UPDATE: A new post comparing the iPod touch 2g and iPhone 3GS is here.
The iPod touch 2G with its host of new features is even more resembling of iPhone 3G. While many people say the Touch is like an iPhone without a phone, let’s take a closer look at what exactly are missing from the iPod touch 2G:
How much extra to pay for the above?
For simplicity sake, in Japan today you can buy a 16GB iPhone 3G with a 2-year contract for around $320. With an unlimited data plan, you’ll be looking at monthly fees of around $68, which for two years would be $1,632. (I’m in Japan currently so I’m using Japanese pricing as a reference point. I think pricing in other countries should be similar.)
An iPod touch 16GB costs $300 ($299 to be exact), which means that for an extra $20 and two year service fee of about $1,630, you’ll get the above benefits.
It’s a really hard comparison because we are trying to take into consideration of the monthly charges. If we take the monthly charges out of the picture, and buy a 16GB iPhone 3G without a binding contract, it would cost around $750 (80,640 yen). Strictly looking at hardware, the difference is $450.
The bottom line: iPod touch 2G or iPhone 3G?
This is a really tough question. For now, here are the lists of criteria that would help you decide whether you should buy an iPhone vs. the iPod Touch. If you answer yes to most of them, perhaps the iPhone is the better choice.
- Phone / SMS + Contacts integration
iPod touch owners aren’t just missing out on making phone calls and texting, we’re missing out on contacts integration with our phones. iPhone provides a seamless way of syncing and managing contacts between the phone and the computer. - GPS
This is a very valuable feature in a city like Tokyo where there aren’t a lot of street signs. - Internet connectivity everywhere
iPod touch owners cannot use their FaceBook app or watch YouTube videos in places without an Internet connection. - A camera + an easy way to manage photos
I use my Nokia phone to take a lot of pictures. I have to sync them with iPhoto, and then sync them to my iPod touch. With an iPhone, it’ll save the need to sync twice and you can see the pictures you took without needing to sync. - Less items to carry
iPod touch owners have to carry their iPod and a cellphone. iPhone owners only carry one device.
For simplicity sake, in Japan today you can buy a 16GB iPhone 3G with a 2-year contract for around $320. With an unlimited data plan, you’ll be looking at monthly fees of around $68, which for two years would be $1,632. (I’m in Japan currently so I’m using Japanese pricing as a reference point. I think pricing in other countries should be similar.)
An iPod touch 16GB costs $300 ($299 to be exact), which means that for an extra $20 and two year service fee of about $1,630, you’ll get the above benefits.
It’s a really hard comparison because we are trying to take into consideration of the monthly charges. If we take the monthly charges out of the picture, and buy a 16GB iPhone 3G without a binding contract, it would cost around $750 (80,640 yen). Strictly looking at hardware, the difference is $450.
The bottom line: iPod touch 2G or iPhone 3G?
This is a really tough question. For now, here are the lists of criteria that would help you decide whether you should buy an iPhone vs. the iPod Touch. If you answer yes to most of them, perhaps the iPhone is the better choice.
- Do you manage your contacts with your computer and cellphone?
- Do you see yourself using GPS and Google Maps a lot?
- Do you take a lot of casual photos with your cell phone?
- Do you plan to use a lot of apps that require a net connection?
- Do you “really” mind carrying two devices instead of one?
- Do you have MobileMe?
- Are you a Mac user? And do you use iCal, Address Book, and iPhoto extensively on your Mac?
Source:
35 comments:
Hello from Russia!
Your article was useful because I also am thinking about buying either an iPod Touch or an iPhone.
Here in Russia a 16gb iPhone 3G currently costs about 26,000 Rubles and a 32gb iPod Touch 2G costs 16,000 Rubles.
I am mainly interested for the media functions, listening to audiobook, watching movies and showing my photos to friends. So, the iPod makes more sense.
But, the idea to have an all in one device is appealing. GPS would be nice also.
I still need to think more.
Pay more = Get more.
But is an extra 10,000 Rubles worth it? I already have a mobile telephone (Samsung G600) which will likely last me a good long while still. And its camera is 5 megapixels.
Thanks so much for the comment!
So did you decide on what to buy yet?
After using the iPhone for a few months and getting spoiled with checking mail and using the web, I don't think I can ever go back to an iPod. Even though not high quality, I love the camera for casual photos. With the GPS and Internet, Google Maps truly comes alive. And the fact that I had one less device to hold in my pockets, that's nice also.
