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iPod touch iPod5 + dumb phone vs. iPhone 5

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BigCanoe

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 13, 2003
397
89
So, I am wondering, has anyone considered jumping off the smartphone bandwagon and onto the two devices bandwagon?

I am thinking I would save a whole lot of money, but give up some convenience of having one device. There isn't a lot of functionality I would be missing is there?
 
That's a combination that I've seen tweens use a lot, as it is very cost effective: The iPod gets you most of the functionality of an iPhone (especially the latest iPod) with no monthly cost, and the feature phone costs crap-all up front and most only have a texting plan on them, which can only cost about $10 a month.

The main drawback for me would be the lack of 3G :( Wouldn't like that at all.
 
I would miss it, but not as much as I wouldn't miss my $170 a month Verizon bill I think.
 
That's the camp I'm in. My parents refuse to pay for a smartphone bill for me, and since I'm only in high school I can't afford one myself. It works fairly well for me, since most places I go (friends' houses, the mall, coffee shops, McDonald's, etc.) have free Wi-Fi, and if I'm somewhere that doesn't have it the iPod is still useful for its offline functions. Whenever I'm somewhere that doesn't have a wireless connection I can still be reached via text or call, so it's never been horribly inconvenient. As of late I've gotten used to using just the dumbphone, since my 2nd gen iPod touch has become unusably slow (although that problem will be solved when my 5th gen arrives). It's definitely an option to consider, and something I'll probably stick with through college. The nearly nonexistent phone bill and the fact that the iPod is just a one-time payment are really nice advantages if you can live without constant wireless connectivity and no GPS functionality. I hope my opinions and experience help you reach a decision!
 
BigCanoe said:
So, I am wondering, has anyone considered jumping off the smartphone bandwagon and onto the two devices bandwagon?

I am thinking I would save a whole lot of money, but give up some convenience of having one device. There isn't a lot of functionality I would be missing is there?
Click to expand...
Well, I decided that way and ordered my iPod Touch 5 on September 15th (and I'm not exactly a tween, but more like three-score-and-ten). I don't use mobile 3G/4G internet much, while free or cheap WiFi Hotspots are plentiful... The only thing that I'm going to miss is location services out in the open, since the iPod Touch 5 doesn't have GPS. It does use WiFi networks for location, but that works only where there are known WiFi networks... a poor man's solution, really.

I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of the iPod Touch 5, especially since I just sold the iPhone 4 that it is going to replace.
 
I run the ipod touch 3rd gen (going to get the 5 when I accumulate enough money) + dumb phone.
 
Given how little you get from Verizon and ATT, this is a much better, and much cheaper combo. My cellphone currently costs me 100 a year. Verizon with only 1 gig of data a month is 100 a month. Ridiculous. What's the point of supporting blazing fast transfer speeds if you're going to put idiotic data restrictions on it?
 
BigCanoe said:
So, I am wondering, has anyone considered jumping off the smartphone bandwagon and onto the two devices bandwagon?

I am thinking I would save a whole lot of money, but give up some convenience of having one device. There isn't a lot of functionality I would be missing is there?
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I've been doing since someone game me an iPod touch about 2 years ago.

It works just fine for my needs and the yearly total cost is fully one third of what I'd be paying had gotten an iPhone!

I'll be getting the new Touch as soon as it's in the store; have to go see the colours in person to be able to decide which to get. The ancient 1st Generation is still working quite well, but its battery charge doesn't last as long now.
 
Hehe I'm a tween and I use an iPod touch and phone combination. I can't afford a smartphone and I love iOS.
 
I have been carrying two devices since the Palm and WinCE days.

And I will continue to carry two devices for the flexibility. And I pick the best phone plan without worrying about committing to data plan at the same time. And since my phone is unlocked, I can pick another carrier when I travel oversea. And I can upgrade my iPT whenever I want instead of waiting for my contract to finish.
 
As much as I'd like to have an iPhone with all its wireless data and other features (better camera, faster processor, etc.), the iPod touch + dumbphone combo has worked for me.
 
this was my set up when the iPod touch 4th gen was released. I was in college and don't have enough money to buy an iPhone 4 so I bought the iPT4 which is pretty similar with the iP4 paired with my old Nokia n79. I'm not a fan of mobile internet so 3G is not useful to me, I only rely on wifi networks. And as a student I really don't need GPS because I don't travel.

Until Christmas I think I can save up to $350, I sold my iPT4 last year because I bought a new Laptop so I'm stuck with my old smartphone but in 2012 it's now a dumbphone LOL. I'm planning to buy a new smartphone but for $350 the only decent phone is the Galaxy Nexus but I love games and the GNexus gpu is way slower than the iPT5 new A5 chip so (50fps difference).

