It’s been about a year since I posted my thoughts on the iPod Touch and my answer has since changed from a “maybe” to absolutely, even my v1.0 edition. I use it for everything from:
- emailed versions of my travel itinerary
- podcasts
- multi-day alarm clock, a wake-up call replacement
- ebook reader
- restaurant/coffee shop locator
- status updates to Facebook, Yammer and Twitter
- newspapers
- weather
- maps and even a poor man’s GPS
- flashlight/nightlight
- File sharing device (AirSharing)
- Banking
- And yes, even music though mostly streamed via Pandora
These days I’m traveling a heck-of-a lot more and I’ve found it to be an invaluable travel tool. In fact, the Touch can even function as a poor man’s GPS. To see this working you’ll need to cache some map content while connected to wifi:
- Before embarking on your trip connect to a wifi network
- Using the Google Map browse around the area you’ll be driving so the map will be cached. You may want to zoom in so as to capture more detailed content.
- Start driving to the location where you’re headed while viewing the Google Maps application. If there are sufficient wifi access points in the area the little blue target locator (pictured) will occasionally update and follow you along the map.
To be sure we’re not talking real time but it does actually work. Notice in the picture that the Touch isn’t connected to wifi when it was captured as I sat at a stop light. I stumbled into this feature while on a business trip to Austin TX and while driving around looking for a Starbuck’s I noticed my location on the map changing. The screenshot here displays it working near Wilkes-Barre PA.
My current favorite application is RSS Player which makes listening to podcasts easy and enjoyable, it still needs a few features but it’s seriously a must have if you’re a podcast listener.