should i get ipod touch?

[mamamia88]

my current mp3 player is great but locks up whenever i add new songs. i am a big gamer but not really into handhelds. i have about 2-3gb of music so the 8gb one would be plenty. i am looking to play games like peggle, fifa, and maybe a racing game like motorstorm. should i get a refurbished ipod touch for $180 or just buy a cheap sansa fuze for like $90 and use the spare money for a psp or ds. by the way i don't have huge pockets and would prefer not to carry both a gaming system and ipod with me

[doorknob60]

I personally wouldn't recommend an iTouch. They don't work in Linux for adding music, apps, videos, etc. And they're overpriced IMO. Sansas on the other hand are good, and I would recommend one (I have one), and for gaming a PSP beats an iTouch any day.

[mamamia88]

so get a fuze from walmart and use the money to buy a psp?

[calrogman]

my current mp3 player is great but locks up whenever i add new songs. i am a big gamer but not really into handhelds. i have about 2-3gb of music so the 8gb one would be plenty. i am looking to play games like peggle, fifa, and maybe a racing game like motorstorm. should i get a refurbished ipod touch for $180 or just buy a cheap sansa fuze for like $90 and use the spare money for a psp or ds. by the way i don't have huge pockets and would prefer not to carry both a gaming system and ipod with me

Since you aren't into handhelds, have a 2-3 GB collection, and are *willing* to spend money on a PSP or DS and iPod touches have awful Linux compatibility (which can be "remedied" with jailbreaking, but would void your warrenty) I'd have to recommend the Archos Clipper (http://www.archos.com/products/mp3_players/archos_clipper/index.html?country=gb&lang=en), if 2 GB isn't enough the next step wold be an Archos 2 (http://www.archos.com/products/mp3_players/archos_2/index.html?country=gb&lang=en), which has 8 GB of storage. Both are cheaper than a sanza fuse and appear to fit your needs better.

[mamamia88]

are those archos good? they are like $35 which is pretty dang cheap for 8gb mp3 player. also, do they have sd card slot like the fuze?

[doorknob60]

Also, I don't know how much Fuzes are al Wal Mart, but my brother is looking at a 4 GB one on Amazon for $50, which sounds like a good deal to me :) That leaves plenty of extra for a PSP/DS. Also if you want, keep in mind that PSPs can also play MP3s.

[calrogman]

It has a MicroSD / MicroSDHC card slot but it isn't very well endowed in the formats division, supporting AVI, MP3, WMA and JPEG.

The full specs specs are here (http://www.archos.com/products/mp3_players/archos_2/specs.html).

EDIT: Also, the price you saw was £39.99 (GBP) In USD it's more like $63.57 as of *right now*.

[mamamia88]

all i need is something to blast music through my car stereo that is easy to find a song i want during red light. if can meet those standards and doesn't break easily i will order one

[doorknob60]

It has a MicroSD / MicroSDHC card slot but it isn't very well endowed in the formats division, supporting AVI, MP3, WMA and JPEG.

The full specs specs are here (http://www.archos.com/products/mp3_players/archos_2/specs.html).

That's one advantage of Sansa. They also support OGG and FLAC, which is important for me since like half my collection is OGG. But those Archos players do look pretty good though. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sansa+fuze&x=0&y=0&sprefix=sansa

[BloGTK]

The Touch isn't Linux-compatible, but it's by far the best product for what you want to do. Yes, the apps have DRM, but there's no reason why you can't load it full of non-DRM music if you so choose. There is a wide selection of inexpensive games available, many of which are better than a lot of games on the PSP or DS.

The Touch is an amazingly handy device, and the App Store is by far the best of its class. I don't think that there's a device that really matches what it can do.

[mamamia88]

i just went ahead and ordered one of those archos mp3 players for $35 as long as it doesn't completely suck i will be happy

[calrogman]

all i need is something to blast music through my car stereo that is easy to find a song i want during red light.

You have a 3.5 mm (⅛") TRS jack?

