - it's just a matter of when.

[kornchild2002]

The biggest change for me personally is that iPhone 2.0 will have Japanese language input enabled. That with the announced prices ($299 for 16GB), I am definitely going to trade in my iPod touch for a new iPhone - it's just a matter of when.

Yes but you are going to get it with a service plan aren't you? That way you can make phone calls with your device and surf the internet wirelessly anywhere you get a digital cellphone signal.

[daihard]

Yes but you are going to get it with a service plan aren't you? That way you can make phone calls with your device and surf the internet wirelessly anywhere you get a digital cellphone signal.
Yes, I am. In fact, my understanding is that the new iPhone will require an AT&T 2-year contract at the time of purchase. I'll probably have to pay more than I currently do with Sprint, too, but that's the sacrifice I am willing to make in order to enjoy an iPhone. :)

[kornchild2002]

Yes, I am. In fact, my understanding is that the new iPhone will require an AT&T 2-year contract at the time of purchase. I'll probably have to pay more than I currently do with Sprint, too, but that's the sacrifice I am willing to make in order to enjoy an iPhone. :)

OK, that makes sense. It also proved my point that a 3G iPhone (or any iPhone for that matter) is worthless without its cellphone service. Why else go after a 3G iPhone (where the only real improvement is compatibility with a 3G cellphone network) if you aren't going to use it to make phone calls or surf the internet wirelessly?

[daihard]

It also proved my point that a 3G iPhone (or any iPhone for that matter) is worthless without its cellphone service. Why else go after a 3G iPhone (where the only real improvement is compatibility with a 3G cellphone network) if you aren't going to use it to make phone calls or surf the internet wirelessly?
Seems to me that you're stating the obvious. I can't think of buying an iPhone without using its cellphone network. Isn't that where an iPod touch comes in handy?

I may not have been clear on this. I have always wanted an iPhone. The two reasons I'm settled with an iPod touch now are that (1) the current iPhone does not offer Japanese text input (without jailbreaking), and (2) I still have a 2-year contract with Sprint. Come next March, both those hurdles will be gone. :)

[emjoi]

An iPhone without a SIM would have a camera and a GPS. Nice additions.

There are alot of countries out there that are also going to get the iPhone. Maybe wait a little bit and see what contracts are required overseas. Contract free phones might turn up on eBay or on the grey market, though at a higher price.

[boybrown]

I'm a bit gutted that they didn't announce a new ipod touch. I know its primarily a developers conference but i expected an announcement of a bigger ipod touch. I'm desperate to get one but i really feel 32gb not to be enough. But with the iphone 2.0 priced aggressively hopefully an announcement will be made soon. Come on apple i'm waiting!!!

[kornchild2002]

I'm a bit gutted that they didn't announce a new ipod touch. I know its primarily a developers conference but i expected an announcement of a bigger ipod touch. I'm desperate to get one but i really feel 32gb not to be enough. But with the iphone 2.0 priced aggressively hopefully an announcement will be made soon. Come on apple i'm waiting!!!

An iPod touch announcement is coming but now is way too soon. Expect Apple to announce something in September or October of this year. Remember that the iPod touch is an iPod, it was introduced whenever Apple showed off the iPod classic and 3G iPod nano, and it will be updated (not like the capacity bump it recently received) whenever the other iPods are updated. The first iPhone was announced last year around January or February (I think), that was 7 months before their late summer/early fall conference where they show off the new/updated iPods. This conference was mainly dedicated to the iPhone.

An iPhone without a SIM would have a camera and a GPS. Nice additions.

There are alot of countries out there that are also going to get the iPhone. Maybe wait a little bit and see what contracts are required overseas. Contract free phones might turn up on eBay or on the grey market, though at a higher price.

Well, GPS would be a nice addition but the digital camera is crap. I know that it is a 3MP camera but an el cheapo 5MP digital camera from Best Buy will take much better pictures. All-in-all, the iPod touch would be the better device is someone didn't want a new cellphone. After all, the iPhone is first and foremost a cellphone.

Seems to me that you're stating the obvious. I can't think of buying an iPhone without using its cellphone network. Isn't that where an iPod touch comes in handy?

I may not have been clear on this. I have always wanted an iPhone. The two reasons I'm settled with an iPod touch now are that (1) the current iPhone does not offer Japanese text input (without jailbreaking), and (2) I still have a 2-year contract with Sprint. Come next March, both those hurdles will be gone. :)

Yep, I am stating the obvious. The OP is interested in purchasing a 3G iPhone without paying for the phone service. That is why I keep trying to get this idea across to them that it is pointless to get an iPhone without paying for the phone service.

[daihard]

Yep, I am stating the obvious. The OP is interested in purchasing a 3G iPhone without paying for the phone service. That is why I keep trying to get this idea across to them that it is pointless to get an iPhone without paying for the phone service.
Got it. Someone said above that GPS would be a nice feature, but I doubt it would be very useful unless you had constant access to the network, which the iPod touch does not give you.

[jhollington]

Actually, the GPS on the iPhone is A-GPS (Assisted GPS), which means it requires a connection to the cellular network to be useful.

Some A-GPS implementations can get much slower and sometimes more limited fixes without a cellular connection, but the technology is designed to work in concert with cellular phone triangulation. Time will tell whether the GPS chip in the iPhone has full standalone GPS functionality as well (there has really been no feedback on this, since nobody has one yet), but it's obvious that it's not really intended to be used in the absence of a cellular connection.

[ipodlover29]

The rates of the data plan for the iPhone 3G with AT&T are also going up to $30 from $20.

[Germansuplex]

Outside of features like telephone, yes, you would essentially have an iPod touch. However, it would still be a notch above the iPod touch in my opinion. The only thing you'd be losing out on is size (the iPod touch is smaller) or possibly storage space (there is a 32gb touch model).

But the iPhone 3G has a built-in mic, a speaker said to be better than the current speaker (which is not that bad to begin with, so any improvements are bound to be pleasant to the ear) and dedicated volume buttons (the iPod touch has none).

You will also have free updates in the future (unless Apple implements some feature requiring you to be a current subscriber to AT&T to get free iPhone updates... which I doubt).

Plus, you'll have a phone should you decide to activate it. Some people may scoff at buying an iPhone to not use it in concution with it's telephone features, but I can certainly see the bennefits. I mean, being able to turn the volume down without pulling the machine out of the pocket and waking it up is nice.

The iPhone also supports headsets (and comes with one), allowing you to skip songs and pause tracks simply by pinching a small part of the headphones.

[emjoi]

Okay, after a bit of reading, yes, some AGPS systems need the cellular access to function, while others just use it to speed up the initial location.

I hope the GPS will function away from mobile phone coverage. It would make a nice GPS while out in the countryside. We aren't all 100% Urban Cowboys.

As for the Camera... sure a dedicated camera is better, but a crappy camera that is in your pocket right now is better than that Canon DSLR sitting on your desk at home. And it's not 3MP. It's only 2MP. It is disappointingly crappy.

And a mic and a speaker are useful.
And real volume buttons are something that is annoyingly lacking from the Touch.

If it can be jailbroken and the SIM of my cheap GSM $10 a month contract can be put in it, I would be quite happy.

(I know this is turning more into a iPhone, rather than Touch topic.)