iPod touch Why did you choose an iPod touch?

Same.

I looked into a pair on iPhones on a family contract and it's 170 before taxes. I'm through straight talk right now and it's a good deal. There is wifi almost everywhere I spend significant time so the iPod works for my needs.

It used to be because it's thinner, cheaper than an iPhone and I don't use phones that much myself so any cheap phone was ok for me, but I still decided to get an iPhone 4S 3 month ago. If I didn't I would by now get the new iPod touch.

Great thread, by the way. I am also an adult. Unlike a lot of people, I work from home and have wifi access all day. The iPod Touch gives me nearly all the functionality of an iPhone without paying the data fees. (I know it's different elsewhere, but I live in the US.)

It would be difficult making the switch to android after having access to all those wonderful apps. And if, as you say, you are an independent iOS developer, thank you for working so hard. It's those 700,000 apps that make iOS so much fun!

P.S. Between you and me, I, too, have iPhone envy from time to time. But when I consider the excessive carrier fees, I reach for the Touch and soon overcome them.

Also an adult here, living in the United States. Great question but it might use some clarification since I see several interpretations. Why buy an iPod Touch instead of a smartphone? Why buy an iPod Touch instead of the Galaxy Player? Why buy an iPod Touch at all? I'll just answer the first one since it's the simplest and it's what everyone seems to be answering:

Cost! Data plans are way too expensive for my budget. Where I live finding free wifi is generally easy even though it's not everywhere, it's common enough to be useful. Having a single device that's both a cell phone and "smart-device", and instant Internet access would be nice but it's not necessary. Most of the apps I use don't require Internet, and even Maps lets me save one route offline to get me through. A minor reason is that having constant Internet access would be distracting to me, so in some ways I don't prefer that kind of convienence.

Looking forward to replacing my 3rd gen iPod Touch with the new 5th gen model.

Cost! I definitely cannot afford the $2000 or more dollars that an iPhone contract costs especially for my needs. There are only a few apps that I use regularly and since I don't talk on the phone or text I don't see the point in getting the iPhone. You can get dirt cheap prepaid phones if you need talk or text access. I see a lot of adults with the touch as well here, it looks just like an iPhone and is just as cool to pull out in public. Unlike Nintendo's devices the touch is THE device to have around here if you are a kid unless your parents pay for an iPhone. It doesn't look childish like Nintendo's devices so people won't make comments about how you are playing a children's console if you are an adult and of course you can still play games on it and it's perfectly acceptable behavior in public. I honestly don't know a kid here without one, and as I have said before I see lots of adults with them too and they aren't afraid to use them in public.

It does so much more than other options, you can surf the web perfectly with no lag, there are tons of lifestyle apps which the competition does not have, and the games are cheap or free, most of the games cost .99 instead of $40 from Nintendo. I can get the same playtime out of the better iOS titles as I can from Nintendo's offerings.

Apple doesn't hold back on features either, even the 4th gen touch has a very usable camera and video camera, while the camera on the 3DS is very, very poor.

Same here, don't have the itch to carry a portable phone with me 24/7 worrying about if someone is going to call or text me. The iPod Touch fills my needs with the MagicJack app. I can call out or receive calls when I am on WIFI or WIMAX. I use my iPod when I want to - it doesn't use or own me.

Cost vs Coverage. The only decent carrier in my area is USCellular. Verizon offers 3g 2GB data for $100 a month. So theres that, and there's the fact that I'm learning to develop apps and it's always a good thing to test regularly on the lowest hardware if you can, I'm temped by the iPhone's hardware, but not so much as to play $100 a month for the privilege. I could buy one second hand, or new unlocked, but without a large data plan, it's really not all that much better than the iPod Touch, despite apple's best efforts to cripple the iPod Touch.

It's partly cost, for the same reason the others have mentioned, partly convenience and partly because I bloody love it!

