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iPod touch When will I be able to replace my Palm handheld?

Phrasikleia

Phrasikleia

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 24, 2008
4,082
403
Over there------->
I have an old Palm Tungsten T that I use with a portable, foldable keyboard. It's just the right size to take with me to the library or into a lecture for taking notes. A MacBook Air would be total overkill: too big, too heavy, too expensive for my needs.

I really just need something small that I can carry around at all times, and that will allow me to type quickly into files that have no size limit and that can become MS Word files when synced with my Mac.

Is there an app for the Touch that is roughly equivalent to WordSmith on the Palm? Is there a portable keyboard that can be used with it for fast typing? If not, can I expect either of these things to come about in the near future?
 
Phrasikleia said:
I have an old Palm Tungsten T that I use with a portable, foldable keyboard. It's just the right size to take with me to the library or into a lecture for taking notes. A MacBook Air would be total overkill: too big, too heavy, too expensive for my needs.

I really just need something small that I can carry around at all times, and that will allow me to type quickly into files that have no size limit and that can become MS Word files when synced with my Mac.


Is there an app for the Touch that is roughly equivalent to WordSmith on the Palm? Is there a portable keyboard that can be used with it for fast typing? If not, can I expect either of these things to come about in the near future?
Click to expand...

No
dude its an ipod not a tablet or a pocket pc
get a palm TX
 
Well Mobile Finder lets you create .text files, which functions real similar to Word docs. No luck on an external keyboard let.


Have you looked into netbooks?
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
You can mail things to urself and view them. But there arent any apps that create word docs and syncs them your mac.
Click to expand...

Yeah there are, its called MobileFinder, create .txt documents, and then you can put them onto ur mac or pc using an ftp manager

Zym
 
TheZimm said:
Yeah there are, its called MobileFinder, create .txt documents, and then you can put them onto ur mac or pc using an ftp manager

Zym
Click to expand...

This sounds perfect. Now I just need a bluetooth keyboard to go with it!

[Edit: Wait a minute...does the iPod touch not have Bluetooth??!!]
 
No keyboard and no Bluetooth keyboard, only fingertyping for now. For mobile work with lots of typing, Sony TH55 with the KB100 is a great solution.
 
Another option that you can use is the built in Notes app.

Enter you text, then e-mail it to yourself. Then copy paste into your word document.
 
You should know that typing onto a virtual qwerty keyboard is quite different than typing onto buttons. It's taking me some time to get used to and a lot of typos are showing up.
 
After you've been typing a ton on the virtual keyboard, you'll get used to it. I can type VERY fast with very few typos. Just get an iPod touch.
 
bijou said:
You should know that typing onto a virtual qwerty keyboard is quite different than typing onto buttons. It's taking me some time to get used to and a lot of typos are showing up.
Click to expand...
I know I am much faster on a regular keyboard but getting faster on my Touch.

natezire71 said:
After you've been typing a ton on the virtual keyboard, you'll get used to it. I can type VERY fast with very few typos. Just get an iPod touch.
Click to expand...
Agree x 2.
 
natezire71 said:
After you've been typing a ton on the virtual keyboard, you'll get used to it. I can type VERY fast with very few typos. Just get an iPod touch.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt it, but can you type on an iPod while looking elsewhere at the same time (at a book from which you're taking notes or at a professor who is showing visuals)??

Professors can speak very fast, and I can type 60-70wpm, so I really do make good use of a physical keyboard.
 
I feel you brother. I've been looking for teh same thing for a while. I'm extensively searched netbooks, which are fine and dandy, but would rather get an ipod touch.

Not sure why there's no bluetooth, and hence no bluetooth keyboard. I think apple has sort of left the people in education out of the equation (yea..i know you can take a MB into the classroom, but it's not the same thing...they're big in comparison).

Here's what I'd like to see from :apple:
-ipod touch or slightly larger device that supports bluetooth and or an external keyboard by other means (usb)
-instant on
-full featured internet browswer
-fast
-super portable
-$400 or less

I don't think those requirements are too difficult in this day and age of technology. The netbooks are close, but not quite there (unless you consider the eee pc 2g - which I heard it's screen sucks).
 
jackmoney said:
Here's what I'd like to see from :apple:
-ipod touch or slightly larger device that supports bluetooth and or an external keyboard by other means (usb)
-instant on
-full featured internet browswer
-fast
-super portable
-$400 or less
Click to expand...

I think that's a very reasonable request, and I would slap down $400 for that in a heartbeat.

The "instant on" (and instant off) capability of a PDA is perfect for notetaking. I really love that about my Palm. I also love that I don't have to bring the keyboard with me everywhere. I like that modular quality. The Palm is small enough that I can have it with me always and always have access to my files on it, and when I know I'm going to be doing some serious notetaking, I throw the keyboard in my bag as well.

There's lots that I totally hate about my T|X, digitizer drift being a biggie, but I'll hang onto it until there is something as good and small as a Touch+Keyboard available.

Thanks to all who mentioned the various software options for notetaking. It's good to know that end of things is covered at least.
 
Phrasikleia said:
I don't doubt it, but can you type on an iPod while looking elsewhere at the same time (at a book from which you're taking notes or at a professor who is showing visuals)??

Professors can speak very fast, and I can type 60-70wpm, so I really do make good use of a physical keyboard.
Click to expand...

I can... Its pretty easy.
 
Phrasikleia said:
I don't doubt it, but can you type on an iPod while looking elsewhere at the same time (at a book from which you're taking notes or at a professor who is showing visuals)??

Professors can speak very fast, and I can type 60-70wpm, so I really do make good use of a physical keyboard.
Click to expand...

With the iPT v2.0 out now, and we all know it's got a mic input that works also, and it's got an "unannounced" Bluetooth chip in it that's soon to be enabled by a bunch of stuff I'm sure, who would spend time actually typing a speech or some such happening when you could just get a decent mic and record the speech or seminar or whatnot? Doesn't quite make much sense to me as I would (personal opinion here) always rather have an audio recording of such things for easy reference to fall back on. Just me, I suppose...

I fully expect to see a bunch of AppStore apps soon to enable Bluetooth support - perhaps Apple might have to do it with another firmware update but, they wouldn't have put the chip in the iPT v2 if it wasn't meant to be used, that much is a given.

I also expect to see a bunch of accessories appear for making voice or just general audio recording a BIG thing on the iPT as well.
 
br0adband said:
who would spend time actually typing a speech or some such happening when you could just get a decent mic and record the speech or seminar or whatnot? Doesn't quite make much sense to me as I would (personal opinion here) always rather have an audio recording of such things for easy reference to fall back on. Just me, I suppose...
Click to expand...

For one thing, I use my typed notes for easy searching. If I take notes in a 90-minute lecture, I can easily produce a 3,000-word document in that time. If the class meets twice per week over a 15-week semester, we're talking about a lot of material. It's great to be able to search that material in Spotlight for keywords. Audio recordings would be painfully inadequate in this regard.
 
I don't know why people keep saying its just an ipod. It is an updated version of the newton. It only has been out for a year so it's full potential has not been realized yet.
 
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