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iPod touch Is/Can the ITouch Serve as a PDA?

P

phlabse

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 1, 2007
16
0
Hello everyone!

I have a palm right now and I'm debating whether or not to sell it and switch to an Itouch. Can the Itouch serve as a palm pilot ( as in tasks, contacts, dates, scheduling)? I recently got a Mac and I'm thinking of taking a turn for apple. If I use my PDA for scheduling in when assignments are due (I'm a student) and similar things, will the iTouch suffice?

Thanks in advance everyone!
 
I believe that it can. I use my ipod to schedule due dates along with alarms to remind me and my iPod beeps and shows a message whenever I want it to before the event, usually a day before. Also I have made my contact list grow with the device and be more accurate since people can visually see their information on a device instead of misreading it on a piece of paper. Plus it has all my music and videos and hacked it is even better with all the iPhone apps.
 
There are already answers to this kind of question scattered around, but here is my opinion.

The touch is an iPod. It looks a bit like a PDA and sure, if you are prepared to jailbreak (and you'd be crazy not to), you can squeeze out a lot of additional functionality. But if you buy an iPod touch -as- a PDA, you won't be happy. The PDA-style functionality of the product out-of-the-box is very limited; and what you can get via jailbreak is very nice indeed if you enjoy tinkering with technology, but none of it is "official" Apple software and it's all very much "as-is".

As for your specific question about scheduling, well, the touch has iCal which will sync with iCal on your Mac so yes you could use that to keep track of due dates and it would work well enough.

I think you should write yourself up a list of must-have features for your PDA-replacement, and then browse the Apple site and the forums here to decide whether the touch and the software currently available is up to it.

Just for the record, I love my touch, it's my coolest purchase since my g5 iMac way back whenever that was.
 
The iPod Touch is great as a PDA, even without hacking, if your needs are currently limited calendar and contacts. I personally would not buy one to do more than Apple currently allows -- IOW, saying you are crazy not to hack it is itself crazy IMO -- because you are then playing upgrade roulette with your $300 or $400 device. You never know when Apple is going to break the hack or turn your investment into a paperweight. I'm perfectly happy to hold out for next year, when Apple releases their authorized SDK for the iPod Touch and the iPhone. In the meantime, the Touch still beats the poop out of a Palm as a basic PDA.
 
Nothing that I can find for Notes yet either :eek:/

You will have to export your calander to a ICS file, then import it. not the same as a auto sync, but works okay in a pinch.
 
I leave my iPaq 4150 home ever since I have jailbreaked my ipod to include notes with the calendar ..

so .. yes
 
IJ Reilly said:
because you are then playing upgrade roulette with your $300 or $400 device. You never know when Apple is going to break the hack or turn your investment into a paperweight.
Click to expand...
from everything I have read on this forum, it is almost impossible to brick an iPod Touch, if things get really screwy, you can undo all the jailbreaking with a restore
 
aki said:
I think you should write yourself up a list of must-have features for your PDA-replacement, and then browse the Apple site and the forums here to decide whether the touch and the software currently available is up to it.

Just for the record, I love my touch, it's my coolest purchase since my g5 iMac way back whenever that was.
Click to expand...

I agree with this poster.

I've never owned a PDA, but ever since jailbreaking my Touch (which is incredibly simple and by all accounts pretty much risk-free), I've been using it as one. Mail, contacts, calendar--all editable and user-friendly. Plus pictures, music and movies. It rocks, straight up! Go and get yourself one.
 
1) It's iPod touch, not ITouch. I hate when people call it iTouch!!!!
Anyways, lol, that's an aside...

2) I think it can, but with limited functionality. Out of the box, the calendar + contacts + internet + music + video experience is far superior to that of a PPC/Palm. However, you can't edit word/excel/ppt documents, although you can view PDFs and I think word docs. It doesn't have a file system really...so it makes that stuff harder to manage. But if you just need a datebook/contacts/notes/internet, I think its fine. It's going to replace my Dell Axim x50V PDA. After jailbreaking, the e-mail program is far superior to what Palm/MS offer.
 
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone, it's a luxury to have a place where so many people are so well informed and give helpful instructions!

One last thing, since I have no "immediate" need for one, and I'm planning on buying a MacBook/whatever I deem necessary for school that's from apple, do you think that Apple will have another promotion like the iPod back to school with the iTouch?

I doubt it, but then again, I am not the most informed person about apple out there. So I guess another one of my questions is, is it worth to wait it out since I have no immediate need for the iTouch and since I'm planning on buying a Mac computer this summer?

Thanks again everyone!
 
paul.b.davis said:
from everything I have read on this forum, it is almost impossible to brick an iPod Touch, if things get really screwy, you can undo all the jailbreaking with a restore
Click to expand...