I do a fair bit of travelling and the iPod is a great thing to take away with you. Finding free wifi can be hard in some countries (if you're really desperate, a McDonalds is a safe bet) but once you're on, it's a phone. To be able to phone people for free is a godsend. Not just this, but when I was living in New Zealand last year, I was able to video call my friends who were out drinking for my best mate's birthday back in the UK for completely free. It was almost like I was there with them, being able to catch up with everyone individually.
Not just this but if it's a short trip I'll load a few films onto it put them on the TV with the cable thingy. A lot of my friends have iPhones or iPads or Macs, so to be able to iMessage them AND send pictures and videos is awesome.

I discovered it when I was backpacking through southern Africa my Nokia N95's SD slot decided to stop working, so I popped into an IT shop in Botswana and the fella recommended an iPod touch. It was cheaper than I would've paid for it in the UK so I snapped it up and haven't looked back since. Sadly a year or so later (last september) that model (3rd gen) was pickpocketed about a week after I arrived in New Zealand, so I had to get the 4th gen (in white).

I still do have a phone on the side - currently using my old Sony Erricson W300i it's still a nifty little phone, but I'm definitely going to upgrade ASAP, to finally have an iPod with a decent camera and other great features is fantastic.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE for my business because there things I can do with that that I can't do with the iPhone. I am looking to get an iPod touch for some iOS based apps and to carry my itunes collection with me. I know there is double twist for the android but it won't convert DRM music. There is an app out there that will convert DRM music but I have heard mixed reviews about it.

I preordered the black 32GB. It'll be a nice upgrade from my 4th gen.

I would probably have an iPhone if not for the costly data plan.

I have a SIII, so the iPod touch is for when I want to be entertained, be it by games or by movies.

I have an iPad3, an iMac and an iPod touch. Those 3 work well for all my computing needs. I am at home and retired, so I mainly use my iMac. I have high speed internet through AT&T. I bought an Ooma phone system and have a VOIP phone that cost me nothing per year since I already have DSL. When I travel, I take my iPad to access the net and e-mail while at whatever hotel I am staying. Now the iPod touch works well as a camera that fits in my pocket, I use the translation apps when out and about as well as money conversion when buying items. It works very well in reading books while waiting in a Dr.s office, auto repair shop etc and it all fits in my shirt pocket. It's a beautiful device and I will buy the new one next month and give this one to my grand daughter. I do have a cheap throwaway phone in my car in case of an emergency, that I have only used once or twice in a year. As you can see, an iPhone doesn't fit into my life style while the iPod Touch does.

I'm an adult and don't need to pay the high prices for 3G data when wifi at a McD's is easy to get.
I have an iPad3 that I use at home but it is a bit of a chore to lug around. I'm interested in either the new Touch ( I have the Gen3 one in my car) or the iPad Mini if it comes out this year. I was a bit cool on the new Touch but I'm warming up to it. This year was a very good update and the fact that the screen is the same as the iPhone's makes it more tempting. The bigger screen yet still being pocketable and the thinner form are factors pulling me in.

Middle-aged adult here. . I chose the iPod touch because I like the features. I'm upgrading from the gen. 3. My cell phone usage is very limited & I have an iPad w/hotspot capability, so there's no reason for me to buy an iPhone.

I guess many iPod users are young, but I love the device. In fact, my 72 year old mother has been hinting that she'd like an upgrade to the 3rd gen. touch we bought her a couple of years ago.

Holzkopf

I am retired after 45 years in the computer support business and being available 24/7 all those years. I refuse to be tethered to a phone any longer. That said, I am very interested in buying one of the new Touch's. My wife uses a first gen iPad which is not very convenient to lug around and I mainly use my MacBook Pro at home. Besides my contempt for cell phones, I refuse to pay the exorbitant data fees.

I'm in the same situation as the rest of you. I have an iPod Touch, iPad 2, a 13" Macbook Pro and a windows desktop computer (that is used very little these days). Also an old LG Chocolate cellphone. I would love to have an iPhone, but the data fees are a dealkiller. I won't go with a smartphone until the cost drops to the level of a standard phone.

