iPod touch Can The Touch be used as a PDA?

[Johnny Backer]

I'm thinking about buying an iPod touch, but I already have a ipod nano and a PSP, so I'm trying to get a few devices in one.

I'm really interested in getting the iPod touch, but I need a fairly basic PDA. (calender, reminders, and notes).

Does the ipod touch have these locally? I'm looking to have these features on apps that are local to the touch and not web apps where I would need a wifi connection to use them.

If they don't come with the Touch, can they be added, and if so, would it require "hacking"?

If the Touch can't do this, and you know of an alternative movie, music player that also can act as a PDA, I'd be interested in knowing about it.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[tefleming]

I'm really interested in getting the iPod touch, but I need a fairly basic PDA. (calender, reminders, and notes).

...

If they don't come with the Touch, can they be added, and if so, would it require "hacking"?

There are lots of threads that answer these questions in-depth, so I'll keep it brief:

Yes, the touch comes native with a calendar which will give you visual and through-the-headphones reminders.

If you're willing to Jailbreak your iPod touch (which is a very simple process, doesn't quite amount to "hacking" in my book) you can get notes, mail, or a wide host of other applications.

Keeping it briefer still: yes.

//EDIT: If you want more info, I'd suggest searching this forum and the iPod touch hacks sub-forum.

 

[OrangeCuse44]

It definitely can. I agree with tefleming. You can add even further functionality with a "hack." But trust me, this requires no knowledge or skill with any programming or real hacking. It just sounds cool.

 

[Johnny Backer]

Does the touch have any external speaker? If I don't have my headphones on, would I be completely oblivious to timed alerts I set?

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Does the touch have any external speaker? If I don't have my headphones on, would I be completely oblivious to timed alerts I set?

well it has a pretty weak speaker, no where near the iphone's, the iPod's can only make beepy noises, but those beeps will alert you if you're in an environment as quiet as an elevator.

 

[Johnny Backer]

That's a shame. Guess no touch screen for me. I'll keep an eye when they release an updated version that actually has pda features.

Seems kinda dumb that they didn't include basic pda features, seems like that would be a good thing to include in something like this. Ah well, it was fun thinking I would have might actually have gotten one, but I guess it wasn't to be.

Thanks for ever bodies help.

 

[OrangeCuse44]

All the features you want you can have. I dont understand what its lacking?

 

[delude]

I live in the UK, and have an O2 XDA Mini S (Cingular 8125?), and must say that I much prefer the Touch to it. I never really use Mobile Office, and can see great potential with the iPod touch for future applications which would be better. PDAs seem to lag much more as well.

 

[stockcerts]

I am also considering getting a Touch, but I'm going to wait until after MacWorld to see if their is anything new on the immediate horizon.

As for the jailbreak....I probably don't understand it, but is this something Apple supports its users performing, and will Apple still support the product if its been hacked?

 

[dagored]

One simple search!!

https://forums.macrumors.com/search/?searchid=8808083

Have fun.

 

[mrgreen4242]

All the features you want you can have. I dont understand what its lacking?

Sounds like the most important feature that's missing is a decent audible alarm. I'm not sure how loud the touches beeps can get, but from most reports it's pretty quiet. There is also an issue, I believe, with alerts activating the speaker at all. Maybe it's been resolved, but I've read that alerts don't always cause the iPod to beep when they go off.

Basically, though, as long as one of your requirements isn't alerts/alarms, the touch should make a pretty decent PDA.

 

[hierobryan]

Sounds like the most important feature that's missing is a decent audible alarm. I'm not sure how loud the touches beeps can get, but from most reports it's pretty quiet.

the "checkmate" alarm is pretty loud...loud enough to wake me up in the morning. all of the other alarms in the touch are too quiet.

 

[-Dark Angel-]

I'm thinking about buying an iPod touch, but I already have a ipod nano and a PSP, so I'm trying to get a few devices in one.

I'm really interested in getting the iPod touch, but I need a fairly basic PDA. (calender, reminders, and notes).

Does the ipod touch have these locally? I'm looking to have these features on apps that are local to the touch and not web apps where I would need a wifi connection to use them.

