# bought an iPod touch...



## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

Well a friend told me they had the 16 gig iPod touch at best buy so I went over and picked one up. First impression is WOW. Typing will take some getting used to, but overall its an amazing piece of technology. My only question if anyone knows is, I am trying to set one of my pictures as the wallpaper, I select my picture, then click the wallpaper button, but when I go back to the main menu its still black, what am I missing?


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## Commodus (May 10, 2005)

wonderings said:


> Well a friend told me they had the 16 gig iPod touch at best buy so I went over and picked one up. First impression is WOW. Typing will take some getting used to, but overall its an amazing piece of technology. My only question if anyone knows is, I am trying to set one of my pictures as the wallpaper, I select my picture, then click the wallpaper button, but when I go back to the main menu its still black, what am I missing?


You're not missing anything - the 'wallpaper' on the touch only shows up when you wake the screen (and not with the double-tap-home mode, that goes to your album). If it were an iPhone, you'd see it when you were making a call, too.


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

Thanks thought I was going insane


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Am posting this from my 8Gb Touch - installed the 1.1.1 update before even synching. It's amazing in the flesh. I've been able to log into dot mac and MS Exchange web mail. Is there a way to set Safari to remember your username/password?

It's got lot's of little surprises (but not if you've used an iPhone). Like the rotate to landscape being 360 degrees.


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## Commodus (May 10, 2005)

used to be jwoodget said:


> Am posting this from my 8Gb Touch - installed the 1.1.1 update before even synching. It's amazing in the flesh. I've been able to log into dot mac and MS Exchange web mail. Is there a way to set Safari to remember your username/password?
> 
> It's got lot's of little surprises (but not if you've used an iPhone). Like the rotate to landscape being 360 degrees.


It'll save logins based on cookies, but if that's not how the mail system works, you're out of luck.


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Yes, hit and miss - basically because there's no preference in the iPhone/Touch Safari for controlling auto-filling. So web mail works but is a pain to have to load in the (significantly long) information. My bet is that gmail and the like will have a web based interface along the same lines as the mail application on the iPhone. Probably not going to happen with Exchange though.


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## ps1 (Jun 24, 2006)

Just posted some thoughts on the touch to my blog here:

Thoughtful Wheaten: iPod touch Thoughts in the first 24 hours


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## used to be jwoodget (Aug 22, 2002)

Read your thoughts... There will clearly be more apps developed for both the iPhone and Touch and release of the latter will help this. There's a lot of black real estate on the home screen. Whether Apple jealously guards this space is yet to determined but I think we'll see it opened up a little. Early days but 5 mins of using the Touch and you realize this is a very future capable device.

FWIW my wifi reception is as good as my laptop and the screen looks great.


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## ps1 (Jun 24, 2006)

thanks for the feedback I have connected via Safari and am slowly getting used to it. Still a little awkward in terms of typing but I am slowly getting the hang of it. 

U are right way too much black space to be ignored on the home screen. I'm not a huge games but am psyched to see what a good developer could do natively with multitouch imagine a basic tetris game to start. Unfortunately I think the touch got rushed out the door andsome of the attention to detail this Device deserves was ignored (e.g. the calendar or the fact that iPhoto thinks its a camera)

I will say this device blows away the Nokia N800 as a potential Internet device although I must give them a tip of the hat for using a Linux OS. Very cool device if u ever get a chance to play with one it is an interesting contrast. I can see Apple up sizing this platform with a tablet consistent with the rumours from earlier this week. 

Well enough for tonight. I will let u know how it goes over time with the wifi. 

I have played around with encoding some videos from our Canon SD800is. 

By the way looking for recommendations on noise cancelling headphones earbud style since the original Apple headphones are still not great.


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## spicyapple (Aug 17, 2006)

I am also posting this message from my iPod touch! Im very very impressed with the little touches that makes using it a real joy. There are just a few quirks that bother me, mostly coverflow showing all albums instead of my selected playlists. When surfing in Safari, the music ipod will sometimes crash. There are still some bugs that need fixing, but overall this device is simply phenomenal!!!!