[mamamia88]

You have a 3.5 mm (⅛") TRS jack?

no but i have one of those tape deck to 3.5mm adaptor that i bought for $10 at walmart

[calrogman]

The 3.5mm bit of that adapter is a TRS jack, it'll work.

[mamamia88]

cool thanks for all the advice you guys just saved me $150 that i can now use on ps3 games

[schauerlich]

The Touch isn't Linux-compatible, but it's by far the best product for what you want to do. Yes, the apps have DRM, but there's no reason why you can't load it full of non-DRM music if you so choose. There is a wide selection of inexpensive games available, many of which are better than a lot of games on the PSP or DS.

The Touch is an amazingly handy device, and the App Store is by far the best of its class. I don't think that there's a device that really matches what it can do.

+1

I have an iPod Touch and love it.

[drawkcab]

I hate to say it, but the ipod touch is a really cool gadget. It's not the best mp3 player but it bundles together so many other functions and includes a wifi chip. It's tough to beat if you can afford it.

Me, I just bought an eeepc instead. My old iriver hp120 is an antique but it still has excellent sound quality.

[izizzle]

Do yourself a favor and buy a Cowon S9. It kills the ipod touch.

[geekygirl]

dont buy an iPod Touch lest you want to be associated with the rest of us 'hipster' 'overpaid' Apple product users ;)

/VTIC :p

[Dr. C]

dont buy an iPod Touch lest you want to be associated with the rest of us 'hipster' 'overpaid' Apple product users ;)

/VTIC :p

Agree, but the biggest problem with iPods is that they are DRM locked devices that do not support GNU / Linux or Free Codecs such as ogg. There are some excellent suggestions in this thread for alternative music players.

[MikeTheC]

Agree, but the biggest problem with iPods is that they are DRM locked devices
Really? Proof?


that do not support GNU / Linux
That would be, um, the community which hates Apple and likes to tell them and everyone else this on a regular basis.


or Free Codecs such as ogg.
And how many other units support OGG audio or video? Hmm? The number may be <0 but it's not by much.

[geekygirl]

Agree, but the biggest problem with iPods is that they are DRM locked devices that do not support GNU / Linux or Free Codecs such as ogg. There are some excellent suggestions in this thread for alternative music players.


*facepam* er yeah I knew that...I was trying an attempt at humour because of the anti-Apple product sentiment that resides in these forums and wasnt really interested in the whole "OMG it doesnt work on Linux, therefore its a waste of money" responses you usually get with a thread like this one..

Oh...I have an iPhone, its Jailbreaked, it runs non-Apple applications on it (DRM?! where?) all my iTunes bought songs are DRM free, and I also run ripped mp3's on it, and other media sources files on it - then again I am not so petty as to *not* use mp3 as a codec for any digital media and I am no audiophile that I really care greatly about sound quality between the two.

Some people that use Linux also use Apple products and are not so concerned with the issues you have raised here - they want to buy a device based on their needs not ideology.

[gymophett]

The Fuze. iPod touches aren't doing so well with Linux... and the Fuze works great. Plus you can get a PSP too?! Dude! You can even just get a PSP and an 8GB memory card and use it as your MP3 player!

[doorknob60]

And how many other units support OGG audio or video? Hmm? The number may be <0 but it's not by much.

How about all the Sansa players mentioned numerous times in this thread? And I've seen other companies with players with OGG (and FLAC) support too (can't recall which ones). Also all Rockbox compatible players support OGG and FLAC, and pretty much everything else too.

[Dr. C]

*facepam* er yeah I knew that...I was trying an attempt at humour because of the anti-Apple product sentiment that resides in these forums and wasnt really interested in the whole "OMG it doesnt work on Linux, therefore its a waste of money" responses you usually get with a thread like this one..

Oh...I have an iPhone, its Jailbreaked, it runs non-Apple applications on it (DRM?! where?) all my iTunes bought songs are DRM free, and I also run ripped mp3's on it, and other media sources files on it - then again I am not so petty as to *not* use mp3 as a codec for any digital media and I am no audiophile that I really care greatly about sound quality between the two.