So I'm gonna buy the 5th gen, it's an iPhone 5 with slower chip, lower camera resolution but all in all they are almost the same. iPT5 really cater my needs
 
Project538 said:
That's the camp I'm in. My parents refuse to pay for a smartphone bill for me, and since I'm only in high school I can't afford one myself. It works fairly well for me, since most places I go (friends' houses, the mall, coffee shops, McDonald's, etc.) have free Wi-Fi, and if I'm somewhere that doesn't have it the iPod is still useful for its offline functions. Whenever I'm somewhere that doesn't have a wireless connection I can still be reached via text or call, so it's never been horribly inconvenient. As of late I've gotten used to using just the dumbphone, since my 2nd gen iPod touch has become unusably slow (although that problem will be solved when my 5th gen arrives). It's definitely an option to consider, and something I'll probably stick with through college. The nearly nonexistent phone bill and the fact that the iPod is just a one-time payment are really nice advantages if you can live without constant wireless connectivity and no GPS functionality. I hope my opinions and experience help you reach a decision!
Click to expand...
Your whole situation is the almost exact same as mine! :D
 
This is exactly what I do and it works just fine. I'd like an iPhone but the cost is pretty steep. I use a tmobile prepaid phone that works for me. Currently with a 4g touch and anticipating the yet to be announced arrival of a 5g. Hang in there folks, any day now for the shipping announcement. At least I hope so :)
 
I currently rock a dumb phone + ipod touch. If the ipod touch battery dies it's no big deal. The dumb phone battery is awesome, lasts 2 weeks!
 
if you live in US, go & get iPhone 5. it should be better. but if you live in other country, don't get iPhone 5. it's only good for americans. get any android phone, get ipod touch.
 
Up until the beginning of 2010, I owned an original iPod touch (got it as soon as it was released) and a dumb phone. At the time, it was missing a lot of the iPhone features: no camera, volume buttons, speaker, built-in apps, etc. in addition to lacking cellular data. Despite this, I was more than satisfied with it, especially when I had access to wi-fi (which in 2007 was quite rare--it got slightly better as time went on).

Nowadays, the iPod touch is more similar to the iPhone than it is different. The 5th gen touch is looking phenomenal, with the internals of the 4 and 4S combined with the larger screen of the 5. It even has text messaging! And wi-fi is much more prevalent especially if you're in a major city. It is possible to receive nearly all of the iPhone experience without paying a dime per month to use it. Another benefit is that you can save your phone battery by using it only for calling and use the iPod touch for everything else.

Ultimately its a bit less convenient, but I think sacrificing a bit of convenience is worth it if you can save a significant amount of money.
 
I've never been on the smartphone bandwagon because it's too expensive, and I'm a grown adult with a stead job! I've been on the iPod Touch + dumbphone for the past three years an enjoying it since I only pay $12/month for cellular. Like everyone else said, there's no persistent Internet, but wifi spots are common enough to fulfill my needs. There is no GPS, but I've been able to make due because the Maps app (at least in iOS 5) caches a single route, so I'll get a set of directions before I leave home and it's surprisingly effective this way, especially for public transit (of course, this changes change with iOS 6).

The iPod + dumbphone combo works great to give me enough of a smartphone-like experience to be very useful in everyday while remaining very affordable, so I would definitely recommend it as well.
 
Last edited:
tactician1016 said:
I run the ipod touch 3rd gen (going to get the 5 when I accumulate enough money) + dumb phone.
Click to expand...
+1
I have had this combo since the 3G iPod Touch came out and it has worked out great for me. My plan is to buy a 64GB 5G iPod Touch before Thanksgiving.

And as an aside, I'm middle-aged so definitely not a teen or tween. :D
 
This is my set up as well.

A dumbphone that can do mobile email + ipod touch 4. So I can still get important things on the road, but I'm not locked into an exorbitant contract with a real "smartphone". Honestly, it works really well. There are occasional moments, usually during the summer when I wish it were all one device so I didn't have to find shorts with more pockets. But then I remember that I'm saving a lot of money and stop caring.

Not a tween either. I'm 27.
 
I got away with using just a Touch and Skype (with calls in and out) for a year.
If you don't need constant connectivity its pretty sweet.
 
I'll go with iPod5 & Dumb Phone. There are so much social apps that I can use with iPod5 to replace the iPhone, like Vibre, Skype, What's App.
 
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