In Need of Advice :)

[KSR]

Hello, Mac Rumors. Let me begin by saying my name is Kenny and I am new to this site as a short introduction.

Well, I am going to be trading my PSP for an iPod Touch (I believe it's a 2nd Generation) and this'll be my first Apple product I will own so I'm a little antsy about getting it. I've had two Android smartphones already but I'm posting this to ask a few questions about the Touch.

Is it worth Jailbreaking? What exactly does Jailbreaking the iPod Touch even do? :O

I've heard of an app called "Text Free" and I'd like a little info on that as well. Is it completely free? And do you choose a phone number you want; or is it totally randomly generated? >.>

Also, any advice that you can give to a soon-to-be new iPod Touch owner would be greatly appreciated. And maybe a list of a few apps that'll get me started with it, once I get it. Thank you.

 

[tablo13]

Is it worth Jailbreaking? What exactly does Jailbreaking the iPod Touch even do? :O

Yes. Customizing, useful jailbreak apps, more...

 

[TheyCallMeSaint]

Well, a few thoughts:

1) It sounds like you're getting shafted with this trade. The 2nd gen touch is *very* old hardware and it won't even support the next software update this summer. It lacks the newest features such as multitasking and custom backgrounds. Realistically, they're worth next to nothing (especially if it's 8 GB).

2) Jailbreaking: the features that you can't get natively with the touch (most iOS4 features and any features coming this summer, see above) can be achieved with JailBreaking. While I've found that multitasking and custom backgrounds work decently on the JB'd 2G, keep in mind that Apple chose to not allow features for a reason. It's pretty laggy, and will be even more so depending how many features you add to it. However, it is pretty cool to customize everything, so it depends on whether you're the kind of person that likes to tinker.

3) I tried out a similar app to Text Free, and they work decently but not great. The description answers most of your questions (I think the latest update allows you to choose a number), but it's really not a very elegant solution. Each text message says something like "Sent from free TextFree: message here" (unless they changed that since I used it). Also, being able to only text on WiFi kind of sucks.

 

[KSR]

Well I do know that the 2nd Generation isn't great but you gotta start somewhere, right? If I fall in love with the device, I'll obviously buy a newer model later on.

And I am aware that the texting won't be all that amazing on it, but I use my Droid X anyways. It'll just be nice as a little back-up, just incase. xD

 

[dtblaze]

Jailbreaking just voids your warranty, so unless you bought it from like costco (the place where you can return anything, which you didn't) it is worth it. That is, if you feel if it is the right thing to do though.

 

[alust2013]

Jailbreaking just voids your warranty, so unless you bought it from like costco (the place where you can return anything, which you didn't) it is worth it. That is, if you feel if it is the right thing to do though.

It's an older model, so the warranty is already gone by now. For the second gen, it's probably worth the jailbreak. I may do that to my old one, but I don't want to risk anything with my 4th gen.

Textfree isn't going to compete with any cell phone, especially a droid, so i'd just skip it.

I'd also probably pass on the trade unless it's a 32GB model, as the second gen models are quickly reaching their expiration date (battery may not last long, hardware is getting outmoded, features aren't available, will most likely be limited to iOS 4)

 

[tablo13]

Jailbreaking just voids your warranty,

That's what Apple wants you to think but you can just always restore it as a new device.