iPod Touch

(trying out Windows Live Writer posting to iGoogle here)

 

I purchased an iPod Touch mp3 player for my wife this past Christmas. It has a WiFi connection and uses a very nice touch screen interface. I was fairly impressed before I decided to do the "jailbreak" on it so that we could install other applications (like Google Maps which is on the iPhone by default). Since the "jailbreak" I'm more convinced than ever that Apple is a clueless company. The Touch is awesome if only they'd package it with applications, or the ability to add them. Once the iPhone is released from it's AT&T stranglehold I'll be in the market for one. I doubt I'd be so enamored with the Touch if we hadn't done the jailbreak procedure on it.

The basic overview for the jailbreak I read came from Jeremy Keith's Adactio blog. The only issue I had was figuring out how to do the procedure from a PC. The biggest difference was learning how to do the "Restore" from a file instead of using the default restore file. It was as simple as holding the shift key in windows while clicking Restore. The file required an .ipsw extension, iirc, but I think that was in the instructions too. I also referred to this howto on the instructables site.

Saturday while visiting my parents, I helped my (non-computer using) Dad use it to look up wiring harness diagrams for his 1950 Ford Truck. He had *very* little difficulty using the Touch. The interface is much easier to use than a PC. The biggest hurdle was how to get Wi-Fi access in Texasville, AL. Surprisingly, a Verizon Wireless AirCard worked great. I'll save details about that for another post.