Some people that use Linux also use Apple products and are not so concerned with the issues you have raised here - they want to buy a device based on their needs not ideology.

If one jailbreaks an iPhone then one avoids all the problems with DRM and non GNU / Linux compatibility, but rest assured that Apple is dedicating substantial resources to ensure that jailbroken iPhones are either locked down again or bricked. As for why this community hates Apple rest assured the Apple has worked very hard to earn the wrath of many in the FLOSS movements. For example even Microsoft is using iPods working with Windows and not with GNU / Linux as a reason for using Windows over GNU / Linux. It was not always this way. Go back to Ubuntu forums in 2005 and one will find a Mac OS forum and no Windows forum for example.

As for a competitive product that supports both GNU / Linux and ogg the Sansa Fuze is a great example. No need to jailbreak it.

One of the unfortunate results of the FSF's Bad Vista and Windows 7 Sins campaigns is that they may drive users out of the frying pan (Microsoft) and into the fire (Apple).

[pwnst*r]

my current mp3 player is great but locks up whenever i add new songs. i am a big gamer but not really into handhelds. i have about 2-3gb of music so the 8gb one would be plenty. i am looking to play games like peggle, fifa, and maybe a racing game like motorstorm. should i get a refurbished ipod touch for $180 or just buy a cheap sansa fuze for like $90 and use the spare money for a psp or ds. by the way i don't have huge pockets and would prefer not to carry both a gaming system and ipod with me

i guess i don't understand what your DAP choice has to do with FIFA and Motorstorm?

[Giant Speck]

Regardless of whether or not it is Linux compatible, I wouldn't buy an iPod Touch because it's so expensive for the amount of storage space you get. Some models are even more expensive than the iPhone!

[geekygirl]

but rest assured that Apple is dedicating substantial resources to ensure that jailbroken iPhones are either locked down again or bricked.

Well one fallacy is that jailbreaking your iPhone (iPod Touch) can brick it, and thats just not true. Sure the iPhone iPod Touch) is not covered by a warranty whilst it is jailbroken, it also takes less than 5 minutes to restore the iPhone (iPod Touch) via iTunes. AND as has been mentioned in other parts of these forums, there are FOSS alternatives to be able to sync music on said iPhone (iPod Touch), and all you then use iTunes for is a restore to original software.

I would be rather interested in how they are going to start remotely bricking multitudes of iPhones out there in the wild if jailbreaked phones are not connected to iTunes except for syncing whilst NOT connected to the internet....oh right...iTunes 9 perhaps?!

Given some of the restrictions placed on the iPhones usage were decided upon by one American company (AT&T) and another American albeit global company (Apple) I would be interested to see how jailbreaking my iPhone so that I can use Skype over a 3G cellular network over here in Australia (which is perfectly acceptable usage - its only an AT&T policy that prevented it) would be deemed an inappropriate usage of the iPhone?

Then again I am not so silly not to understand the ties that bind when one buys an Apple product, however some of the reasons people JB in this country is to remove restrictions in place that have no reason to be here purely because of a foreign carriers TOS. I dont JB my iPhone for any other reason than to use a VOIP application over a 3G network - and this is not so much an Apple restriction but an AT&T restriction - my gripe is with them.

Again - care to show me an example of how DRM affects my iPhone usage? As I said, only about 5-10% if that of my entire music collection was ever purchased through iTunes the rest has been aquired through other means. Again, NO DRM on my iTunes songs either.

So DRM? Please start citing examples and references as I am intruiged. Maybe I am misunderstanding the DRM concept.

Its funny because parts of the FOSS movement cry for Apple to make iTunes available to Linux and yet all the RMS fanboi/girl crowd do is boo and hiss and spit at such suggestions and companies having never touched their products based on their FOSS beliefs and what they read.