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## Gamalen (Sep 7, 2007)

Just got my ipd touch on Thursday and I'm addicted to it (especially at work). I put some videos on it and I can't complain about the video quality. Surfing the web over wi-fi is a lot smoother than I thought. Overall i'm pretty happy with it. I hope Apple comes out with some PDA function apps for it down the road. I'm not sure if I want to hack my iphone with 3rd party apps in case they do an "update" and brick my ipod touch.


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## spicyapple (Aug 17, 2006)

the perfect morning...

sipping mocha and surfing the web...


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## Gamalen (Sep 7, 2007)

Hey that picture of the ipod next to a "mocha" is almost blasphemous. 
It should be a TIMMY's in that picture! 
Either way, great picture. Glad you're enjoying your ipod touch!


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## spits (Jan 2, 2004)

hi

Just got mine!
thought I'd send a post from it.


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## Cliffy (Apr 18, 2005)

I guess I will join the "post from the touch" club. The keyboard is not hard to get used to. Nice having a portable web device, I just hope the "Newton 2" rumours are false.


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

No problems typing on it now, got used to it very quickly. The only thing I am not happy about is you cannot input calander dates right on the touch, you have to go through iCal.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

While it's an amazing iPod, I still don't think it's a great tool for surfing the internet.

Great for the odd times you need to check on something when you're on the road, but for sustained use, the screen is still too small. Having to zoom up to read the text for every page is too bothersome. And because of the size, the on screen keyboard is rather difficult to type without errors. 

An ultra portable or the rumoured Newton 2 would be more useful...albeit not something one could put into their pocket like the iPod Touch.


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## spicyapple (Aug 17, 2006)

Hey satchmo,

That's like saying:

"While the MacBook is an amazing notebook, I still don't think it's a great portable player for listening to music on-the-go."

The touch is a portable music player... let's not forget its main purpose.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

spicyapple said:


> Hey satchmo,
> 
> That's like saying:
> 
> ...


I'm not so sure about that. Sure it's roots are iPod based, but look where it's going. Videos, Televison shows, and movies and now the internet.
It may be marketed by name as an "iPod" but being able to play music is not it's key selling feature.


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## alphacrumb (Jul 23, 2007)

satchmo said:


> I'm not so sure about that. Sure it's roots are iPod based, but look where it's going. Videos, Televison shows, and movies and now the internet.
> It may be marketed by name as an "iPod" but being able to play music is not it's key selling feature.


Hasn't iTunes always been the real killer feature of every iPod? That hasn't changed with the Touch.

For a PMP, the Touch's GUI is beatifully functional (and functionally beautiful), plus the web surfing is a fantastic bonus. But without its perfect integration with iTunes, the iPod Touch would just be another pretty face in the portable media player world.


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## jicon (Jan 12, 2005)

Saw the touch in two stores... sooo tempted to buy... but by the box art, I was venturing that one store was selling a week 37 model. (Still weary about the video playback complaints)

Another store had the Macy Gray box. I asked for the price (Which of course was $449) and I got cold feet. I'll just wait a few weeks when I'm in Vegas and save a bit of money, and have opportunity to play around with one.

For those with a Touch already, how is volume/next song selection operation with the iPod in your jacket pocket? Next to impossible without taking the iPod out each time, or more than possible with some familiarity with the interface?


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

To adjust the volume you will have to pull the ipod out. I would not worry about week 37 models. The problems were all fixed with the last software update. Mine is week 37 and there are no problems at all, even before the update.


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## Gamalen (Sep 7, 2007)

Hi there, I agree with wonderings. I just bought my ipod touch last week and I didn't have a problem with the screen before the firmware update. 
As of for the volume control issue of the ipod touch. 
I bought noise isolating skull candy headphones with the built in volume control so I can adjust the volume without taking the ipod out. So far this method has worked great. 
I'm very happy with my purchase. Hope this helps.


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## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

spicyapple said:


> the perfect morning...
> 
> sipping mocha and surfing the web...


