Is the iPod Touch the poor man's iPhone?

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Originally Posted by bloutrein

Definitely not the poor-man's iPhone. If you are poor not to afford an iPhone, you wouldn't spend money on an advanced mp3-player.

Again,

iPod = $299 or $399 ONCE
iPhone = as little as "free*" plus about $1200/year for service

How someone can see the iPod as more expensive is beyond me. If you don't sign up for the $2,000 (over 2 years) toll, then the iPhone outright (no contract) is up to about 2X the cost of the iPod.

iPod plus Talkatone and/or Skype plus earbuds with microphone is a great "poor man's iPhone". You can make and receive calls, text all you want, and use almost every app that iPhone users enjoy. You can do all of this for as little as the initial cost of the purchase and all the free wifi you can find.

Where it comes up short vs. iPhone is if you need to be able to take & make calls and/or immediately receive and send texts from anywhere and you get away from a wifi signal... or if you want to take/make calls while in motion (such as riding in a car or bus). In those situations, you need a 3G/4G connection and thus an iPhone. But if calls could go to voice mail and texts can wait until you get some wifi, the loss of that anytime, anywhere convenience saves you about $1,000/year.

If you want to go one step further, pick up a cheap mifi device with cheap plan and that gives you 3G/4G everywhere- albeit with the pain of carrying a second device. I've done this and it works great too but I prefer the "poorer man's" solution of only tapping 3G/4G when it is an emergency and I just can't wait until I get to some free wifi. Another dual device option: get a cheap "dumb" cell phone for calls just for calls and use the iPod for all of the app goodies.

All that said, I still think the iPad Mini is the better current option since this mifi emergency option is built into it. I've used an iPad Mini LTE as my "iPhone" since it launched and haven't had to tap the LTE yet. Some calls go to voice mail and some texts wait until I'm in a wifi zone but no big deal for me. I still get every call and I still receive every text. I'm probably not a "poor man" by definition but I prefer the $1000/year to stay in my pocket rather than giving it to AT&T or Verizon for anytime, anywhere. Effective ways to save money like that is how to go from poor to not poor anymore. I think iPad Mini with LTE is the best "poor man's iPhone" available right now.

[urban.spaceman]

Originally Posted by Firesign3394

Is the iPod touch the poor man's iphone?

Perhaps, but I don't know why that should be a bad thing. If anything the more discerning consumer would choose the iPod over the iPhone to save money.

There's just no justification for paying 35 quid a month for two years when you can have an iPod & a PAYG phone; WiFi has never been so freely available. You'll find a decent free hotspot in most places in the UK, and whenever I'm backpacking around the world you'd be surprised how easy it is to get online in places like Botswana/Namibia/Zambia/Mozambique.

For me, the iPod has too many advantages over an iPhone to sway me for now.

[deaglecat]

Surely everyone is avoiding the obvious answer.

YES the IPT is a much more cost effective alternative to the Iphone 5 for those that don't need to make calls.

The addition of the GSM/LTE radio does not justify the cost increase between the two devices.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Originally Posted by deaglecat

Surely everyone is avoiding the obvious answer. YES the IPT is a much more cost effective alternative to the Iphone 5 for those that don't need to make calls.

And if an iPod Touch owner does want to make calls, download free VOIP apps like talkatone, Skype, Vonage, Magic Jack, etc. and find yourself some available wifi. Then you can make and receive calls, write & receive texts, etc.- just like an iPhone.

AND/OR buy yourself a mifi device so you can have 3G/4G-based wifi anywhere you go and turn that on when you can't find some wifi.

Works great as a "poor man's iPhone" either way... even for making calls.

[Nychot]

To me it's an ipad mini mini

[andyx3x]

The new iPod touch is definitely not a poor man's iPhone. It's the first one that I've been really super impressed by.

[A Hebrew]

The poor mans iphone is called a "Flip Phone"

[Mr. Retrofire]

Originally Posted by Firesign3394

I heard someone say this today and it got me thinking...

Which poor man can afford the iPod touch?

[swingerofbirch]

The iPhone is the device that makes a man (or woman) poor. I still hear people deciding on a phone based on its upfront cost and not thinking much about the two-year cost.

I don't have an iPhone not because I'm poor but because I don't want to be poor.

[AbacabMR]

Originally Posted by swingerofbirch

The iPhone is the device that makes a man (or woman) poor. I still hear people deciding on a phone based on its upfront cost and not thinking much about the two-year cost.

I don't have an iPhone not because I'm poor but because I don't want to be poor.

+1
My thoughts exactly. For those who actually need a portable / smart phone the iPhone is probably a good choice. My old Motorola flip fills my need very well. I am not 'poor', I just think carefully before spending for something not initially perceived as a necessity. The iPod is not a necessity... it's a 'fun purchase'... and just not one that costs many many hundreds of dollars like an iPhone (with the plan that goes along with it of course).

[TacticalDesire]

I pay $45 a month for my phone. Not much more than "dumb" phones.

[techkidd4400]

Poor men don't buy iPhones or iPod touch.

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by A Hebrew

The poor mans iphone is called a "Flip Phone"

The poor man’s iPhone is the 4th gen iPod Touch... Where I live more people are buying the 4th gen than the 5th gen, coz it’s so much cheaper and still has enough function for most people.

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

The poor man’s iPhone is the 4th gen iPod Touch... Where I live more people are buying the 4th gen than the 5th gen, coz it’s so much cheaper and still has enough function for most people.

You buy what you can afford but I guarantee that people would be getting the IPT5 if they used it for a bit. It is that good.

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by Plutonius

You buy what you can afford but I guarantee that people would be getting the IPT5 if they used it for a bit. It is that good.

