Peace of Mind Organizing

Why I love my iPod Touch

10 December 2008

I bought an iPod Touch (second generation) in October, as I’ve mentioned before. I thought today I’d share nine ways it’s enhanced my life in less than two months:

1. Automatic wireless synching: I use iCal and Address Book on my MacBook for my calendars and contacts. Every time I make a change on my calendar or address book either on my computer or on the iPod, it synchs with the other device, through the wireless network, without my asking. (It’s called Push technology and I don’t understand it but I love it.) This requires a $99 a year MobileMe account. I can’t tell you how much this enhances my life. I was forever forgetting to sync my Palm TX or when I tried the synch would fail.

2. Its sleek design. The iPod Touch is so small I can have it on my person and I barely know it’s there. I can fit in the back pocket of my jeans. It takes up virtually no room in my purse. It makes my iPod classic seem a bit like a brick.

3. The applications. Oh the apps. I have puzzles, a brain challenge, a knitting row counter, a restaurant finder, a unit converter, a calculator, the weather, all at my disposal. I just love it. Some of these came with the iPod, others I purchased or downloaded free.

4. The universal love and therefore universal help for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. For example, just today I read this fantastic blog post of tips for the iPhone (which apply to my device). Most of these things I hadn’t been aware of and they’ll make the iPod Touch even easier for me to use.

5. Internet access without my computer. As long as there’s a wireless network, I can access the internet. This is great in coffee shops when I want to check something. It’s also great when I’m watching TV and I want to check IMDb (Internet Movie Database) to figure out where I’ve seen that actor before. I don’t want to haul my laptop around the house with me, but I’m happy to tuck my Touch into my pocket.

6. The Genius application on the iPod. I can play a favorite tune, press the Genius icon and this magnificent machine will create a playlist of similar songs from the songs on the iPod. So great when I’m in the mood to be surprised by my songs but want to keep a certain mood going.

7. I can download songs right into my iPod. With my older iPod, I had to go through iTunes on my computer. Now, provided there’s a wireless connection available, I can go straight from the iTunes Store directly into my device (and then synch it with iTunes on my computer.)

8. The beauty. The elegance. When I switched to the Mac in 2007, I completely embraced the beauty of the Mac applications. Same goes for the iPod Touch. Everything is so darn pretty (especially compared with the Palm TX, which it replaced). And who doesn’t need a little extra beauty in their lives?

9. I don’t pay a monthly fee. I was, of course, drawn to the iPhone, but I didn’t want to break my contract with my current cell phone provider (T-Mobile), whom I was perfectly happy with. My husband and I have a joint plan, so I would have been asking him to make the switch as well. I also have a perfectly good phone (a Samsung T629 slider phone). With the iPod Touch, I lose some connectivity—it requires a wireless network to connect to the Internet—and I also don’t have a camera. But I have everything else and I don’t have a monthly fee.

Tagged with: iphone, ipod, productivity, technology

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