Review: Apple iPod Touch 16 GB. Part 5: iTunes and Conclusion

Posted by: dgoldring on Aug 30 2008 - 138 views

The final component of the iPod Touch puzzle is iTunes.  Of course, this is the connection between your computer and your iPod Touch.  And I will admit that this is a big reason I put off purchasing an iPhone for so long.  I have never been a fan of iTunes, and I really do not like the idea of using a single proprietary system to handle my media.  I much prefer other media players which allow you to use multiple formats and even drag and drop your media onto your device.  The combination of the iPod Touch interface and the App Store, however, was ultimately too much for me to overlook.  ITunes became a necessary evil and I took the plunge.  So, let’s take a closer look at the interface that launched 1000 iPods, and then on to a few other miscellaneous items which I did not mention in previous articles.

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Hey Apple! Pull your head out of your….

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Aug 05 2008 - 59 views

Provocative title no?

Caution: Brandon Mini-Rant Coming.

First off, let’s start this one with the obvious… MobileFailMe. I’m not going to beat this one to death, because well frankly, I don’t use it. But, given the amount of issues they’ve had it hardly seemed timely to light off a good rant and not mention the fact that this was such a HUGE FAIL. I mean come on. Jobs had to come out and basically admit they made huge mistakes and that the service is not up to snuff. I personally have the money sitting right here and I want to get on the MobileMe bandwagon… but I won’t won’t bother buying into it (and I own a Mac) until it comes with a whole lot less …

Next up … iPhone 2.0/2.0.1 - the most recent definition of head up the you know what. Apple made a vital mistake - they told us long in advance what date 2.0 was coming out, and come hell or high water the product was going to launch. There’s no way Steve was going to Read more »

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The iPod Touch Review. Part 2: The Touch is a Portable Media Player

Posted by: dgoldring on Aug 03 2008 - 165 views

It is a common misconception that Apple invented the portable media player a little over 10 years ago with the original iPod.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Digital music has been around much longer than that.  In fact, I still remember coveting the Rio Jukebox, a brick of a device which could hold a whopping 40 albums (if my memory serves me correctly).  Then again, even though Apple did not invent the portable media player, they certainly did advance the genre significantly.  What Apple gave us was an easy to use platform.  Before the iPod, transferring your music and syncing it to your media player was a chore, riddled with frustration.  Apple gave us a checkbox-based interface, which made it easy to sync the content on your computer with your iPod.  But, more on that, later.

Of course, through the years, the iPod continued to evolve and grow, as it developed a color screen, video capabilities, a touch screen, and more.  The ultimate culmination of these efforts (so far) is the iPod Touch/iPhone.  Despite  all of the advanced capabilities that the iPod now offers, however, its roots are forever bound to that original portable media player.  Unlike, which were developed as mini-computers that happen to play music and videos, therefore, the iPod is a portable media player, which has developed other features.  Because of these evolutionary origins of the iPod Touch, the portable media player seemed like the ideal place to start our look at the capabilities of this device.

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Netshare Back in iTunes Store!

Posted by: Brandon Steili on Aug 01 2008 - 49 views

AHEM … not to get anyone into a rush to go spend $10 at the iTunes store … but everyone’s favorite here one minute gone the next application is back again!

NullRiver might have touched off a sore spot with this one. Netshare is pretty much 100% against the terms of your contract with AT&T as it basically allows you to tether your PC to your iPhone for data:

Since AT&T is likely to start crying a river to Apple any minute now , you better go and get it while you can. Oh - PS the only way to get it right now is to use the direct link since it isn’t showing up in a search. Just picked it up a minute ago so I know it was working as of 1:30pm MST on Friday. And yes - I know I can do this for free if I jailbreak. But after jailbreaking my iPod touch a few hours ago - I have to tell you, there’s not a chance I’m doing it to my iPhone 3G. Waaay to unstable right now.

Edit … and its gone again. I sure hope Apple puts out a public announcement on this one.

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