But if your current phone is good, because I just couldn't stand my old Nokia phone, then you might want to consider the touch. And if it's just for movies, listening, and photos, the touch would be great as well. Only if they would put a camera into the touch, but that would just make it more expensive.
Good luck, and would love to know what you got!
Wow, this article has is not fully true! The iPod touch and iPhone both rely on internet connections through WiFi, hell- so does anything else. No WiFi, no connection, not the iPods fault. The iPhone also can use 3G as an option, but it also relies on coverage which is not everywhere. Btw the iPod's Internet is MUCH more faster due to a faster processor.... And you can SMS with Apps and you can call people with an App through WiFi and it has google maps which is basically a GPS and (to many ands) there are Apps for navigation. The iPhone also doesn't have a full GPS because of no voice guidance. The iPhone also looks sleeker, thinner, has metal on its back, and you don't have too pay $80 per month... One last thing, the memory of the iPhone... 4gb-8gb? thats like more than...i dunno.. an ipod nano-Wtf yeah thats a lot!
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you, not having connection is definitely not touch's fault. If you live in a city that has citiy-wide wi-fi, the iPod touch would be great. After using touch 2G for a bit, it definitely feels faster and smoother. Now only if they can get a camera on that touch.
Hey it is nice to say that the iPhone has wifi everyware and text and all of that but this phone has so many expensive feature it is going to coast you iphone every month I am saying the iPhone is not cool it is one of the best but the feature are two expensive in my apinion I would choose the iPod touch 2g
Hi Mat, thanks for the comment. You definitely have a point. I also have the iPod touch 2G, and been playing around it, and I have to say browsing with it is much smoother than the iPhone 3G. If only if there is a way to get wifi everywhere and the touch would be great. As for the iPhone, I have really enjoyed the camera and the GPS feature, but like you say, it comes with a price. For me, a price of a more expensive cell phone bill. At least in Japan, the iPhone 3G is now free with a 2 year contract, and plans start out at around 40 dollars. Hope the carriers make their plans lower so more people could get one. Again, thanks for the comment and thanks for dropping by the blog!
i think the Ipod Touch 2G is much a better think to but for me because i already have a good 5MP phone which works fine. i want something to listen to music to and watch movies etc. i dont really care about GPS and camera because my phone already has that.
The only think which is stopping is that having 2 devices in your pockets. id much rather have a "all in one" device.
i dont know if it would get annoying after a while or not??
I used to use a touch with a Nokia phone. Personally, having to carry one less thing with me has been really great. Of course, this convenience comes with a hefty cost of a two year contract =)
okay,
I'm interested in buying either the ipod touch 2g or the iphone 3g and after reading what was said I'm still not 100% sure in either. Can you please help me decide.
At the moment I have a really bad phone. It is some sort of nokia black flip top which was under $70. The bottom line is that it has bad features especially memory and camera and is pre-paid. There is no fun with it. So thats why I see the iphone as a potentially good investment. But when you buy an I phone does it come with a plan? or something like that. I don't know a lot about phones but I saw in a shop one day that the iphone 3g 16gb was free but you had a 12 month contract which you had to pay about 65 bucks a month? Does that sound right and if so would ot be a good deal?
I also heard some talk about there being an iphone 4g coming out before 2010. Do you think it would be worth while waiting for that.
The ipod touch on the other hand I see as being the iphone without the aility the make calls and the other features missed out you said before. The ipod touch is a lot cheaper to I see. The only question I have to ask about that is how does the Interent work? How much to you pay etc.? And also like the Iphone are they making a 3g touch?
Can you please answer my questions and help me decide which to pick, thanks.
P.S
I live in Ausralia, I don't know if this has any bearing on anything.
Hi there, thanks for the comment.
First off, my recommendation is to wait till this summer because that is when the iPhone 3.0 OS comes out. And most likely, a new iPhone will be out then. Also, if you buy a touch right now, you will have to pay more to upgrade to the new OS when that comes out.
And on to your questions, I also had a tough time deciding whether to the get the iPhone a few months ago.
Mainly, the reason was the calling and data plans. So I would recommend you compare the phone plans of iPhone and your existing plans. In most countries, the company forces you with a data plan.