Havent people ever heard the expression 'dont knock it until you try it?" :p

To the OP:

At the end of the day get what it is that YOU want, not what others are saying you should get based on their own ideology, unless of course you share that same ideology.
If you are an audiophile (of which I am not) then yes there are better alternatives to the iPod Touch out there from what I have been told by audiophiles. If money is a concern get something cheaper than the Touch, but if you dont want to *just* play music, but games, apps and all the other goodies you get with a Touch, go for it, it is a great little bit of kit and a lot of FUN...!!

[lisati]

My $0.02: Based on what I've read in the forums many iThings (and devices from manufacturers other than Apple) seem to work best with proprietary software that isn't always Linux-friendly. I'm happy with a "brand name" mp3 player from one of my local electronics retailers, which as far as Ubuntu is concerned, works a bit like a regular USB flash drive.

[aysiu]

Well one fallacy is that jailbreaking your iPhone (iPod Touch) can brick it, and thats just not true. Sure the iPhone iPod Touch) is not covered by a warranty whilst it is jailbroken, it also takes less than 5 minutes to restore the iPhone (iPod Touch) via iTunes. Apple has made sure iTunes isn't available for Linux
AND as has been mentioned in other parts of these forums, there are FOSS alternatives to be able to sync music on said iPhone (iPod Touch), and all you then use iTunes for is a restore to original software. Looks quite complex to me:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone

Better to just get a Linux-friendly device. Plug in, drag and drop, remove.

No jailbreaking. No dual-booting or virtualizing for iTunes. No restoring or following complicated tutorials.

[toupeiro]

Rather than go out and replace my stolen ipod touch, I'm trading my friend the value of his Cowon S9 in best buy gift certificates I've been saving up to do my replacement device. I've seen it, I've used it, and it rocks! It has the best audio quality of any portable device I've ever used bar none, and I've been buying portable mp3 players since 1998-1999. Oh, and out of the box linux support from the vendor!

[hanzomon4]

Apple has made sure iTunes isn't available for Linux Looks quite complex to me:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone

Better to just get a Linux-friendly device. Plug in, drag and drop, remove.

No jailbreaking. No dual-booting or virtualizing for iTunes. No restoring or following complicated tutorials.

+1

If linux support is important and iPhone or iTouch just is not the best option. They are great devices but if you can't get music on the thing without jumping through hoops it kinda defeats the purpose. I'm liking the N900 as a possible upgrade once my iphone contract is up. This puppy has served me well but I'm all for cross platform and if the N900 can do all that my iPhone does + give me good cross platform support I'm sold.

[marchwarden]

How about all the Sansa players mentioned numerous times in this thread? And I've seen other companies with players with OGG (and FLAC) support too (can't recall which ones). Also all Rockbox compatible players support OGG and FLAC, and pretty much everything else too.

My wife's iRiver has supported OGG since she bought it 2.5 years ago and there are numerous other players that support OGG (http://wiki.xiph.org/index.php/PortablePlayers)

[Grenage]

A music player should have decent storage, play all popular formats, be reasonably priced, simple to use and be accessible as mass storage...


...so I'll never understand how the ipod/touch took off.

[Giant Speck]

A music player should have decent storage, play all popular formats, be reasonably priced, simple to use and be accessible as mass storage...


...so I'll never understand how the ipod/touch took off.

People don't buy the iPod Touch just for playing music. They buy it for the apps and internet connectivity, as well.

[collinp]

They buy it for the apps and internet connectivity, as well.

That would be one of the major reasons I would ever buy a iPhone/iTouch.

[Grenage]

I don't think it's very good with games, but I suppose as an all-in one without a phone, it's not a terrible option. I'll stick with my DS and Nokia!

[Giant Speck]

That would be one of the major reasons I would ever buy a iPhone/iTouch.

Having the internet in your pocket is awesome, regardless of what device you're using to obtain it. :D

I love my iPhone.

[Shpongle]

apple has made sure itunes isn't available for linux looks quite complex to me:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/portabledevices/iphone

better to just get a linux-friendly device. Plug in, drag and drop, remove.