Hey can you flip it and browse the internet horizontally thus making it a wider view?
I'm thinking of picking up one of these baby's but the small memory storage in them is kinda putting me off...


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## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

Oh and nice lipstick BTW! lol


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## spicyapple (Aug 17, 2006)

irontree said:


> Hey can you flip it and browse the internet horizontally thus making it a wider view?
> I'm thinking of picking up one of these baby's but the small memory storage in them is kinda putting me off...


Yes, you can. I tend to navigate in portrait mode, but will read text in landscape. Double tapping (or pinching) to zoom in and out is very nice! You will like it. 

I have a 20GB iPod from 4 years ago and found I only listen to a few songs in one or two playlists, so storage space is not really a big factor in my buying decisions. I'm positive the touch will never go with hard disk memory, as flash is the most sensible storage format for the touch. Why deprive yourself of a touch because of the amount of storage? You can always sell and upgrade to the latest model... if you can afford it I'd go that route so you don't deny yourself in the meantime.


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## avedon (May 25, 2007)

*Tempted*

I tried a Touch at the Laval Store. Nice machine, very tempted to buy it. Only thing holding me back is the calendar issue (can't add on the Touch). Hopefully, Apple will add this feature soon. I will buy immediately when added.


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

I did not know there was a calendar on it until I bought it. But yes surprisingly I think the touch would be a complete product for me if I could add to the calendar on the touch. Seems people are complaining about that all over the net, hopefully Apple will add that feature soon.


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## Cliffy (Apr 18, 2005)

jicon said:


> Saw the touch in two stores... sooo tempted to buy... but by the box art, I was venturing that one store was selling a week 37 model. (Still weary about the video playback complaints)
> 
> Another store had the Macy Gray box. I asked for the price (Which of course was $449) and I got cold feet. I'll just wait a few weeks when I'm in Vegas and save a bit of money, and have opportunity to play around with one.


The store I bought mine at had both boxes, but they were all week 38's.


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

just found a nice little function, double click the home button and up pops a little window with a volume, play, pause, forward and back buttons. A nice little feature imo.


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## pcronin (Feb 20, 2005)

A guy I work with has a 16GB version, and it's very nice looking, the interface is great and all, but my only hesitation is that it can't do WPA Enterprise (Active Directory authentication).

I've been doing some research, and the Nseries from Nokia is looking very tempting.
The screens are a bit bigger, upgradeable storage, and physical volume buttons for the in pocket moments. But the big seller for an N8x0 is that it can do "infrastructure" wifi (meaning WPA Enterprise) so I could use it at work as well as while just war walking. 
Also, the N810 has a little slide out keyboard, and it and the 800 have ability to use bluetooth keyboards... 

I know it won't be as easy to sync the podcasts, but even thought the interface isn't as slick, I'm thinking about getting either the 800 (around $250) or the 810 (almost double) instead of the iPod touch. The wifi support and the wealth of 3rd party apps (chat, PIM, GPS) are what's drawing me to the "dark side" of non apple hardware.

Anyone have a few good reasons why I *shouldn't* go with the Nseries? 
Anyone have a link that shows how to get iPod touch on a WPA Enterprise (user/domain/password) network?

Anyone use their iPod touch for chatting quite a bit? Find the on screen keyboard good/bad for this?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## coldcanuck (Nov 12, 2007)

Hey pcronin,

I just picked up an 8GB ipod touch with the software update. So far, I've had no trouble typing, but I've never used a crackberry or other keyboard before.

In terms of wifi, it's fantastic at home, but a pita at school. I'm a grad student at UWO and their wifi is secured using 802.1x (or some variant... requires a un and pw), which iPod touch will NOT do. I spent all of yesterday trying to find a way around it, and so far it doesn't look like there is... unless Apple puts something in the next update (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's a software issue).

However, 1.1.3 has added updates for VPN's... I don't know if that would give you a way around your problem of wi-fi at work.

Even without the wifi at school, I still love the touch. The new software also makes it easier to keep track of mail, but the gmail and gcalendar sites are awesome on safari as well. 

Hope that helps...


