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Brewerpaul

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 25, 2008
222
0
Clifton Park,NY
Hi all-- I'm a potential iNewbie, looking to replace a Palm Tungsten PDA.
I use that for my phone/address contacts, datebook, notes,calculator as well as various applications. Most notably, as an OR nurse, I use ePocrates which is a downloadable drug reference, sort of like an electronic PDR if you know what that is. I see on ePocrates.com that this is now available (free!) at ePocrates.com .
I was considering getting a new Palm T/X since it has WiFi which is the major new feature I'm looking for.
So.... convince me that I really want an iTouch!
As I understand it, there are now new free third party apps available, right?
Someone told me that you don't actually download apps like you do for Palm, but instead they are all online: that doesn't make sense, 'cause then unless you were in a WiFi hotspot, you couldn't use your apps. Tell me I heard wrong!

Apart from iTunes, are there good places to download free apps?
Switching from a Palm to a Palm is easy: I can just synch the new device and transfer all my current data. Is there any way I can transfer my Palm information to an iTouch?
For any of you who started on Palms, what would I be giving up by switching to the iTouch?
This new toy looks too good to be true. Please tell me it will do all the things I need! Thanks. Paul
 

FunkyMonkey

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2007
419
0
Right behind you
I can't answer all of your questions but I'll try some of them.

You download apps from the device itself and you can use them offline or online, depending on the app.

Some of these apps cost money and some are free, again, depending on the app.

I can't recommend it because I don't know the details of your situation but I enjoy mine very much and I'm glad I got it. I suggest you do more research before you go out and buy one.
 

Brewerpaul

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 25, 2008
222
0
Clifton Park,NY
iTunes has freebies as well as pay programs/apps, right?

Sorry about the apparently politically incorrect iTouch:eek:

My nephew is a major Mac freak and is bringing his iPhone up on Turkey Day, so I'll get a chance to play with it.

Can I jailbreak the newest iPod Touch? Does that void the factory warranty?
Is an extended warranty worth it? Best place to buy one?
 

OrangeDog

macrumors 6502
Oct 20, 2008
336
0
Before buying a touch I would be taking a serious look at the iPhone. It's everything the touch is, but 10x better.
 

student_trap

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2005
1,879
0
'Ol Smokey, UK
Before buying a touch I would be taking a serious look at the iPhone. It's everything the touch is, but 10x better.

yes try it o9ut for sure, but 10x better? that just sounds unfeasable.

Here are a few reasons why 10xbetter seems ridiculous imho:

1. My iPod Touch's battery far outlasts my friends iPhone 3G
2. My iPod touch supposedly has a faster processor and
3. I can see this as the UI seems faster to me. I currently have just over 50 apps on my touch, while my friends iPhone has under 10, and his UI is significdantly slower than mine, especially when changing through menus, or returning to the home screen.
4. You can get a 32 gig iPod touch

the iPhone is a wonderful thing, and I'm considering picking one up for my mother next year when her current contract runs out, however for me, I find that my iPod touch does almost all of the cool stuff that the iPhone does, and it doesn't cost me a lot to have one, while my n95 gives me my most wanted phone accessory function, a good camera, and beyond that a very reliable phone.
 

ZiggyPastorius

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2007
3,142
1
Berklee College of Music
iTunes has freebies as well as pay programs/apps, right?

Sorry about the apparently politically incorrect iTouch:eek:

My nephew is a major Mac freak and is bringing his iPhone up on Turkey Day, so I'll get a chance to play with it.

Can I jailbreak the newest iPod Touch? Does that void the factory warranty?
Is an extended warranty worth it? Best place to buy one?

Yes.

It's quite all right :p

I think PwnageTool just released the jailbreaking app for 2.2 firmware, so you should be good with that. It doesn't void anything as long as you restore to normal before taking/sending it in. I don't think it really matters where you buy it, but someone may know a place with some hot deals...

As cool as jailbreaking is, I will say it cuts the performance of the device. I ended up just restoring it to normal, because I hated the loss in performance.
 

Brewerpaul

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 25, 2008
222
0
Clifton Park,NY
I'd get the phone, but then AT&T would charge me for a monthly data plan, which I do NOT want. I'll use WiFi occasionally, but I'm never so far from an internet connected computer that I would want to pay for a phone data plan.
 

ZiggyPastorius

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2007
3,142
1
Berklee College of Music
I'd get the phone, but then AT&T would charge me for a monthly data plan, which I do NOT want. I'll use WiFi occasionally, but I'm never so far from an internet connected computer that I would want to pay for a phone data plan.

