iPod touch as PDA
As I've described elsewhere, I've been a Palm fan since the Palm IIIx was state of the art. Via the Zire 71, I've had a Palm TX for just over a couple of years. The Missing Sync has made the TX a viable PDA for an OS X desktop, but it's looking a bit tired.
The release of the iPhone 3G in Australia has been an enormous let-down. While I really like the idea of owning an iPhone, and while I've proven myself willing to be reamed by Apple, I'm just not ready to be dual-reamed by both Apple and, say, Telstra. 3G data plans in Australia are nothing short of utterly ridiculous. Several people suggested to me that I look at the iPod touch instead. This was an idea that, initially, I didn't take seriously, mostly because one of those people was Stephen White, and I hate it when Steve's right. In any case, last weekend I did the customary amount of pre-gadget-purchase research on the issue (none), and went out and bought an iPod touch.
It's a nice looking device. The screen is large. At 480×320 pixels, it apparently has the same count as the Palm TX, though that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, the pitch on the iPod is smaller, squeezing them into about half an inch less real estate. The display is brighter, the colour is better. Every thing you've heard about the screen on the iPhone and the iPod touch is true. Many applications (though not all) can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode, and switching between them is a simple matter of turning the device itself. (A notable exception, as far as I can tell, is the Mail application. I'd really like to be able to read mail in landscape mode.)
Coming from a stylus-based touch screen, the iPod's direct-touch interface is interesting. To be honest, I was skeptical—I assumed it would be hopeless, way too easy to fat-finger everything. Of course, it's not. It works very well. The hot point of a given touch is just the centre of your fat finger. The device seems to get it right pretty much all of the time. Typing is tedious (though, again, significantly more accurate than I thought it would be), but I think the ‘virtual-keyboard vs hardware-keyboard’ debate is largely moot—typing on any miniature keyboard is excruciating.
I am yet to put it through any normal day's use, but as far as I can see, reports of poor battery life seem to be well-founded. I can't see it getting through more than a day of even medium-level use. It will need a recharge at least daily.
Connectivity is via USB cable and WiFi, there's no Bluetooth. I must admit, I really liked cable-less syncing of the Palm TX, but I just can't put the lack of Bluetooth in deal-breaker territory. A proportion of syncing (contacts, calendars and mail) can be done over WiFi anyway, assuming there's a MobileMe subscription. Frankly, that's good enough for me. I'm just pleased to be putting the overpriced fee to some additional use.
I have made some tentative visits to the iTunes App Store. There seems to be a lot of junk. I downloaded Apple's Remote app, and it is as neat as people keep exclaiming. Beyond that, there's a slew of the kind of standard rubbish you see for every mobile platform (for the love of god, who's out there converting all those units?). I used the Palm TX for three main tasks, and I think the iPod touch is going to cover most of it:
The release of the iPhone 3G in Australia has been an enormous let-down. While I really like the idea of owning an iPhone, and while I've proven myself willing to be reamed by Apple, I'm just not ready to be dual-reamed by both Apple and, say, Telstra. 3G data plans in Australia are nothing short of utterly ridiculous. Several people suggested to me that I look at the iPod touch instead. This was an idea that, initially, I didn't take seriously, mostly because one of those people was Stephen White, and I hate it when Steve's right. In any case, last weekend I did the customary amount of pre-gadget-purchase research on the issue (none), and went out and bought an iPod touch.
It's a nice looking device. The screen is large. At 480×320 pixels, it apparently has the same count as the Palm TX, though that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, the pitch on the iPod is smaller, squeezing them into about half an inch less real estate. The display is brighter, the colour is better. Every thing you've heard about the screen on the iPhone and the iPod touch is true. Many applications (though not all) can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode, and switching between them is a simple matter of turning the device itself. (A notable exception, as far as I can tell, is the Mail application. I'd really like to be able to read mail in landscape mode.)
Coming from a stylus-based touch screen, the iPod's direct-touch interface is interesting. To be honest, I was skeptical—I assumed it would be hopeless, way too easy to fat-finger everything. Of course, it's not. It works very well. The hot point of a given touch is just the centre of your fat finger. The device seems to get it right pretty much all of the time. Typing is tedious (though, again, significantly more accurate than I thought it would be), but I think the ‘virtual-keyboard vs hardware-keyboard’ debate is largely moot—typing on any miniature keyboard is excruciating.
I am yet to put it through any normal day's use, but as far as I can see, reports of poor battery life seem to be well-founded. I can't see it getting through more than a day of even medium-level use. It will need a recharge at least daily.
Connectivity is via USB cable and WiFi, there's no Bluetooth. I must admit, I really liked cable-less syncing of the Palm TX, but I just can't put the lack of Bluetooth in deal-breaker territory. A proportion of syncing (contacts, calendars and mail) can be done over WiFi anyway, assuming there's a MobileMe subscription. Frankly, that's good enough for me. I'm just pleased to be putting the overpriced fee to some additional use.