If they don't come with the Touch, can they be added, and if so, would it require "hacking"?

If the Touch can't do this, and you know of an alternative movie, music player that also can act as a PDA, I'd be interested in knowing about it.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Yes, it can serve as a basic PDA, you can have Calendar, Notes, To Do List, Email, and Contacts.

 

[PuppyLuv]

Seems kinda dumb that they didn't include basic pda features, seems like that would be a good thing to include in something like this. Ah well, it was fun thinking I would have might actually have gotten one, but I guess it wasn't to be.

Doesn't seem dumb one bit to me, it's not a pda, its a mp3 player at heart and not truly meant to be used as a pda. If you want pda like features then get the iphone, blackberry, palm treo, motorola q, or any of those other smart phones or even a pda by itself.

 

[James L]

Doesn't seem dumb one bit to me, it's not a pda, its a mp3 player at heart and not truly meant to be used as a pda. If you want pda like features then get the iphone, blackberry, palm treo, motorola q, or any of those other smart phones or even a pda by itself.

Wrong. It is an OSX based platform capable of running hundreds of applications... including pda ones. The fact that Apple crippled it initially to be primarily a media player does not take away from that, and the fact that in a couple of months you will be able to get hundreds of 3rd party apps onto it through the official release of a SDK shows that it is indeed much more than just a media player.

 

[macfan881]

Yes it is and i cant imagine not having my ipod unjailbroken it really is a fairley easy procsses the whole procsses takes 15 min if you have everything ready and know what to do. trust me once you jailbreak your ipod touch you wont go back

 

[andrewag]

I've been using the calendar features to make notes and shopping lists and stuff like that, so yes, I guess it does work to a certain extent.

 

[aswitcher]

1.1.3 might give us some new stuff next week.

 

[JML42691]

With the exception of notes, it has the basic functions of a PDA, hopefully this will change with the next update.

 

[IJ Reilly]

the "checkmate" alarm is pretty loud...loud enough to wake me up in the morning. all of the other alarms in the touch are too quiet.

How do you hear it? The alarms set with the clock only play through the headphones. Only the alarms set through the calendar play through the speaker. This must be a bug or an oversight, BTW, because it makes no sense.

I find the unhacked touch to be a very functional basic PDA. It all depends on how you define your needs.

 

[hierobryan]

How do you hear it? The alarms set with the clock only play through the headphones. Only the alarms set through the calendar play through the speaker. This must be a bug or an oversight, BTW, because it makes no sense.

Huh? you're wrong. i can set an alarm in my touch under the "alarms" section of the clock app...and i can hear it without headphones plugged in.

 

[EnTg888]

From my experience, sometimes the alarm goes off, sometimes it doesn't. A reboot of the touch usually fixes it, but the next time it syncs with iTunes, it doesn't go off any more... weird bug.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Huh? you're wrong. i can set an alarm in my touch under the "alarms" section of the clock app...and i can hear it without headphones plugged in.

From my experience, sometimes the alarm goes off, sometimes it doesn't. A reboot of the touch usually fixes it, but the next time it syncs with iTunes, it doesn't go off any more... weird bug.

I can hear the alarm when I set it, but not when it goes off. Apparently some are not having this problem and others are. I've never tried to reboot to fix it and probably won't. I hope Apple fixes this bug in the next software update.

 

[Johnny Backer]

All the features you want you can have. I dont understand what its lacking?

I need something that will beep when I set an alarm without the beep going through headphones but when the touch is in my pocket and "powered off" or in whatever mode it can stay in.

From peoples reply earlier, it sounded like this isn't something that the touch ca currently do.

Did I misunderstand?

 

[Ivan P]

I need something that will beep when I set an alarm without the beep going through headphones but when the touch is in my pocket and "powered off" or in whatever mode it can stay in.

From peoples reply earlier, it sounded like this isn't something that the touch ca currently do.

Did I misunderstand?

Yes it can. I can put it to sleep, put it on the desk on the other side of the room (a good four metres away), it turns itself on when the set time comes and it's still loud enough to wake me up.