I am posting from an iPod Touch

The Internet Gods don't want me to publish this post. After a failed attempt to write in this text box at the Apple store when I was playing with the iPod Touch, then my computer crashed (twice) just as I was finishing this entry from home (this is also not uncommon - I have to take my laptop into work shortly to get it looked at for a variety of symptoms).


After Maneesh's suggestion and after spending 45 minutes playing with the iPod Touch in the Apple store on Regents Street today, I want one. Now I just have to figure out which friend is coming to/from the US in the next month or so to buy and bring me one at yes, you guessed it, half the price as it is in the UK.


The iPod Touch will be perfect for me next year. It basically combines all the cool features of the iPhone (web browsing, email, googlemaps, etc) with the full capacity of an iPod (8GB, 16GB or 32GB) for music. It's a hybrid iPhone/iPod, without the phone. What's great though is that the Internet capabilities are completely provider agnostic, so I can easily use it anywhere in the world where there is wireless Internet access (either free, or pay for it, like at airports).

In the time I used it at the store, I was able to:

• Get used to the small touchpad QWERTY keyboard on-screen
• Sort of post this blog entry (the Title and Comment only)
• Check my gmail and send a message
• Finding directions from Regents Street to Wimbledon via Googlemaps
• Listen to music
• Add a calendar entry
• Use Safari web browsing to check my UK bank statement online, log onto Facebook and use Google to do a search

The main disappointment is that I may have to switch blog hosters (the Apple people think it must be something with the way this site is (not) coded for mobile devices). The screen and keyboard aren't big enough to compose lengthy blog posts anyhow, so I will still be relying heavily on Internet cafes to post to my blog, upload pictures and generally do online reservations and such. But it will be great to have Internet capability on my iPod.

Another disappointment related to Apple in general is that iTunes and my music library aren't portable. The Apple store people confirmed that since iTunes is linked to your actual PC, I can't just load iTunes and my music onto a hard drive to sync with at Internet cafes along the road. This is a huge bummer, so if anyone has any suggestions around it, please let me know. What I'll probably have to do is organise my music and iTunes here in the UK, save the files to the hard drive, and then when I get my next computer (either during my LOA if I crack, or maybe not till I'm back in the UK next year), I can re-upload them to that new computer. In the meantime, I'll just have to charge my iPod Touch and listen to the same music I've always listened to.

Although, since there is iTunes on the phone, I'm wondering if I can still download either pod casts or purchased music onto the Touch in the meantime. This needs some more investigation....but I'm sold on Internet+iPod. I'm looking forward to when they come out with an (unlocked) phone+Internet+iPod. But for next year, I'll be using pay-as-you-go SIM cards in my decrepit Nokia for local phone calls in whatever country I'm in so I'm not too fussed about the phone component yet.

Again, as I virtualize my life (music, files, calendar, documents, etc) any suggestions are welcome! I want to be as mobile as possible next year.