Actually, technically, they just make you pay a ridiculously expensive phone plan which includes unlimited data :p Not that there's any difference whatsoever.
 

biikman

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2008
101
0
Yes.

It's quite all right :p

I think PwnageTool just released the jailbreaking app for 2.2 firmware, so you should be good with that. It doesn't void anything as long as you restore to normal before taking/sending it in. I don't think it really matters where you buy it, but someone may know a place with some hot deals...

As cool as jailbreaking is, I will say it cuts the performance of the device. I ended up just restoring it to normal, because I hated the loss in performance.

Unless I am mistaken, you cannot jailbreak the latest 2g touch. You can break the 1g with 2.2 firmware.
 

Muncher

macrumors 65816
Apr 19, 2007
1,465
0
California
Hi all-- I'm a potential iNewbie, looking to replace a Palm Tungsten PDA.
I use that for my phone/address contacts, datebook, notes,calculator as well as various applications. Most notably, as an OR nurse, I use ePocrates which is a downloadable drug reference, sort of like an electronic PDR if you know what that is. I see on ePocrates.com that this is now available (free!) at ePocrates.com .
I was considering getting a new Palm T/X since it has WiFi which is the major new feature I'm looking for.
So.... convince me that I really want an iTouch!
As I understand it, there are now new free third party apps available, right?
Someone told me that you don't actually download apps like you do for Palm, but instead they are all online: that doesn't make sense, 'cause then unless you were in a WiFi hotspot, you couldn't use your apps. Tell me I heard wrong!

Apart from iTunes, are there good places to download free apps?
Switching from a Palm to a Palm is easy: I can just synch the new device and transfer all my current data. Is there any way I can transfer my Palm information to an iTouch?
For any of you who started on Palms, what would I be giving up by switching to the iTouch?
This new toy looks too good to be true. Please tell me it will do all the things I need! Thanks. Paul

Let's see... if you can sync your PDA to your mac, it will automatically update Address Book with contacts; if you don't have a mac then you'll have to do it manually. I do recall hearing about an app for the iPod that was a drug reference (see the bottom of my post), but it may cost you anywhere between free and $10. You will want an iPod Touch because...

... the many games for the ipod are great time killers.
... using the internet is very easy and fast.
... the battery life is good.
... you can watch movies and you have plenty of space for tv shows, podcasts, songs, photos, apps, etc.

If you get a new iPod Touch (2G), you can't get apps from anywhere but iTunes. But really, iTunes has endless amounts of them. Like bottomless fries but better. Transferring information might be harder, but if you bring your palm into the apple store when you buy the ipod, you can get an Apple 'Genius' to do some or all of the work for you.

EDIT: Transferring information through a mac is easy. You'll need the HotSync app for the mac though.

It does sound like it can do what you want, but you may have to put a little effort and money into the switch. I think you should go for it. It's a great device, and it only gets better as time goes on.

EDIT: It appears your drug app, Epocrates Rx, is free for the iPod Touch too!
 

AstrosFan

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2005
334
0
Switching from a Palm to a Palm is easy: I can just synch the new device and transfer all my current data. Is there any way I can transfer my Palm information to an iTouch?

You can download the address book from your Palm into the iPod Touch. The details escape me at the moment, but I recall reading about a "vcf" file (or something similar) which you import into the iPod Touch.
 

Renator

macrumors member
Jan 21, 2008
41
0
Milwaukee, WI
Hi --- I moved from a Palm T/X in January of 2008. I used Palms since about 1997 when the Palm Pilot came out. When I switched to my iPt I did have to make some adjustments. But I was able to easily transfer all my data -- addresses and calendar -- to my Touch. When I switched from PC to Mac I was able to import all my data to the Mac Address Book and Calendar. There are, no doubt, ways to import the Palm data with a PC as well. There are probably instructions somewhere on this Forum.

There are a few things I miss, like Docs to Go, but it looks like there will be an app version available soon. You can put yourself on an announcement list. I miss not having a To Do List. However, you can adapt the calendar function for that.

I miss not having "Notes" that the Palm had. However, what I've done to get around that is to put notes in the address book if it pertains to a certain person. Reminders about things to myself I put in the Calendar.

You can use Google Docs if you need to view MS documents, but they cannot be edited on the fly.

You can email me through my website: http://www.bicycle-tales.com if you have any further questions.

Richard
 
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