I agree that the fifth gen is much better than the 4th, however most teenagers/kids simply won't spend the extra money to get it. And over here the fifth gen is a LOT more expensive. Buying from Apple there is a $160 price diff, which is already pretty large, but then on top of that many retailers here discount the 4th gen heavily, so the price diff is more like $250+... Which the majority can't justify. The 4th can do FaceBook, YouTube, camera, skype and games fine, so they're sold.

[throAU]

Originally Posted by thehustleman

IPhone 5 = 200dollars
Ipod touch 5th gen = 300dollars
300>200

if you work out the cost of the contract minus call costs, the iphone 5 will be running you over 600-700 dollars.

we can buy them outright (no contract) here in australia, and the various model iphones range from anywhere between 500 ish and over 1000 dollars normally.

[hovscorpion12]

the iPod touch 4th gen and below YES. The iPod Touch 5th generation no. the iPod touch 5 packs a massive punch, coming close the iPhone 5. the iPod touch 5, has the same internals as the iPhone 4S with the exeption of the 5 mp camera. It has 50% of what is found on the iPhone 5.
4-inch (diagonal) widescreen display with Multi-Touch IPS technology
Retina display
1136-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch
800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating5-megapixel iSight camera
Autofocus
Tap to focus video or still images
Backside illumination
Hybrid IR filter
Five-element lens
LED flash
ƒ/2.4 aperture
Face detection
Panorama
HDR
HD video recording (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
FaceTime HD camera with 1.2MP photos and HD video (720p) up to 30 frames per second
Video stabilization
Tap to control exposure for video or stills
Photo and video geotagging over Wi-Fi

[darthmaynard]

With Line 2, I use my 4th gen IPT as a business line. Works on the Wi-Fi when I'm at the studio. Forwards to my "poor man's phone", my flip razr (yes the really old one) when I"m out of range.

If you own a small business, get an iPhone. If you own a nano-business, the IPT works just fine.

[rboy505]

Originally Posted by TacticalDesire

It's like an iPhone without the phone but it's technically a media player so no. The poor mans iPhone is the iPhone 4.

Incorrect. I have many years of being glued to my iPod Touches and have had no desire or need for a smart phone, and I don't use it for media playing hardly at all except for Podcasts.

An iPod Touch will run any app an iPhone will, with the obvious exception of where a phone connection is part of it, though nearly all those work via wifi. I'm synced to all my desktop data (contacts, 10 calendars, Safari bookmarks, etc). I don't need to be connected 100% of the time if that means paying for a data plan. I'm around wifi pretty much any time I need to be online.

I've owned two Touches, including my current, over the past four years. Monthly cost to use online to date: zero.

And if one is debating phone network vs wifi, all I can say is that I stream video content happily on it, everything I need to do is fast enough and accessible enough. As far as out of home or office, I live in NYC and there's free wifi every block practically.

Would never call it just a "media player".

[TacticalDesire]

Originally Posted by rboy505

Incorrect. I have many years of being glued to my iPod Touches and have had no desire or need for a smart phone, and I don't use it for media playing hardly at all except for Podcasts.

An iPod Touch will run any app an iPhone will, with the obvious exception of where a phone connection is part of it, though nearly all those work via wifi. I'm synced to all my desktop data (contacts, 10 calendars, Safari bookmarks, etc). I don't need to be connected 100% of the time if that means paying for a data plan. I'm around wifi pretty much any time I need to be online.

I've owned two Touches, including my current, over the past four years. Monthly cost to use online to date: zero.

And if one is debating phone network vs wifi, all I can say is that I stream video content happily on it, everything I need to do is fast enough and accessible enough. As far as out of home or office, I live in NYC and there's free wifi every block practically.

Would never call it just a "media player".

Give me a break. Apple markets the iPod as a media/game player so that's why I refered to it as such. That's what iPods are and have always been. Media players.I have owned two touches in the past 4 years as well. I am well aware of what they are and what they can do. And I didn't say anything to the contrary of what you said. Don't like/want/need a data plan? Fine. But that doesn't change what an iPod is. Of course the touch can do much more than just play media. Anyone in this sub forum should know that.

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by TacticalDesire

Give me a break. Apple markets the iPod as a media/game player so that's why I refered to it as such. That's what iPods are and have always been. Media players.I have owned two touches in the past 4 years as well. I am well aware of what they are and what they can do. And I didn't say anything to the contrary of what you said. Don't like/want/need a data plan? Fine. But that doesn't change what an iPod is. Of course the touch can do much more than just play media. Anyone in this sub forum should know that.

Wait, so you say that it’s just a media player and always has been... Then you say that it can of course do much more than play media? Contradiction

[TacticalDesire]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

Wait, so you say that it’s just a media player and always has been... Then you say that it can of course do much more than play media? Contradiction

No. Not really. Most blu ray players can do more than just play blu ray discs. Game consoles can do more than just play games. Besides, I'm not sure why this is a big deal in the first place. Use your iPod how you want.

[paulbennett95]

If you can afford an iPod you're not poor.

And if you're poor and still buy an iPod, it's your priorities that are poor.

[wrinkster22]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

These days even poor people can buy an iPhone. It's just an MP3 player.

agreed, I go to some very poor areas of Toronto filled with government hosing/welfare areas/ low income areas and everyone seems to have iPhone 5's, Canada Goose jackets, and Uggs.

And I have the "poor mans" iPhone as I have the iPhone 4.

[bonskovsky]

Originally Posted by wrinkster22

agreed, I go to some very poor areas of Toronto filled with government hosing/welfare areas/ low income areas and everyone seems to have iPhone 5's, Canada Goose jackets, and Uggs.

And I have the "poor mans" iPhone as I have the iPhone 4.

Why do you go to the low income areas?