The pricing of the iPhone and contracts is tricky and it differs from country to country. Make sure FREE indeed means FREE. It's possible that you have to pay additional amounts every month in additional to your plan. So make sure.
As for the touch, if you have a good phone, it's definitely an option consider. In your case, since you want to replace the phone, the iPhone might be a better choice. The other thing that may make the touch worthwile for you is if you have access to a lot of wifi hotspots. If you have wifi most of the time where you are, then the touch could be a good choice. You can also now use Skype to call people over wifi =)
You might want to research and look into if some company offers wifi, how good is the coverage, and how much it costs.
Hope that helps and doesn't confuse you even more =)
Okay thanks for your time. I will take all of that into consideration. I'm definately leaning towards the iphone, not 3g though, now that I hear of that OS. Though I'm not sure what it is. I have a feeling it is an upgrade? So After it comes out I'll look around for a good contract deal. I'm glad to that living in Australia dosen't disconnect me from the rest of the words that much.
Thanks for the help.
Thanks! Let me know what you decide!
can do,
I'm running short on money at the moment though, so it might be a while.
Hope you don't mind waiting.
just bought a ipod touch 2g it's going to be delivered in 3 days =(
can't wait to try it out i decided to buy the touch instead of the iphone because i already have a good working phone + it's really expensive and i don't have alot of money.
oh god i hate waiting
i bought an iPod touch in indonesia, after two days, my ipod dead and can't be turned on... shiit!!
uh oh, that is not good =(
Justin,
Do you think the Iphone 3 (hardware) will be introduced on June 8th during WWDC? And what features will you think it will include.
What makes the iphone so cool is a lot of things like its browser and it would make more sense to buy a iphone than the ipod touch then triying to turn the ipod touch into a phone which would be a iphone but it would take a lot of money so it would be better to buy an iphone
Hey guys,
Thanks for the comments! And apologies about being late about replying. Yes, I believe a new iPhone will be announced in June. The new hardware will probably be shipped with the new iPhone 3.0 OS. I'm guessing that the new hardware will be a slight upgrade - a better camera and faster processor. Not going to be much change in the form factor I think. I'm also hoping for a front camera as that would open up a lot of opportunities for video conference and stuff too.
And as for the most recent comment, if you don't have a good phone, or you have a old phone, then iPhone is a good choice. Now, if you already have a good phone, and even a phone that can tether and shares its connection, iPod touch might be a good choice. But, I had a touch first, and after using it more and more, the more I wanted an iPhone. And eventually I bought one. The best thing I think is that I only need to carry one device with me instead of two now.
Well, i was going to get the iPhone 3G because i have ipod touch gen 1 and its kinda cracked and old so im going to give it to my brother.We have no wifi really and 3G coverage is in my area :).I need to cehck my email all the time on my site which would be good on the mobile...200 is a good deal ut dishing out 90 dollars a month(unl. txting) included really draws setbacks. I mean its a really good device and somehow my friend only pays 60 a month(idk how, dont ask me)....so i think im going to wait till june to see if they release the new iphone hardware and if not, i will buy one in july..i should have enough money to buy one then.
Other then that, its cool, sleek, ilove the iphone 3g black and white design, one of the best looking phones out there, prolly one of the best mobile devices.Since i know hwo to work alreayd using touch, it wont be hard to learn iphone3g or the new iphone3.
Hi Anthony,
Thanks for the comment! I too started out with the touch, and transition to the iPhone was no problem at all. Definitely wait out for this summer. If you like the touch, I'm sure you'll like the iPhone = )
I currently have a Blackberry Bold. I have never been fond of touchscreen devices because I find typing much less efficient than a full qwerty.
Having said this, I am interested in an Ipod Touch for the apps.
Just debating whether I should be waiting for a newer model hopefully this summer or purchase one now.
Any news of a new ipod touch and new features?
Hi, thanks for the comments. Whether to buy the touch now or later, that's a good question. I would suggest to wait until June in any event. Apple has a big event in June and they "might" announce some new touch. The other thing is you probably want to wait for iPhone 3.0 OS to be released, and shipped with the touches. If you buy one now, and later 3.0 comes out, you have to pay to upgrade as a touch owner. (it's free for iPhone owners because of some accounting thingie). Oh yeah, there are some rumors that the next touch might have a camera. I hope that's true, cuz I think if touch has a camera, it'd be awesome. And they should tag on GPS with it so we get geotagging. Crossing my fingers.
