What should I get? an iPhone or iPod touch? That is the question my friend presented me yesterday after going to the Apple store and playing with the iPhone… We talked about the similiarities and difference between the two “next-gen” devices but ..
Basically, it boils down to this…
More after the jump
Do you want to integrate your mobile phone with your iPod?
There are several factors underlying this question
- Is your cell phone contract expired?
- Are you happy with your current mobile provider? (Ie. Coverage, price, mins)
- Do you need to access to your email quickly?
- Is web access important to you?
- Do you SMS a lot?
- What kinda Apple iPods do you already have?
Lets tackle these factors one at a time
Has your cell phone contract expired?
If it hasn’t, be ready to pay at least $175 for early termination fee for each line.. Ouch!
Are you happy with your current mobile provider? (Ie. Coverage, price, mins)
Previously coming from Verizon, I was paying a pretty penny for internet access on my Motorola Q. (that phone was the worse POS btw :P) With my current plan, I was a previous Cingular customer so adding an Iphone to it extended my contract 2 more months (I have a 2 year contract) and I had to pay $20 for unlimited data and 200 SMS.. Since I Twitter, and receive work SMS pages, 200 messages go by rather quickly. I had to opt for the $30 option of unlimited data and 1500 SMS.. plenty for me..
Coverage in the Bay Area for Verizon was just about as good as Cingular.. ehh AT&T is now.. I would say Verizon is #1, Cingular #2, Sprint #3 and Tmoblie #4 in my coverage list.. I’m actually paying about $30 less with Cingular vs my Verizon plan.
Note: this quasi-coverage map of mine will vary depending on location, so be sure to ask your friends, co-workers, about their experience with coverage.. mmmkay?
Do you need to access to your email quickly?
Once you setup your email account on the iPhone, it’s very easy to get emails from Yahoo, Gmail and other POP3 email accounts on the web. Over the EDGE network, I would say it takes about a min to poll the new emails and for it to start downloading. With Wifi, it would be less than 20 seconds. It’s extremely easy to check your email and reply to it as well.. T9 replies are long and tedious
Is web access important to you?
It comes with unlimited data, and you can surf the ‘real’ web with MobileSafari ..
Do you SMS a lot?
It’s nice to have a keyboard on the screen so I can Twitter reply back and SMS is awesome with a keyboard on the screen
What kinda Apple iPods do you already have?
I have a 30gb 5th Gen iPod, 1st gen 1gb Shuffle and a 4th gen 40gb iPod, and I still bought the iPhone.. Why? because I wanted to combine both cell and mp3 device into one. The iPhone is great because I could be listening to Jake Shimabukuro and when a call comes in, the music fades out and I can press the mic button once to answer the call. When the call is done, the music fades back in. That feature right there is worth integrating my MP3 and cell phone.
I originally had the Nokia N75, awesome phone actually, but when it started crapping out on me, I had to send it in for warranty repairs. One month later, I got my a new N75, but I already purchased so oh well. If you are looking for a unlocked Nokia N75, see my ebay auction here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280151479635
Other smaller factors to consider…
- Actually, the form factor between the iPhone and iPod Touch are very similiar. 8mm smaller than the iPhone..
- Comparing the 8gb iPhone with the 8gb iPod Touch, there is a $100 difference seperating the two, (along with the 2 year contract from AT&T) also…
- For the hacks, I’m sure when the iPod touch gets into the hands of the eager devs, the same hacks and 3rd party apps will be applied to the iPod touch..
- Lets face it, EDGE is super slow.. I do not surf the web on EDGE unless I’m realy bored, I’m in a bind and need to check something “quickly” or I’m not near Wifi..
So, it really boils down to whether you want a “phone” with your iPod or not.. some people love the idea of having an all in one device, while others dread the simplicity… I’m all for having a central place for your entertainment.
I plan to keep my iPhone for at least a year.. until the next gen comes out… 
