[park_uk]

New features/apps almost put me past my "wait for 2nd Gen Apple Products" self-discipline.
Just one more hurdle for me: When do Mac experts here think that the Ipod Touch will have 32GB of flash memory - in a few months? Longer? Never?

[Maclectic]

I generally don't buy 1.0's from Apple, even though I'm a huge fanboy. The historical fact is that they suk at 1.0s.

However, I'm a Verizon customer and didn't want to break my contract and pay the penalty for an iPhone, so I bought the 16GB iPod Touch instead, because it was just too cool.

After a a couple months I must say, it's a mixed bag. The interface is very nice and the screen is gorgeous, but the longer I use it I'm feeling slightly ripped off.

The iPod Touch is far and away the most expensive iPod, but in many of the features it has above other iPods are just so-so. I even found out that the iPod touch lacks a feature that almost all recent iPods have which really p!sses me off: no lyrics can be displayed for songs. The web browsing is slow and unreliable unless you have a very solid hotspot. Not having a notepad at release is super lame and there is no way I'm going to pay for it.

The $20 for the new apps feels like gouging to me. I would have been all for the alacarte option, but forcing people to pay $20 for some apps that should have been in the release product is underhanded.

People say, "stop whining about not getting these apps for free!", but I paid iPhone prices for sub-iPhone features and Steve Jobs did not apologize to me or offer me a rebate or anything.

Here are the things I think should be free:

- Web Clips. Making web pages into custom icons on the main screen. Why the heck not? This should have been in the release product and does not justify a $20 cost.
- Notes. You wouldn't believe how stupid it is to have to use your address book to save notes on a $400 iPod Touch. I was pretty sure they would add this for free when I bought it for the high price, but I guess I was wrong.
- Movie rentals. Okay, I really don't want this feature, but apparently Apple doesn't want me to spend money on rentals until I spend $20. This seems downright stupid. It's like when Earthlink wouldn't subsidize my replacement DSL modem when it died so I could continue paying them (mind you, I put up wiht a 6-week no DSL downtime from them a year or so ago, because they lied about doing infrastructure upgrades and pretended it was the phone company). I had been a customer for around 10 years. Guess what. I'm now an AT&T Yahoo DSL customer. Screw you Earthlink.

Stuff I would pay for (but at more like $5 per app):

- Mail. Very cool. Maybe worth more than $5. I don't need it, but I would pay for it, because it would probably work better than web mail.
- Maps. Also very cool.I'm sure it took alot of engineering to get this to work as well as it does, so I'd pay for it.
- Stocks & Weather. I wouldn't pay $5 each, but maybe together. My wife is a complete Weather freak and wants to know conditions in weird places at any time she can. She would have a digital thermometer implanted in her wrist if she could.

-.- Maclectic






Message was edited by: Maclectic, but only minor things.

[TAllenSr]

@Macletic: I "feel you" on many of your points. One clarification however: The FREE Update to your iPod Touch will give you the ability to Rent Movies. I don't think even Steve-O is THAT short sighted ... he wants your rental $$!

After playing with all of the new apps on my daughter's touch, I have to say I am impressed. I don't know about "$20 impressed", but they are nice additions none-the-less. Maps is very cool, and Mail is very nice. She is already using Notes a lot as well.

[Maclectic]

Are you sure about the movie rentals? I'm looking at the iTunes store on my iPod Touch right now and I don't see any evidence of it and I got the "free" SW update yesterday.

-.- Maclectic

[TAllenSr]

I am sorry...maybe I misunderstood. I don't think you can actually do the RENTAL from ANY iPod/iPhone. You have to do it in the full iTunes Store on your Mac/PC, and then TRANSFER it to your iPod/iPhone. This is from Apple's Website:

Rentals to go.

Movie rentals from iTunes transfer to your iPod or iPhone to watch on the go. Either device remembers where you stopped watching on your computer and picks up where you left off.

I guess the whole rental management stuff is too much for the iPod, or they think you will not want to download big movies over Wi-Fi straight to them.

[Maclectic]

Okay, well that makes sense.

I'm not sure how renting movies on iTunes on your computer so it can be sync'd to your iPod is a big deal and it definitely doesn't seem like an iPod feature. More like an iTunes feature.

By the way, if you own an iPod Touch and don't want to give in to Apple's greed or you did already, but still feel ripped off, go sign the peititions:

http://www.petitiono...s/petition.html
http://www.petitiono...i/petition.html



-.- Maclectic

[jasonc_22]

i have absolutely no problem paying for the new Apps...because I didn't pay for them when I bought my touch.
See, I knew it didn't have them going in..just like I knew my iMac didn't have Office for Mac 2008. While I'd love Microsoft give me Office for free, I don't expect that, and I shouldn't. Same reason I don't expect Apple to give me functionality I didn't pay for for free.
I agree, I'd be nice to pick and choose which apps to buy (I, for one, have no interest in Stocks), but, on the whole, I think this is a rockin' upgrade for my iPod touch.

[Maclectic]

You must be pretty well-off to compare the iPod Touch apps to MS Office. Did you get the student version of Office?

Anyway, after paying $400 for an iPod, I don't feel as generous to Apple, since I don't get even 10% of the utility out of my iPod Touch as my MacBook Pro.

