The iPhone without the 'phone

"An iPod Touch and two MacBook Pro, please." During an errand to the Apple store to get MacBook Pros for new Headshift starters I gave in to the temptation to get an iPod Touch. When I first saw it last week, I knew I wanted one. I don't often listen to music on the go, but something that works better with podcasts than my small mp3 stick was welcome.

Something else I have been on the lookout for is wireless internet access in a small device,  so the Touch turns out to be a 2-in-1 device for me and I expect that I will be using it without headphones half of the time.

But add a photo viewer, video viewing and an address book into the incredibly beautiful and sleek device and it just gets better. It seems to do what the iPhone does, except the phone and camera bits. For that matter, GPS, Bluetooth and a Geiger counter are also missing.

Amidst the fascination, there are also irritating limitations. I can buy music directly from the iTunes store from the Touch over wifi but if I want to download a podcast/videocast (such as TEDtalks) I have to do it via a proper computer and sync it across. The elegant interface makes photo zooming a blast but I can't work out how to rotate a photo and the software does not recognise the orientation setting in jpeg files. But the biggest question is why there is no access to install applications. I am itching to use it for instant messaging but perhaps because the Touch shares so much with the iPhone that the likes of Skype is kept away from the platform to protect mobile phone companies' revenue. Some of the limitations and quirks will probably be addressed with software updates (the first one has been released and it is 150 Mb) while others remain except if you hack the device.

Does this mean that I won't get the iPhone when it becomes available in the UK on 9 November? Possibly. No doubt that there is a 3G iPhone in the future, so the iPod Touch may just be able to tide me over until such a device becomes available. Well, if I can live without the Geiger counter, that is.

Tags: Apple iPod iPod Touch iPhone

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