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Apple Updates iPhone and iPod Touch
u-bend writes "With little publicity Apple has released new, higher-capacity models of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The new iPhone boasts 16 GB of storage and is priced at $499 (the 8 GB model remains at $399), and the new iPod Touch has 32 GB, also priced at $499. Although the price is still pretty hefty, it indicates that the capacity/price ratio on these wireless flash-based players is starting to move in the right direction."
At the moment, the iPod touch does not function as a hard drive, unlike the other iPods. There is a workaround, you can hack it or use some third party programs to write to the media folder.
Full Tilt
The problem, as I understand it, is that the iPhone only has room for one flash chip, not two. This means that instead of using two 8 gig chips to give the iPhone 16 gigs, they need to use a single 16 gig chip. The iPod touch, on the other hand, has room for two chips. That's why the cost-to-added-gigs ratio is different.
"Stumble before you crawl"
The headphone jack for the iPod Touch is flush with the bottom bezel, right next to the dock connector (visible in this 360 view). You should be able to plug in any set of headphones.
OGG is not a popular codec, sorry to burst your bubble there buddy.
The iPod touch 8 GB is $40 cheaper and the iPod touch 16 GB is also $40 cheaper.
Why does Apple have such a high markup? Totally unnecessary, IMHO.
9) Non-removable battery. The last 5 years tells us that no one cares. Over time more and more electronics manufactures are going to start doing this. There's really no need anymore to change the battery. The designed lifespan on the current generation of batteries is 3-5 years, which is just about the same as the designed lifespan for the devices themselves. Letting you add more storage to something that's basically a storage device makes little business sense. 10) Costs $500, much more than cheaper, more open-devices do. for example?
> 1) Requires iTunes.
There are 3rd party apps capable of loading music on iPods.
> 2) Doesn't work with Linux.
There are Linux apps capable of loading music on iPods.
> 3) Is laden with DRM.
Only if you purchase music from the iTunes Store, and then only if you purchase the DRMed tracks as the Store includes DRM free tracks.
> 4) Doesn't support popular codecs like OGG.
Contrary to Slashdot believe, OGG is not popular.
> 5) ONLY supports iTunes Music Store and not other, cheaper services.
iPods are able to work with Amazon's online store and any others that sell MP3s.
> 6) Doesn't allow simple drag-and-drop access to copy music.
You can drag any song you wish from the library to copy your music to the iPod or you can use the autosync feature.
> 7) Software is locked down on the device.
There is a Linux distro available for iPods.
> 8) Non-removable storage.
There are many guides on iPod drive replacement on the web.
> 9) Non-removable battery.
There are many guides on iPod battery replacement on the web.
> 10) Costs $500, much more than cheaper, more open-devices do.
Then please list any sub $499 32GB flash touch screen device that is more cheaper and more "open".
I think you got a little confused. The Touch does NOT have a hard drive. It has two flash chips for storage(the iPhone has one chip). What he was saying is that you can't transfer files to an iPod Touch like it is a hard drive, you can only transfer media to it through iTunes.
The originating poster was speaking of the USB Mass Storage Device class. Other devices of this class include USB flash memory sticks, iPod Classics, and any plain HDD-only device that interfaces with a computer through USB. Usage of such a device is supported by most computers with USB ports without installation of any special drivers.
The iPod Touch and the iPhone is not a device of this class unless such a workaround is installed for the firmware that is already preinstalled onto the device.
It's now been over 6 months and 3+ major firmware revisions, and the damn iPhone still doesn't do some of the most basic functionals of a real PDA phone:
-- No cut and paste
-- No IMAP IDLE support (The best auto-check is every 15 minutes. Gee, thanks Apple. 1995 called and wants their email features back)
-- No task list
-- No way to sync notes
-- No MMS messages.
-- Etc.
OOOO but 1.1.3 added the feature of being able to send SMS to multiple recipients. Yeah. Great. I was really waiting for that feature...so glad that put that higher on the list than any of the above. Now I can spam all my contacts and say generic impersonal things like "Happy New Year!! Best wishes!!". Ugh.
It's such a frustration for me. I want to love this device -- I really do. But until Apple stops prioritizing features for 12-year-old girls over features to make the damn thing usable by a working adult, I will continue to complain and be sad. And the worst part is that EVERYTHING I (and the others like me) want can be done in software -- it's just a matter of someone getting priorities in line.
Ferrari and other exotic car rentals in New York
You'll still have to switch, since the iPhone and AT&T are GSM-based devices and networks, while Verizon is CDMA. Different frequencies, technologies, everything. Sprint's also CDMA, while T-Mobile is GSM, making TM your only other option in the US.
"Why Apple would deliberately lock themselves out of a HUGE customer base of other carriers is beyond me..."
Since T-Mobile is about a tenth the size of AT&T in the US, I'm not sure I'd call that customer base "huge".
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
Here is a way to get out of your Verizon contract without fees and get your hands on a new iphone. Basically because Verizon is raising the cost of text messaging from $0.10 to $0.20 you can claim financial hardship and get out of your contract. Keep in mind that this only works if you do not currently subscribe to a text messaging plan and pay individually for each message. Also you have to opt-out by March 1st 2008. This can be done in about an hour, you may have to go through two or three customer dis-service agents, but it works. http://consumerist.com/342706/cancel-verizon-without-termination-fee-based-on-new-text-message-rate-increases http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=187118&t=427435