Almost impossible? And that, only so far. Apple could change this tomorrow.

phlabse said:
So I guess another one of my questions is, is it worth to wait it out since I have no immediate need for the iTouch and since I'm planning on buying a Mac computer this summer?
Click to expand...

The way technology goes, if you don't have an immediate need or desire for a product, you're always better off waiting until you do.
 
Hmmm, can I ask for a bit of clarification before I order the touch. Without hacking it, can I:

- Sync with iCal and Address Book
- Add and edit events to iCal and Address Book on the touch

That is all I need in terms of 'PDA' functions.

Cheers

Del
 
deltrotter said:
That is all I need in terms of 'PDA' functions.Del
Click to expand...

That's what I wanted as well. But mine, maddeningly, would make no sound when an event occurred. The sound was functional only with the alarm clock. I called Apple last night and talked to a tech about it, but his only answer was that events had no sound.

Just a few minutes ago, my Touch made a noise and - lo and behold - it was a calendar event. I have no idea why it suddenly worked. I wish the sound was a bit more robust, but evidently I can't set that yet. I hope Apple comes out with a update to boost the event sound to the level of the alarm clock. Then I'll be a happy puppy.

Other than that, my Touch makes a fine PDA, IMO, and is also a fun multimedia device to boot.
 
Hi Jay

Thanks. That still doesnt answer my questions. I am not bothered about the alarm. I check the calendar each day to see what I have got on that day.

Does the touch synch with iCal and Address Book on my iMac, and can I add and edit events on the touch.

Cheers

Del
 
I use my touch as a PDA. In fact, that's pretty much why I got it. I've jailbroken it and added a couple of applications like a todo list and a notes app.

IJ Reilly said:
Almost impossible? And that, only so far. Apple could change this tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I don't see how. It's not like they can just beam updates into the iPod and cause them to be bricked. You'd have to update the iPod manually with the latest drivers, in which case you're making a decision to risk brickage.
 
Yes !

deltrotter said:
Hmmm, can I ask for a bit of clarification before I order the touch. Without hacking it, can I:

- Sync with iCal and Address Book
- Add and edit events to iCal and Address Book on the touch

That is all I need in terms of 'PDA' functions.

Cheers

Del
Click to expand...

You can do both on touch, no problems. I do those very often. Only thing I miss is "notes" app, hopefully apple will add that in next software release.
 
Iscariot said:
I don't see how. It's not like they can just beam updates into the iPod and cause them to be bricked. You'd have to update the iPod manually with the latest drivers, in which case you're making a decision to risk brickage.
Click to expand...

Exactly. To be safe, you'd have to freeze it at the current firmware, which seems shortsighted to me, especially considering how new this product is, and how likely we are to see upgrades and improvements. I'm going to resist the impulse to hack mine, knowing in particular that Apple will be releasing an official SDK for the iPhone and Touch in just a couple of months.
 
deltrotter said:
Does the touch synch with iCal and Address Book on my iMac, and can I add and edit events on the touch.Del
Click to expand...

That it does, perfectly. In just a few minutes (through iTunes), all of my contacts, appointments, photos, movies and music were flawlessly synched. Updating is easy. And yes, you can enter appointments on the device through an elegant interface. And those appointments will synch back with iCal.
 
for work lotus notes i use companionlink for google calendar to sync to a private google calendar, then i subscribe to that calendar in iCal at home. its a bit of work but it works wonderfully.

as for contacts, i just manually entered those.
 
The thing would be to make sure you archive:

a) installer of iTunes that can downgrade your Touch
b) a copy of the firmware that you know the Touch restores to

Mine shipped with 1.1.1 and I have an archived copy of this plus the 1.1.2 firmware safely tucked away.

If the Touch can be restored reliably (I know it can), then the worst case is having to rebuild a temporary system with the right components to revert back to the shipping state.

IJ Reilly said:
Exactly. To be safe, you'd have to freeze it at the current firmware, which seems shortsighted to me, especially considering how new this product is, and how likely we are to see upgrades and improvements. I'm going to resist the impulse to hack mine, knowing in particular that Apple will be releasing an official SDK for the iPhone and Touch in just a couple of months.
Click to expand...
 
kothrush said:
Only thing I miss is "notes" app, hopefully apple will add that in next software release.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see that as well. But for now: if you open Calendar and set an event, you're given a "Notes" field into which you can type anything you want. Synch it back with iCal and the note will transfer.
 
It should, could be (and may well be) the most useful and versatile gadget PDA thingy around. At the moment its just an Mp3 player which can browse the internet, albeit with a brilliant interface. Hopefully apple will take the straight jacket off this under utilised thing but be pepared for the dedicated multitouch new newton as the all singing PDA and the touch will remain just a fancy expensive mp3 player-pity.Its like Marvin the paranoid android-"Brain the size of a planet and all they ask me to do is play music"
 
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