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## pcronin (Feb 20, 2005)

Thanks for your comments coldcanuck, 
Sounds like your school is like my work, and uses the enterprise version of WPA.

Not that I like the crackberry that much, but I do enjoy the hardware keyboard for long-ish emails/ims. 

My co-worker got the update and still can't get on wireless here. 

I also just found out that the 810 model has built in gps... I don't think the ipod can compete with that anymore


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

pcronin said:


> I've been doing some research, and the Nseries from Nokia is looking very tempting.
> The screens are a bit bigger, upgradeable storage, and physical volume buttons for the in pocket moments. But the big seller for an N8x0 is that it can do "infrastructure" wifi (meaning WPA Enterprise) so I could use it at work as well as while just war walking.
> Also, the N810 has a little slide out keyboard, and it and the 800 have ability to use bluetooth keyboards...
> 
> ...


Coming in late to the game (as usual).

I just got the Nokia n800 and have been playing around with it a bit. 

Bought it for $263.19 (taxes and shipping included) from Dell.ca last week.

The pluses: easily upgradeable memory. I grabbed two 4GB flash cards from Canada Computer (thanks to this site's 'shop & compare') for another $46 (taxes and shipping included) and a $46 Proporta case (shipping included) from the UK. So the whole 8GB cased thing'll be under $350.

Never having been wireless before, it took me a bit to figure out how to make my wireless modem actually wireless (and secure). *That* was the most time-consuming part of the whole process  

First thing I did was head on over to Internet Tablet School: Nokia N800: How to update the N800's firmware, how to back up data and settings, and how to upgrade to OS 2008 to quickly upgrade to OS2008. That took me about five minutes + the time to watch the video.

Then I bluetooth-paired my iMac and the n800.

Then I played. Internet connection was fine. I found that every Blenz coffeeshop I've been to in the Vancouver downtown core has free internet access. Sometimes you have to get the code from the cashier to access it but, whatever.

Skype works really well for me. The speakers are kinda tinny but, you know, what do you expect. My calls come through clearly and I don't have a problem hearing the person on the other side.

There's a radio station tuner for international stations. The only problem, so far, is that the n800 can really only play RealPlayer streams (and they can't be embedded in the webpage. They have to be available as a stand-alone player on the site). All the BBC stations are preprogrammed. I have a couple of French stations, WFMU in Jersey City, a couple of Japanese stations. Haven't been able to figure out how to get KCRW but it's entirely possible it's a learning curve on my part and not the n800's limitation.

The pop-out video camera is fine. Haven't used it yet but it seems neato and you can watch yourself in the window if you're not calling someone if your ego will allow it.

I also like that I can get email alerts on a number of accounts (including my home account and my google ones). It would be really nice to be able to bridge my Address Book but, as you said, this is a Linux-based system so I may have to wait around for that. I think I might be able to do that with my PalmOne contacts (or that may have only been for OS2007). 

However, having spent all that money about six weeks ago for a new non-essential iPod, my contacts live there happily (and it's kinda nice not having to switch screens between contacts and whatever application I'm using the info for on the n800).

Youtube video quality is just a tad jerky. I think I read somewhere that the thing has the oomph of a 400MHz iMac. Which is fine since that's what I had for seven years before buying my current iMac just a year and a half ago... . 'The Matrix'? Um. No. Just today while waiting for someone I watched an entire episode (broken up into five parts) of 'Project Catwalk'. I could see the images very clearly and was very happy with it.

My igoogle page is flucked. The top bars are fine but all my wonderful gadgetty things are shoved over to the right. Again. It could just be me on that curve again and I just haven't discovered how to adjust web pages to fit the screen properly.

Easy to download are a basic word processor (won't save in .doc format but you can get around that by simply using Google's tools. I'm pretty sure there's an online googly-thingy that does save in .doc), spreadsheet-y thing, etc. If you find yourself doing a lot of typing, a cheap portable bluetooth keyboard is a good way to ease cramped fingers. You can also use handwriting but my n800 seems to hate my chickenscratch. I think I'd do better if I let it learn more of my handwriting but it just made me kinda self-conscious  

Some GPS mapping stuff (that I haven't used). 