I have made some tentative visits to the iTunes App Store. There seems to be a lot of junk. I downloaded Apple's Remote app, and it is as neat as people keep exclaiming. Beyond that, there's a slew of the kind of standard rubbish you see for every mobile platform (for the love of god, who's out there converting all those units?). I used the Palm TX for three main tasks, and I think the iPod touch is going to cover most of it:
- Diary. The built-in Calendar app, syncing seamlessly with iCal, far surpasses the Palm.
- Contacts. Again, the built-in Contacts app, syncing seamlessly with Address Book, has this covered.
- Password storage. We start to hit a rough spot here. I was using a free product called Keyring on the TX. I have no doubt there is a password storage application already available for the iPod, probably several. But it's going to need a partner on the desktop, because I'm not going to type all the information in by hand more than once again. Further, I've got some additional passwords stored in Yojimbo, so ideally I want an iPod version of that (not happening in the near future), or at least something that can share Yojimbo's password data. For now, I'm just going to move from Keyring to Yojimbo on the desktop.
posted by Paul A. Hoadley at 21:29
18 Comments:
I've been thinking the same thing about getting a Touch rather than an iPhone, but I've heard a rumour (surprise) of updates around September, so I thought I'd try something completely different and wait and see.
A couple of questions though:
Does the calendar application only syncwith iCal (I tend to use a Google Calendar synced to my work Outlook)?
How is it as an iPod? (Because if I get one, then I may well be forced to surrender my old iPod to my wife)
Hi David,
I've heard a rumour (surprise) of updates around September
That would not surprise me. Purchasing just before product updates is a hobby of mine.
Does the calendar application only syncwith iCal
The short answer is that I don't know. It would seem that there are numerous ways to get Google Calendar to sync with iCal though.
How is it as an iPod?
Obviously the interface is different—while I'm used to the click-wheel, the touch screen seems like a fine alternative. Visually the larger screen allows it to be, well, a lot slicker. Beyond that, there's capacity. At 32G, it's smaller than even my aging 4th generation iPod with a 60G disk. I can currently fit my entire collection in 32G, but with only a few gigabytes to spare.
Purchasing just before product updates is a hobby of mine.
Yeah, me too - that's why I'm trying very hard to resist. Whether I am successful remains to be seen.
I can currently fit my entire collection in 32G, but with only a few gigabytes to spare.
I've only got a 30G now, so not a big stretch for me if I cull a bit. I was wondering about the battery life for music playback - am I going to make it from home to home without a recharge?
I sympathise... I hate it when I'm right too. I thought I was wrong, once, but it turned out that I was wrong.
I was also looking at OmniFocus, but found another program that looks more interesting, "Things"... because it has some ability to interact with other people without being a full on project management too.
http://www.culturedcode.com/things/iphone/
Has a desktop app too, of course. Surprisingly, it appears to be slicker than Omni... which I wouldn't have thought was an easy thing to do, seeing as Omni are a very slick mob.
Oh hi Dave!
I've only got a 30G now, so not a big stretch for me if I cull a bit. I was wondering about the battery life for music playback - am I going to make it from home to home without a recharge?
Good question. Don't know. I'll give it more of a test this weekend. But if you're going to play any video, and have WiFi turned on, the answer is almost certainly no, you're not going to make it. Presumably there are more rigourous reviews out there, but after watching a couple of half-hour TV episodes, keeping a WiFi connection throughout, the battery meter seems to hit the red zone (20%, I think). On the other hand, today I used it as a more conventional PDA (contacts, appointments) in some places with no WiFi access, and came home with the battery hardly taking a hit. The trade-offs are obvious.
Hi Steve,
I sympathise... I hate it when I'm right too. I thought I was wrong, once, but it turned out that I was wrong.
You were wrong not to install Mutt for me when I asked you to back in about 2003. I'm still not over it.
"Things"...
I've heard of it, but haven't looked at it. There's a fair bit of inertia behind my OmniFocus setup at the moment, so I will definitely check that out when 1.1 ships. I'll take a look at Things in the meantime.
You caught me in my idealistic "gonna clean the systems up!" phase. If you'd asked again a few months later, you would have gotten me in the cynical "it'll never change" phase.
In fact, I remember my Gentoo "whatever you want, I'll put it on for you because now I don't have to maintain the smegging thing now" phase. I even installed vim, instead of the real version of vi.
It still amuses me that I held out for a year, pointing out that the real version of vi was the authentic deal, and if you used vim then you may as well concede that emacs won the war.
I, myself, use joe.
I was wondering what you think about replacing a palm 3c (yes a little outdated) with the new ipod touch. it would be a gift for my wife. i tried to push her towards the iphone as a all in one device, but she'd rather have her pda and phone separate. the only requirement she has is that she can keeps separate calendars with palm calendar and outlook calendar (she doesn't sync the 2). Not sure her exact rationale, but probably to separate client and personal. Would the ipod touch meet her requirements. It sounds like it only syncs to outlook (we're window users)
thanks
I was wondering what you think about replacing a palm 3c (yes a little outdated) with the new ipod touch. it would be a gift for my wife. i tried to push her towards the iphone as a all in one device, but she'd rather have her pda and phone separate. the only requirement she has is that she can keeps separate calendars with palm calendar and outlook calendar (she doesn't sync the 2). Not sure her exact rationale, but probably to separate client and personal. Would the ipod touch meet her requirements. It sounds like it only syncs to outlook (we're window users)
thanks
Would the ipod touch meet her requirements. It sounds like it only syncs to outlook (we're window users)
Basically, I just don't know. Any Windows users want to chime in?
