iPhone vs. iPod Touch

[SlimShady]

is there any huge benefit to have an iPhone over an iPod Touch, minus the phone capabilities? Does anyone have both that find they use one more than the other?

I understand that the Touch is almost identical to the phone, minus the ability to make phone calls and have always-on Internet access, but I wonder if its worth the additional cost in the monthly fees to use it instead of my current phone plan.

any thoughts?

 

[Impulse]

Compared to the Touch, the iPhone will let you make calls obviously, it has the always-on 3G net connection, it has GPS, and it has a camera. Whether the extra cost of the data plan is worth it to you or not depends on how much you really value that 3G connection and, to a certain extent, the GPS feature. It's a personal choice. I'm about to buy an iPod Touch myself (if I can find it somewhere in PR, everyone's out! or if a problem I'm having with Newegg is resolved)...

Personally, for the time being, I don't really feel I need any kind of smartphone and the inherent costs of a data plan. It'd certainly be nice, but I can do without it. I'd get a lot more use out of the device for sure (maybe too much use ), but there's still a ton of free WiFi hotspots almost everywhere I go around here (most malls, a lot of fast food places, school, work, etc.). I'm getting the Touch because my old 5GB Rio Carbon is due for an upgrade, having WiFi on it and some Apps and the nice screen for video is just pudding for me, albeit, a rather large serving of it, heh.

If you need to be better connected, if you like using Google Calendar (or another online option) as your organizer, if you absolutely must check your e-mail several dozen times a day, etc then the iPhone's for you. There's certainly a lot of conveniences to be gained by having that connection, although it has a lot of drawbacks as well (3G will sap the battery life like no tomorrow), but it's quite a personal choice.

I'm quite happy with my Sony Ericsson W580i and my current phone plan costs... I do make moderate use of the web on it (e-mail, some Google/Wikipedia searches, movie times, etc) but it's usually within the 1MB a month that my Text Message plan gives me ($10 for 400 msgs and 1MB net usage IIRC); or if not then just slightly over it and the overage charge is only like a cent per KB so it's not bad at all. For now, that's enough for me.

I'm not sure I could live with an iPhone even if I was willing to pay for it, the barely-a-day battery life would make me cringe constantly... I've tried out some Blackberries which usually have better battery life but ehh, the browser's lackluster compared to Safari and they just don't do it for me. Here's hoping Android's browser is as slick as Safari and someone comes up with a sexy Android smartphone that has decent battery life.

 

[Hammertime]

Consider:

iPhone = $200(8GB) + 24*117 (450 min, unlimited text and data, tax) = $3008
iPod touch = $200.00 + your cell phone bill (~$60)*24 = $1640

Is the data plan with it you to pay the extra? If so, get it! Also consider, can you survive with a data plan for your regular phone?

 

[SlimShady]

i dont have a data plan with my current phone, so its just a matter of deciding whether its worth the phone hassle with my current provider. i appreciate the input - just looking to see what other folks think.

 

[elito]

iphone is the better deal.

 

[ThatDood]

I'm not sure I could live with an iPhone even if I was willing to pay for it, the barely-a-day battery life would make me cringe constantly... I've tried out some Blackberries which usually have better battery life but ehh, the browser's lackluster compared to Safari and they just don't do it for me.

The iPhone battery is really not that bad. I have the 1st gen iPhone and I usually charge it every other day. I could actually go for 2 or 3 days, but I want to make sure I don't run out during the middle of the day. I have mine on exchange also, so it may use more of the battery because of the push email. I also have a blackberry 8830 and the iPhone's battery life kicks the blackberry's ass. But to answer your question, it depends on what you need your phone for. I use mine at work to check email, txt, etc.

 

[persisting1]

iPhone = $200(8GB) + 24*117 (450 min, unlimited text and data, tax) = $3008
iPod touch = $200.00 + your cell phone bill (~$60)*24 = $1640

Well said.

If you don't need a phone, the touch is a very nice ipod/mobile device.

For the money, the touch is much better ( i have the 3G iPhone).

'm not sure I could live with an iPhone even if I was willing to pay for it, the barely-a-day battery life would make me cringe constantly.

The 2.1 firmware update for the iPhone corrected the battery issue.

 

[Martyr]

wow $117 iphone bill?

mine is like 60+ tax and fees. (also fees are bs)

 

[phide]

I'm not sure I could live with an iPhone even if I was willing to pay for it, the barely-a-day battery life would make me cringe constantly...