No jailbreaking. No dual-booting or virtualizing for itunes. No restoring or following complicated tutorials.

plus one!!!

[pwnst*r]

That would be one of the major reasons I would ever buy a iPhone/iTouch.

agreed.


**edited**

[Giant Speck]

to each their own. most of the population disagrees.

Source?

[Grenage]

to each their own. most of the population disagrees.

That doesn't say much, most of the population are ignorant and gormless.

[pwnst*r]

that's part of the reason the touch does so well. nobody who has one DOESN'T love that connectivity and/or the apps. who needs a source? everyone knows it outsells all others. yes, some bought it because of status, but fact is, it does what it does VERY well and it isn't going to slow down anytime soon.

just because it doesn't play well with *nix, the majority here hate. it's sad and comical at the same time to read.

[Giant Speck]

that's part of the reason the touch does so well. nobody who has one DOESN'T love that connectivity and/or the apps. who needs a source? everyone knows it outsells all others. yes, some bought it because of status, but fact is, it does what it does VERY well and it isn't going to slow down anytime soon.

Okay, now you're confusing me. Hellow said that apps and internet connectivity would be one of the major reasons why he'd get an iPod Touch, and yet you said that the majority of the population disagrees with him. Then, while explaining your point, you pretty much said exactly what he did only more drawn out.

[pwnst*r]

you're completely right. i read "never", not ever. now you can see why i jumped all over that.

http://i25.tinypic.com/3346t1d.jpg

i'll have to lay blame on not quite my first cup of coffee.

[MikeTheC]

Given some of the restrictions placed on the iPhones usage were decided upon by one American company (AT&T) and another American albeit global company (Apple) I would be interested to see how jailbreaking my iPhone so that I can use Skype over a 3G cellular network over here in Australia (which is perfectly acceptable usage - its only an AT&T policy that prevented it) would be deemed an inappropriate usage of the iPhone?

Then again I am not so silly not to understand the ties that bind when one buys an Apple product, however some of the reasons people JB in this country is to remove restrictions in place that have no reason to be here purely because of a foreign carriers TOS. I dont JB my iPhone for any other reason than to use a VOIP application over a 3G network - and this is not so much an Apple restriction but an AT&T restriction - my gripe is with them.
Speaking as an American, I would be offended if a company based in another country tried to force usage restrictions on me based on the policies of some 3rd party company who's services I'm not using and who's customer I am not and which doesn't even exist in my country.

I know this is a little bit off the subject in this thread, but there are any of a number of things going on out there which have ensnared non-Americans because companies over here fail to recognize the soverignty of other nations and individuals in those nations. I am also equally appalled in this country when you have things such as the DMCA and other legal instruments which are nothing more than legislative codifications of private companies' own policies. That being said...


So DRM? Please start citing examples and references as I am intruiged. Maybe I am misunderstanding the DRM concept.
Yeah, geekygirl, but you have to remember a lot of members here on UF are kids who like to scream and shout stuff but have no way to actually back it up when push comes to shove.


Its funny because parts of the FOSS movement cry for Apple to make iTunes available to Linux and yet all the RMS fanboi/girl crowd do is boo and hiss and spit at such suggestions and companies having never touched their products based on their FOSS beliefs and what they read.
Exactly. Nailed it in one. I mean, I'm all for F/OSS and earnestly believe every good thing I've ever said about it. The issue is not with F/OSS but with the community which surrounds it. Why in the world would any sane person think a company would want to write their software for a community which wants to shout down and demonize and demagog businesses? In the first place, Apple contributes back to F/OSS; they are under obligation to based on the fact that they use various F/OSS bits. In the second place, Apple is under no obligation to turn over code not based on F/OSS, and while they have on some, they don't with others. And given the community's mealy-mouthed nature and frequently ****-poor immature "teenager-living-in-his-parents'-basement" attitude, what in the world would motivate them to change their minds in that respect and/or develop other software *for* Linux?

To get, you have to give. I don't see the F/OSS community doing much for commercial software companies other than giving a lot of smart-mouth lip and attitude.