I'm guessing you're a gadget person who probably also has to have a big wide-screen HD TV and doesn't think twice about spending $200+ on a gadget. I'm not like that. The iPod Touch was the first iPod I've ever owned, because the others were just okay compared to competition. Sure they were easier to use and reasonably priced, but they didn't beat the competition by leaps and bounds. The iPod Touch seemed to have that, but would have made me much more happy if some of the simpler functionality (notepad, lyrics and web page buttons) has been in there at the outset or free.

I'm one of those people who wants Apple to appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers, not the just the half-caf-wisp-of-foam-machiatto-with-a-twist-of-orange, pablo-can-you-take-my-pants-to-the-dry-cleaner-after-you-wash-my-porsche, wait-til-daddy-sees-my-text-message-bill-after-I-get-my-pedicure kind of people. I can afford an iPhone, I just don't want to pay crappy AT&T more than I need and $60+ a month for a cell phone service (min. $720 a year).



-.- Maclectic

[jasonc_22]

Actually, this is the only iPod I've ever owned, too, and I just bought my very frist iMac as well. I'm young and not well-to-do, and certainly none of the things you assumed. And, actually, yes, the version of Office I have is Student.

With that said, and perhaps it's just the midwestern mentality I've been raised with, but I anticipate having to pay for the new things I get. I knew what I was buying when I bought my iPod touch, and I knew I wasn't going to get these particular Apps at the time. I want them now..so I'll pay for them now.

To each his own, I'm sure, but I use my iPod touch as a defacto PDA- even before this upgrade. I'm sure I use it more in any given day than I use the computer on my desk or at home. So, again, if i want it to do more than it does right now, I, and everyone else, should be comfortable paying for it.

The amazing thing about both the iPod touch and the iPhone is that Apple will be able to continue releasing new software for it for, well, ever, if they so chose (I know they won't, I'm just saying). So, just like a computer that gets new software or new operating systems, they'll be able to continue improving it for us. And we'll pay for those improvements, if we want them. If we don't think the price is far, or we aren't interested in the new nifty whatever, we won't.

Would I have complained if this was free? No way. Should it have been included originally? Yes, absolutely? Will I fork out $20 to make my iPod touch even better? Without a second thought.

[NW_Mike]

No, I'm in the Northwest and I totally agree with you. It is WORTH $20 to have those apps. We do have to remember that people who grew up during the late 90's in the era of free software think of it as an entitlement, sometimes. And these days it is hip to hate the 'big evil corporations.' I have no problem paying for the apps and I am glad to have them without having to 'jailbreak' the phone to get them.

[TAllenSr]

I grew up in MN, so I understand what you mean by "midwestern mentality". I sometimes call it a "midwestern sensibility", which I sometimes miss living here in Charlotte NC (southern people are WONDERFUL...just different). I in no way expect things for free, especially software seeing that I make my living developing software. But as I said in my [previous post|m-610348] , this case is a bit different. The software already existed on the iPhone, and having all iPhone and iPod Touch users on the same platform actually reduces support and engineering costs.

I thought the iPhone Price Drop Whiners were being ridiculous, and I was disappointed when Apple/Steve caved to the pressure. But I think this is a bit different: when I bought my iPod Touch, I knew very well that there were missing apps that were already available on the iPhone. I accepted that as a differentiator, and bought it anyway. But once Apple decided to get smart and include them on the Touch, it is reasonable to expect to maybe get them for free. Especially for those of us who just purchased our touch during the Holiday shopping season.

Like I have already said, I plunkeed down my $20 upgrade fee, and my daughter is thrilled. But I still think it is reasonable to discuss it, and we should not be labled as whiners or thought to "always want everything for free" for doing so.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi

TAllenSr said:

it is reasonable to expect to maybe get them for free. Especially for those of us who just purchased our touch during the Holiday shopping season.

Uh...No, it isn't. As pointed out, if we did get them for free it would be even better but paying for them also isn't exactly "highway robbery." As something of a comparison, when Microsoft had issues of keeping XBOX Live running smoothly for three or so weeks during the holiday, users weren't guaranteed a bit. As far as I'm aware, MS claims no specific amount of uptime but it's expected. I was indeed frustrated by it and feel the free XBLA game offering is great but realize I was by no means promised 100% uptime or compensation if that was not met. I wanted the touch to include the same apps as the iPhone but when deciding to purchase it, I fully realized and accepted that it did not.

[TAllenSr]

OK...I give up. As usual on this and any other Forum, there is "no room" for calm, reasonable, educated discourse. You have to be 100% on one side of an issue or the other -- there is no "grey area" allowed for discussion. All of my posts have included hedging terms such as "maybe" and "possibly", and have clearly stated that I am only trying to make the point that it is at least reasonable to DISCUSS the reasons why it may have been smarter for Apple to make this upgrade free. I have also stated that I am not upset, and that yes, I did think it was worth $20 to upgrade, and that I had already done so.

Guess there is no room for discussion on a Discussion Forum. Sad really.

[sfmillvalley]

Here's the deal: 5 iPhone apps for $20. We bought the Touch early for a reason: we liked it as it was and were willing to pay $300 or $400 to be the 1st kid on the block to have it. Future Touchs will have the apps via 1.1.3, we don't. It would be "nice" if we got it for free but then again that wouldn't be good business now, would it?