Any Windows users want to chime in?
Yep, at present it only syncs to Outlook via iTunes, which isn't optimal if you don't particularly feel like mortgaging your first born for an email client.
Alternatively you might try nuevasync which theoretically offers over the air synchronisation with a google calendar. I haven't been able to get it to work properly yet (it currently seems to sync my events several hours backward) but you might have better luck.
If I get it working I'll post something.
If I get it working I'll post something.
Got it working!
Seems there was a separate time zone setting specifically for calendars. Set that to the correct time zone and has synced fine ever since.
While I was mucking about with it, I also tried syncing via outlook and iTunes, but this required an additional syncing step using Google Calendar Sync as well as manual syncing of the iPod with iTunes.
NuevaSync syncs over the air and supports push, so updates are pushed both ways as long as you have a wireless connection.
Hi Paul,
Any news on the OmniFocus integration and usability on the iPod?
Hi Harald,
I updated OmniFocus on the desktop to the 1.5 release candidate when it became available. I was previously reluctant to update to a nightly build—as I mentioned elsewhere, I did enough beta testing for Omni prior to the 1.0 release. I then purchased OmniFocus 1.1 for iPhone/iPod.
The first 48 hours were disappointing. I archived a slew of old items from my desktop database, really paring down the size, then set up synchronisation. Initially I went with sync-to-iDisk, as it seemed the most convenient. Within 24 hours, I got an unrecoverable error on the handheld side—sync was corrupt already. I switched to local sync using Bonjour (less convenient than syncing over the wider Internet, in my opinion), but then got the same error 24 hours later.
Omni support was minimally useful. (By which I suppose I mean that they did all they could, but I could have told myself to wipe the remote copy and start syncing again from scratch.) I'm now syncing over Bonjour again, and it's been working for about a week.
When it's working, OmniFocus on the iPod is great. Looking for, say, random errands while I'm actually out of the house certainly beats having to remember to print out lists before I leave. Location-based tasks using GPS on the 3G iPhone would be awesome, but obviously I don't have that on the iPod. (iPod location is a little too hit-and-miss (though sometimes the hits are freakishly good) to be useful.)
Hi Paul,
I would love to use an iPhone/iPod but whenever I try to persuade myself to spend some money on either I find myself in doubt: the iPhone is simply too expensive (at least here in Europe) and the iPod always seems to be a little incomplete (and I already have a few older iPods lying around...). GRRR!
But thanks for your tip!
Harald
I would gladly buy an iPhone here in Australia if it wasn't for the prohibitively expensive data plans.
the iPod always seems to be a little incomplete
Obviously the iPod touch lacks a phone, GPS and Bluetooth. Beyond that, think of it as a handheld computer than just happens to double as an iPod. It's really something very different to the other devices in the iPod line. If you haven't seen one in real life, go and check it out.
(In fact, I think the iPod touch makes for a comparatively lousy iPod. I use my old 60G colour iPod in preference for playing music. Basically, I really miss the click-wheel.)
(In fact, I think the iPod touch makes for a comparatively lousy iPod. I use my old 60G colour iPod in preference for playing music. Basically, I really miss the click-wheel.)
Bite your tongue. When I get Over the Air Podcasts in firmware update 2.2 I'll never go back ;)
Would be nice if there was a built in FM receiver though. And I'm tempted to think that they're avoiding cut and paste out of sheer bloody mindedness...
Bite your tongue.
I've given it a pretty good trial run now, and I really do prefer my old click-wheel model as an iPod. Let me enumerate the ways in which the iPod touch is inferior as an iPod:
(Aside: Dear Blogger, You don't allow ordered lists in comments? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?)
1. The dynamically changing screen orientation gets on my nerves. If I'm listening to something in bed, it's invariably wrong because I'm lying down. I end up having to roll to one side, work out where the ground is, and hold the device perpendicular to what my eyes think is horizontal.
2. Support for audiobooks doesn't seem to be done quite right. Or, at least, it seems to be different to my old click-wheel iPod. For example, I have the Ricky Gervais "podcasts" as audiobooks from the iTunes Store. In the first season, there are (if I recall correctly) 12 episodes, broken into three parts. On my click-wheel iPod, each part is broken into individual episodes, and clicking for the next track moves to the next episode. With the exact same audiobook on the iPod touch, only the parts are available—it doesn't seem possible to access the breakpoints for individual episodes. They're not listed, and the skip-track control doesn't move between them.
3. Scrubbing through a track using the tiny duration bar control (particularly with a long track) is comically inefficient. And by "inefficient" I mean impossible to achieve any accuracy compared to the same task using the click-wheel.
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