At the end of the day get what it is that YOU want, not what others are saying you should get based on their own ideology, unless of course you share that same ideology.
Some people require external validation of their ideas and thinking.



If one jailbreaks an iPhone then one avoids all the problems with DRM and non GNU / Linux compatibility, but rest assured that Apple is dedicating substantial resources to ensure that jailbroken iPhones are either locked down again or bricked.
It's Apple's platform to do with as they wish. If you aren't using the "preferred" OS platform for a given product, why is it a surprise you won't get the love and support you otherwise would?


For example even Microsoft is using iPods working with Windows and not with GNU / Linux as a reason for using Windows over GNU / Linux.
Take great care in saying or believing that. Microsoft doesn't give a toss about Mac OS X, either, other than inasmuch as they do write a version of MS Orifice for it. All they're doing is playing Apple against Linux, nothing more. This is one grand chess game; never loose site of that fact. Ever.



My $0.02: Based on what I've read in the forums many iThings (and devices from manufacturers other than Apple) seem to work best with proprietary software that isn't always Linux-friendly. I'm happy with a "brand name" mp3 player from one of my local electronics retailers, which as far as Ubuntu is concerned, works a bit like a regular USB flash drive.
And that's perfectly fine as a solution, too. They're not as fancy nor do they offer the integration that devices such as (and in specific) an iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch do, but then that also depends on your needs, wants and desires.



Looks quite complex to me:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone
What exactly does that page have to do with restoration of a jailbroken phone?



A music player should have decent storage, play all popular formats, be reasonably priced, simple to use and be accessible as mass storage...

...so I'll never understand how the ipod/touch took off.
Given that it basically does everything you just said, I guess you won't. That's the fundamental problem with intolerance and a myopic worldview. Many people think, say, do and believe in ways I don't, and in ways I do not agree with, but short of them constituting a legitimate threat to my personal welfare or that of my country or civilization, I respect their right to be as they are, not demagog them or the things they do.

[sideaway]

I want a zune HD. nVidia tegra anyone? Unfortunately it's MS - which means no linux support, why do proprietary software dewvelopers hate us so? I own 3 mp3 players atm. iPod classic, Toshiba Gigabeat, and a little 2gb USB DSE one. The toshiba was my first and is still my favourite. esp with rockbox; games, lots of supported formats, fast and nice audio quality... couldn't ask for too much more. I'm just sad they stopped making them. I'd jump at the drop of their hat to buy a touchscreen/wifi enabled version.

If they rivaled the old series of course. I should really sell the iPod, it's worth a bit and just collecting dust on my desk.


Oh well my 2c, buy what you want/need, don't ask for opinions, ask for facts. Make up your own mind, only you know what you truly want.

[Grenage]

Given that it basically does everything you just said, I guess you won't.

Really? OGM on ipod, mass storage connectivity and it's not over-priced?

I have nothing against Apple providing connectivity to other platforms (most companies don't seem to have trouble with this, and they don't have Apple's budget), but there are many other makes and products that do more and cost less. The difference is an aggressive marketing campaign.

[MikeTheC]

Really? OGM on ipod, mass storage connectivity and it's not over-priced?
OGM? You mean OGG Media? Since when has OGG been widely popular and a common format? You've got to get out of your Linux-centric worldview if you're going to look at things objectively.

Mass storage? You mean the ability to store non-iTunes-transferred media data? Yeah, I've done that before on my various iPods, but I have better things to do than use them as portable hard drives. Besides, isn't that what USB flash drives are for?

Over-priced? Compared to what? Is a Mercedes overpriced? A Lexus? Honda? Where/when/how you draw that line is your own personal opinion, not a law etched in concrete somewhere.

[sideaway]

In this technological world, overpriced can be colloquially referred to as price/features... Pretty simple.

I used OGG before I even knew of linux. I'd say it's a fairly wide spread format...