The operating system's still pretty new so more always-free Linux programs with time, no doubt.

Battery life was decent - I had it on for four hours the first time with some to spare. The adapter's really small and light, too, so it's easy enough to carry in a bag or even your back pocket.

Screen is very nice, indeed.

I haven't tried to bluetooth anything over yet. I'm still waiting on that 8GB for that.

Reasons why I bought it: 

1. Price. 

Hard to beat all that for $350 all inclusive. I just didn't think an iTouch at this stage of the game was going to be cost-effective for my simple needs. Especially since I have an iPod that I'm also happy with so video, music and contacts would oonly be duplicated.

2. 

Need. I just wanted something portable to access the 'net while I'm going about my day. Computers at work are all heavily censored and personal emails are impossible to get. I also find I get brainstorms while out and would like the option to check things on the 'net without having to write stuff down in my notebook and coming home to look things up. And I am *not* impressed with the cleanliness of the vast majority of internet cafes. God knows the last time those keyboards were properly disinfected and washed.

This thing, I just charge up and it takes very little space in my bag. Pull it out and it can basically do everything everyone else is invariably doing at the coffeeshop (cruising the 'net and not using any applications) at a fraction of the price and with a fraction of the size and weight. It's just convenient for me.

3. Linux. 

It's a small introduction to a system I have no personal knowledge of before this purchase. I thought it would be a gentle introduction to some components and vocabulary around this OS. And everything's free. Wish developers would be either more descriptive of their application or stop using geeky words and code for some of them... but what the hell. It's free and I can read the descriptions.

So, yeah. I'm content with this purchase. It's the kind of toy that I'm sure I'll have kicking around in my bag for at least a couple of years and will be convenient (especially when I travel). 

It'll mean I can hold off on a much more expensive laptop until I really feel the need for one (i.e. more CPU-intensive applications or trips that require me to work, too). And it's so neat, that if/when I do go on to a laptop, I know any number of people who'd love to get their hands on this toy - especially since I tend to pass things on for free.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

Just an update.



Betty Woo said:


> There's a radio station tuner for international stations. The only problem, so far, is that the n800 can really only play RealPlayer streams (and they can't be embedded in the webpage. They have to be available as a stand-alone player on the site). All the BBC stations are preprogrammed. I have a couple of French stations, WFMU in Jersey City, a couple of Japanese stations. Haven't been able to figure out how to get KCRW but it's entirely possible it's a learning curve on my part and not the n800's limitation.


I went on over to www.internettablettalk.com's 'newbie' forum and posted a question about how to find certain radio stations. As I was waiting for a response, I figured it out. However, there's a much more succinct post there that explains the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of how to get the stations. And I managed to dig out a decent old pair of RCA-plugged Logitech speakers and now I can listen to all the stations through the speakers that I've put in my bedroom. Neato!



Betty Woo said:


> My igoogle page is flucked. The top bars are fine but all my wonderful gadgetty things are shoved over to the right. Again. It could just be me on that curve again and I just haven't discovered how to adjust web pages to fit the screen properly.


Still working on fine-tuning the web page rendering... .



Betty Woo said:


> I haven't tried to bluetooth anything over yet. I'm still waiting on that 8GB for that.


That was easy-peasy.

Aside from the fact the web pages take too long to download for my insatiable need for immediacy, I'm terribly happy with the N800.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

Newest update:



Betty Woo said:


> Still working on fine-tuning the web page rendering... .


Turns out the long delay downloading and the pages being rendered were caused by the highly counter-intuitive icon for 'Fit to view'. 

I, of course, figured *that* meant the page would just stay within the confines of the large screen but, apparently, it's a hold over from Nokia's cellphone heritage, when web pages really do have to be messed around with internally for them to appear decently on cellphones.

Once I unchecked that, the NYTimes page now renders more correctly and about 30 - 40% faster.

And with that, I have now officially closed myself off this hijacked thread. :lmao:


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