Great Question

I'm a 57-year old female college professor/CPA.

I have an iPhone 4 and the contract just expired. I rarely text and don't like constant interruption from e-mails being pushed to my iPhone.

I use my iPod Touch for music, pictures, games, and the occasional need to go online when I don't have my iPad or am not at work/home.

My friends (all ages) seem to be addicted to texting and being a slave to their smart phones.

So COST and CONSTANT INTERRUPTION would be my two reasons for no longer using my iPhone.

I'm 42 and I own both an iPod Touch 4th gen. My employer provides a cheap cell phone so I have never been able to justify paying for service. $70, $80, $100 or whatever a month seems steep for what amounts to a minimal upgrade from what I have.
What I do have is a Virgin Mobile Peel which gives me wifi access almost everywhere. For $20 a month I get 500mb of data and so far I have only used the full 500mb once. I can share it's connection with my wife's iPad. Also, I can make phone calls wherever I have coverage. I use a bluetooth headset since the iPod Touch isn't set up ergonomically to use as a phone.
The only thing I find lacking in my iPod Touch is GPS. It would be nice to have one so I could use it for navigation. One of these days I will have to purchase a bluetooth GPS receiver. A better camera would be nice too, but I can always upgrade to the 5th gen iPod Touch for that.

James

30, male, retail assistant, I won a G6600, it does the job, its worth $100 NZD, i bought an ipod touch 16gb 2nd generation when they came out. I see alot of iphones come in to work. The iphone 4s feels terrible to hold. In New Zealand base line iphone is $1029. I use my phone for texting and calling. I surf the web sometimes on my ipod touch at work during my breaks. Having a phone that can surf the web, I would on the internet all the time. Not interested.

27, male, teacher

I choose to pair an iPod with a cheap mobile phone because I don't have to worry about the battery on my cheap phone dying (it can last for days). If the iPod's battery goes, it's no biggie, I can still make calls. It also means I can use the iPod as much as I like without worrying about the battery percentage.

If I am going out and expect to party or go someplace dangerous, I'll leave the iPod at home and take only my simple phone and I don't have worry about damaging it, having it stolen or loosing it as the phone can be replaced cheaply.

I live in a big city and there are free wi-fi points all over the place for when I need to check my email. I'd like to have GPS maps on the iPod. What I do is look up the location beforehand and take a screenshot of the map which I refer to later. It works fine but it's not ideal.

I'm from the UK but live in a foreign country where English is not widely spoken and having a complete dictionary (that doesn't require internet access) on the iPod is of great use and much more convenient than a paperback pocket dictionary.

Apart from weather and news apps (and safari, mail), my most commonly used apps don't require internet access so I see little point in paying x2 more on an iPhone (sim-free UK price) which would require constant rationing of usage to avoid low battery and always having to have £500+ worth of electronics in my pocket. Plus I can turn my simple phone off when I don't want to be disturbed, which is nice.

I had originally ordered the iPhone 5 32GB but ended up canceling it because it was just cheaper to get an iPod touch 5th gen.

My setup I'm going to use is use my iPad 3 LTE for unlimited Internet, on the iPod use Skype in conjunction with Google Voice (i use GV to maintain a common number) as a cheaper phone replacement. Yes I have to bring my iPad with me but I'm use to this. I'm wondering if I can just flip the iPod and talk into it like a normal phone if that doesn't work then ill use the headphones or Bluetooth headset.

I'm doing this because its cheaper. If I got the iPhone, first off its $800 off contract (I'm not going to lose my unlimited plan from Verizon to end up paying more for less on their shared plans), second to tether my iPad(my phone sim is in my ipad for unlimited LTE Internet)$30 extra a month. I don't use my phone really to talk that much, more texting, surfing the Internet and dash camera.

That's my setup and why I chose the iPod touch.