But yeah, iPods can be used as storage devices. Pretty good ones too, (albeit a little slow as with all USB/low rev HDDs) there's really no difference between manufacturers on this one, an 30gb ipod has the same storage functionality as a 30gb iriver.

[Grenage]

OGM

+


You've got to get out of your Linux-centric worldview if you're going to look at things objectively.

=

Me realizing that nothing can be gained by attempting to talk sense to you.

[theGlitch]

I own the touch and love it. The only issue is in order to upload content you'll either need a windows (or mac) partition or a virtual machine running windows (or mac). I setup a VirtualBox virtual machine very easily and am able to connect my iTouch to it with no trouble.

[pwnst*r]

+



=

Me realizing that nothing can be gained by attempting to talk sense to you.

he directly replied to each of your concerns and that's all you've got in return?

[Chronon]

OGM? You mean OGG Media? Since when has OGG been widely popular and a common format? You've got to get out of your Linux-centric worldview if you're going to look at things objectively.

Mass storage? You mean the ability to store non-iTunes-transferred media data? Yeah, I've done that before on my various iPods, but I have better things to do than use them as portable hard drives. Besides, isn't that what USB flash drives are for?

Why would you want to look at things objectively? The point is for the individual to make a choice that works for them. This is a subjective decision that must weigh individual preferences, constraints and other factors. If I use Linux as my main system, then it seems quite fair that I should factor this into my decision making process.

Mass storage, I believe, refers to the ability for the device to behave as a UMS device. This doesn't just mean lugging files around to be used at a PC somewhere else. It also means that I can simply drag and drop a directory tree onto my player and listen to it on the go. It uses a publicly documented protocol to communicate with the PC and therefore can be expected to work with any PC that you may encounter in your travels. I really consider MTP as a big restriction of user's rights in this respect. The iPod Touch seems to use something else again. Whether or not this is a practical restriction for the buyer is something that should be considered.



Over-priced? Compared to what? Is a Mercedes overpriced? A Lexus? Honda? Where/when/how you draw that line is your own personal opinion, not a law etched in concrete somewhere.
I totally agree with this. Though it seems a bit at odds with the suggestion to look at things objectively in the first paragraph.

[alejaaandro]

if you don't have windows or mac access at all (double boot or whatever) i'd say no.. i have one, i have figured how to use with ubuntu, but it's too much trouble (at least it was for me then, when i was a total newbie) when with itunes it just works.. (don't get me wrong, i don't blame linux 4 that, i blame apple..)

it's a nice device (overpriced 4 sure), but most of the "cool" apps require internet connection, and you don't have wifi available everywhere you go (if i where an iphone, that's different)..

[Jesus_Valdez]

I have an iPod Touch 16GB and I really like it.

I have to boot into windows from time to time in order to sync it, but that's not really a problem.

My only complain its the fact that now Im looking everywhere for a wi-fi hotspot for compulsively checking of reddit and my email.

[metalx1000]

The Nokia N900 is coming out soon and runs Linux itself. (http://maemo.nokia.com/n900/)

If you don't need it to be a phone and don't want to pay $650 for it you can try one of the older models.
You can get the Nokia N800 for about $150 at Amazon. It is a great product. It's running Linux and you can gain root accesses to it. It plays videos and Music. There are over 450 free and open-source programs available for it. It has ssh ability with X forwarding. And there are plenty of Games for it (Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake). I love mine, but I'll be selling it to help pay for my N900.

[init1]

Do yourself a favor and buy a Cowon S9. It kills the ipod touch.
Right, because the S9 has wifi and 3rd party apps like the iPod Touch does...

[plb]

If you want nothing more than an MP3 player there are many cheap options such as sansa players as many have recommended. If you want something a bit more, well I agree with many here that the iPod Touch is a handy little device. It has youtube, browser, app store with quality games and apps etc. I've had several players over the years but find this the touch superior for _my_ needs.

[Psyfive]

I have an iPod touch. I also have a Nintendo DSi with a 16 gig SD card. The DSi plays music (they limit you to .WMA but it still works). My DSi goes everywhere with me, the iPod does not.