<p>We received one of these free (via rebate) with our new Mac.
The kids have their own iPods, and my shuffle suffices for the gym. We could either try to sell it on eBay or keep it. The kids are pushing for the latter, but we don’t really NEED it.<br>
Anyone out there have one? Pros/cons? Is it wireless, and do you have to pay for internet service?
Thanks.</p>
<p>You don’t have to pay for internet service. It connects to wifi – so you can use all the functions wherever you can find free wifi (at your home network, most college campuses for students, some hotels, Panera Bread, etc.) The iPod (music) function works everywhere. My husband and sons each had one for a while and loved it until they replaced it with an iPhone. They then sold their iPod Touch on ebay.</p>
<p>I have one. It’s wireless and you can go online anywhere you have access to a wireless network and you don’t have to pay for service. I find it difficult to use the keyboard–often hit the adjacent key and have to go back and make corrections. I got one for my birthday last year and feel guilty that I don’t use it more.</p>
<p>It is wireless. You could use it anywhere that’s wireless for free. We turn our iPhone into iTouch whenever we travel overseas (by turning off phone service). In Europe especially, there are a lot of hot spots. We use it to check emails and surf. We also have Apple Airport to turn our hotel room internet connection into wireless. We’ll pay for one internet connection, and have 4 iPhones tapped into it. You would be able to do that with your iTouch too. Most people I know love their iTouch. Kids love it for games.</p>
<p>I have not tried it, but friend told me to load skype onto itouch and it becomes a phone. Don’t know if anyone has tried that.</p>
<p>Yes, but only when there is wifi. It works.</p>
<p>Thanks all. Glad to hear internet use is free. I finally set up wireless in the house just tonight (would have done it sooner had I known how simple it would be). Think I just have a fear of becoming over-gadgetized. Guess I should consider keeping it and not be such a Scrooge. The kids would probably enjoy it, and supposedly it does have GPS…</p>
<p>…and that’s where the fun ends. It’s the iPhone that has a fully interactive GPS capability. On the iPod Touch at the most you can download Google maps or something, basically whatever you can do on the internet. I don’t think anyone has a GPS app up yet.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about this subject, but I do know that D has loaded many of the iPhone apps on her iTouch. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this can be done with any of the many useful (and useless) iPhone apps. But if you keep the iTouch, who gets to use it? Hard to think of a Solomon-like decision that would work.</p>
<p>There are apps for the itouch which are not on your ipod. Pandora for one. I would keep the itouch.</p>
<p>Replying from my own iTouch. No, it’s not the iPhone, but I can’t bring myself to pay that monthly. This is handy for travel and I’ve found most
hotels have wireless these days. I’ve had fun with the free apps, though did buy the recent upgrade which includes some nice improvements.</p>
<p>I’d keep it. My youngsters love fiddling with mom’s!</p>
<p>Even my husband who dislikes computers loves his,
He reads books on it ( with Kindle & GizReader) plays pinball and uses it as a level ( with icarpenter)lots of things to do off line-</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A lady at Barnes and Noble spent several minutes telling me all about the ability to use Skype on the itouch just a few days ago. She was almost giddy in her enthusiasm for it. She said the sound quality is better via Skype and her itouch than “any cell phone she’s ever used”. Impressed me enough to seriously consider downloading the app and buying the $30 dollar headset to start using it. </p>
<p>itouches are neat. I’ve got one, but still need to download some more fun and useful apps. There’s no comparing a shuffle and an itouch. I’d suggest keeping the touch for yourself. Let the kids buy their own;)</p>
<p>I could never figure out how to use it, and returned it to Costco and got an iPod classic.</p>
<p>I absolutely LOVE my iTouch <em>hugs it</em></p>
<p>My old PDA (a Palm) wouldn’t work with my new laptop (PDA was 8 years old, can’t imagine why they weren’t compatible…) I wanted something that would hold my whole address book (including the snail mail addresses) and calendar, but didn’t want to pay the data fee for a smart phone.</p>
<p>Other stuff I do with it beyond what my nano would do:
- Reusable grocery list that I can just tweak each week once I got it built.
- Downloaded stuff for D2 to play with when we are in the car or waiting somewhere (Harry Potter trivia is her favorite)
- Bridge game for me
- Some medical tracking applications that I like
- Track the books I have read and want to read (and want to give as gifts) in an app called library list
- It functions like a little computer when wi-fi is available, with the ability to Google, look at maps, etc.
- Read e-mail when wi-fi is available
- Synch personal calendar with work calendar.</p>
<p>And my favorite “gee whiz” features: (1) the way the music display will change to landscape when you tip it sideways, and (2) the way you can expand a document or image by touching the screen.</p>
<p>I had the choice of the iTouch or the nano when D got her Mac last year, and I took the nano. Since I bought the touch to replace the PDA a few weeks ago, I feel pretty silly at having turned down the iTouch to start with; it has a lot more functionality (and is just more fun 
).</p>
<p>Interesting! While I have to admit that I’d probably be more like tsdad, I’m guessing the 14 and 17 year olds will probably be the ones duking it out to use it on road trips. It would be nice to check emails while away.
And-- stupid question, but how much do the different “apps” cost, or are they free?</p>
<p>Some of the apps are free- in fact a great many are.
Some apps have a free version and a paid version and in many cases, the paid version is not really needed.
Many apps are also $.99, and/or are addictive versions of old favorites.
I was thrilled to find Myst, Bookworm & Bedazzled for ipod.</p>
<p>I also just got a blackberry since my ebay phone crapped out on me, and I was very miffed to learn that not only are the blackberry apps much more expensive than comparable for ipod, but it doesn’t sync with my computer and I can’t take the apps off ( some were preloaded & I am never going to use them either)
You can hide them, but they are still taking up memory.</p>
<p>I love my ipod touch, but since my daughter has now “borrowed” my 1st gen nano, I have been trying to find the same sort of case for touch that I had for the nano for the gym- but no luck.</p>
<p>I also have an iTouch that came with a Mac as a freebie.</p>
<p>What is the difference between this and an iPhone? I was thinking I’d like an iPhone someday, but what else would that do? I am so technologically challenged!</p>
<p>You get phone service with iPhone. You could also get data service when there is no wifi.</p>
<p>I LOVE my iPod touch.</p>
<p>My dad was always skeptical about it and didn’t think it would be all that impressive for the hefty price-tag. Well, when we got it and he started messing around with it, he said it was the coolest and neatest thing he’s ever seen. KEEP IT, you won’t regret it, and it came free anyway.</p>