Now Justin the new question is: Ipod Touch 2G vs Iphone 3G S?
yes, the question now is iPod touch or the iPhone 3GS. Once I get to play with a 3GS, I'll post an update! Stay tuned!
Well I live in L.A where there's wi-fi in a bunch of places so my iPod touch really does the job. I use Skype for calls. I stopped carrying around my phone now, And my itouch works perfectly,even better with software update 3.0. I want to jailbreak it to get gps now though.
Hi Raj, if you can get wi-fi, or you have something like Verizon's MyFi or Cradlepoint, iPod touch would definitely do the job. I think the iPod touch can try to get an approximate location
What I really want in a touch though is a camera. Take picture and videos would be nice.
Thanks for the comment!
I would like to get rid of my land line and use the cell phone but I have poor cell coverage at my home. Getting a iPhone and relying on WiFi coverage at home would work but the additional monthly cost of a data plan would defeat the purpose.
Would it be possible to purchase an iPhone without the data plan, make and receive calls from my WiFi at home and elsewhere? Will the iPhone still attempt to make unsolicited data connection and run up a bill?
An iPod Touch question.. when making a phone call from the touch using skype does it have a built in mike like the iPhone?
Thanks! Bill
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the comment!
Personally I would keep the land line simply for times of emergency. Calling from a land line to 911 would ensure the police could trace the call.
I'm not quite sure about purchasing an iPhone without the data plan, but I think you can't. This is because the data plan is there to subsidize the cost of the phone.
With the iPhone you can set it to pure wi-fi mode, but that means the phone feature is off, and you can't get incoming calls to the phone. If you're consistently hooked to a wifi network, you have a good chance of minimizing your data fees.
If you want to make calls on wi-fi, getting an iPod touch could be a good choice. You can get on wi-fi, and use Skype on your touch to call out. Unfortunately, the current iPod touch does not have a mic, and you have to use the earphone mics, which is a bummer. And no signs of BlueTooth headset mic support, I'm' guessing it would make the touch to close to the iPhone.
Let me know how it pans out. Thanks for reading!
Hi from Norway =)
Now I have the same dilemma as some of you already have had.. One thing is that I don't know if it's wi-fi on Norway at all. That's why I'm so unsure about the Touch. I've heard that the touch have better definition when whatching movies, picures etc. Will the iPhone just be a waste of money??
Hi from Norway =)
Now I have the same dilemma as some of you already have had.. One thing is that I don't know if it's wi-fi on Norway at all. That's why I'm so unsure about the Touch. I've heard that the touch have better definition when whatching movies, picures etc. Will the iPhone just be a waste of money??
I really enjoyed reading all your blogs, niceeee! :D
I got an iPhone 3G a month ago, am really loving it, even though it doesn't have a compass or anything. The screen's nice and big, much better for watching videos than on my old iPod Classic >:[.
However, I'm kinda wondering about its durability. I've heard that it gets scratches pretty easily and its battery life starts failing after a while. Personally, I take very good care of mine, so I don't even need a cover.
As to Ole-Petter's question, I'd say get the iPhone, because I love the ability to use Wifi wherever I am. The iPod Touch's much slimmer though, and that's pretty sexy :D I don't know about its web browser because I've never really used an iPod Touch before, but even if the iPhone's browser is slower, well, it makes that up with the ability to browse anywhere with a 3G connection :D
P.S.
I really hate those idiots who hold their iPhones with one hand and type using their index finger. Its annoying. They should learn to type with their thumbs.
Hi Ole and Mark,
Thanks for the comment and thanks for reading! Agreeing with Mark, the iPhone is a great choice, and after testing out the 3GS for quite some time, I would add, the 3GS is also a great choice. GPS has been very useful and able to shoot video is fun!
I, too, used to watch a lot of videos on my iPod video before the iPod touches came out. With the iPhone and touch, I can't ever imagine watching videos on a tiny screen.
Thanks for reading! I've decided to focus this blog on iPhones in the future, and I hope you'll enjoy it. In fact, this blog's name is now Shiny iPhone =)
I totally agree with Mark there... about iPhone owners not using their thumb.. LOL! They look like the oldies trying to use a cellphone for the first time...
About the iPhone--
Love using it.. but the Touch is sooooo sexy and nice on the handle.. with the saving you've made from not getting the more expensive iphone you could get yourself a very nice high pixel digital camera!
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