Like what's been said before, it isn't typically quite that bad. I'm hopping between EDGE and 3G, talking about 20 to 40 minutes a day (wish I could cut that down, but I can't) and spending roughly 30 minutes a day browsing via EDGE/3G or WiFi. I'm also pushing my calendar and e-mail. The worst-case scenario on 2.1 firmware is about 1/3 of a charge left after a day's use. Typically, I end up going to bed with 40-50% left. It used to be a good deal worse -- sometimes it'd be close to dead by the time I hit the sack, but 2.1 fixed that up for me pretty nicely.

Now, I don't generally use my phone as an iPod, but I've noticed that listening to music on this thing is basically zero-impact on the battery. Ditto with video, which seems to burn through maybe 10% to 15% of the battery per hour of playback (450-500kbps h.264). Not half bad really.

The iPhone's a charge every day device pretty much like every other smartphone out there. Probably you'll be able to manage two days per charge if you're not pushing anything or fetching at the shortest intervals, but you're sort of pushing it with that.

Now, for me, having one device in my pocket at all times is an absolute Godsend, and it isn't significantly more expensive per year than my old phone, so it's a win for me.

 

[Impulse]

The iPhone battery is really not that bad. I have the 1st gen iPhone and I usually charge it every other day. I could actually go for 2 or 3 days, but I want to make sure I don't run out during the middle of the day. I have mine on exchange also, so it may use more of the battery because of the push email. I also have a blackberry 8830 and the iPhone's battery life kicks the blackberry's ass. But to answer your question, it depends on what you need your phone for. I use mine at work to check email, txt, etc.

Isn't the 1st gen iPhone's battery actually better overall though? (than the 3G's) I guess if you turn off 3G on the new one it'd be about the same, but from what I understand the 3G connection itself sucks down more battery than the old EDGE network or anything else... And moving in and out of 3G coverage just makes it a lot worse because the phone keeps trying to find that 3G connection or keeps trying to hang unto it when it's borderline...

Again, that's just what I've read, could be mistaken, could be it's improved with recent firmware... Cell phones these days just seem to have horrid battery life either way, overall, not just smartphones either. The last Nokia 6102 I had could easily go for 5-6 days and this Sony Ericsson W580 I have now isn't that much more advanced... Nicer screen, memory card slot, Bluetooth, but overall it's got much of the same functionality (and it's not even 3G), it goes for 2-3 days tops with light usage.

Edit: The iPhone's battery now sounds much better than initial reports from what phide and others said... Though it's still not what I'd wish it'd be, at 'least it's usable enough. Whenever I do get a smartphone (be it iPhone, an Android phone, or w/e) I'll probably do it as much for the GPS as the browsing/3G connection... I'm so horrible with directions!

From what I understand AT&T's contract won't allow anyone to develop a turn-by-turn app for the iPhone's GPS functionality no? (though I guess loading up Google Maps is pretty close to it...) Do they ever plan to provide such functionality or what?

 

[elzeus]

I tried fumbling around with a dedicated cell phone and an Ipodtouch but after a week I couldn't stand it. I liked the touch so much that I returned it and got an iphone.

 

[SuperSubZero]

I've been on Verizon forever and even the iPhone can't change that. A couple of my coworkers have iPhones and at work their signal is usually a bar or two, while my old Verizon phone is pinned on signal strength anywhere in the facility. It's too bad Verizon has lame phones ; ;

I did end up getting an iPod Touch 2nd gen. It is very cool, tho when there's no hotspot around (particularly a location-aware one) it doesn't have much use beyond a music player.

 

[phide]

From what I understand AT&T's contract won't allow anyone to develop a turn-by-turn app for the iPhone's GPS functionality no? (though I guess loading up Google Maps is pretty close to it...) Do they ever plan to provide such functionality or what?

I do believe turn-by-turn is in the pipeline somewhere, but, frankly, the GPS features on the iPhone are usable. It's better if you have someone with you as something of a navigator, hitting "Next" as you take turns and whatnot, but I can drive safely while holding mine and just hitting next whenever I need to. The interface is straight-forward enough that you can do it, but make sure you pull over before typing in your destination. I came close to a collision trying to fumble through setting up a route last month, so I now know better

Obviously it's arduous and annoying and imprecise in comparison to a real voice-enabled turn-by-turn GPS (though the imprecision of triangulation hasn't affected me), but does it work? Yeah, it works. So long as you're around cell cites and the phone can triangulate you, you're good to go. You might feel sort of lame holding the phone on your lap when you're driving around, but it works.