iPhone vs. iPod Touch

[curt_grymala]

Hey guys -
Since neither of them will leave my new iPhone alone, we're thinking of buying an iPod touch for each of our twins for their birthday this year. I'm curious, though, what the differences are between the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Can you get basically all the same apps for the iPod Touch as you can for the iPhone? I am going to start a list of the things you can do with the iPhone that I know you cannot do with the Touch. If you have anything to add to the list, I would greatly appreciate it.

• Phone calls
• SMS (Text messages)
• Camera

I have heard that the iPod Touch doesn't come with e-mai, calendar and contacts by default, but you can pick those up from iTunes. Is that still true? Do they still cost $20 (that's what it said in the article I read)?

Some apps I know the kids will be looking for include:

• MySpace
• TapTap Revenge 2
• iBowl and/or Action Bowling
• Cooking Mama
• Google
• Yahoo!
• Shazam

Are all of those available for the iPod Touch?

Also, if I pay for something in iTunes, how many iPods can I sync it with? For instance, if I buy the full version of Cooking Mama, can I put that on my iPhone and both of their Touches, or am I limited to putting it on a specific number of devices?

Any help you guys can offer would be great. Thanks.

[DaMadFiddler]

That article must be from when the original models first launched. That stuff all comes with the Touch now... and in fact, if they're using it mainly for games, the Touch is better because it has a slightly faster CPU. (This is really noticeable in 3D games like Hero of Sparta and Katamari Damacy).

I assume you're talking about the second-generation Touch, since that's what's on the market today. The new Touch has a built in speaker, volume buttons like the iPhone (the first-gen Touch didn't have either of these), and can use microphones that are built into some headphones. When OS 3.0 launches, it will add Bluetooth audio capability. Here are the only real things you'll be missing:

- phone calls (except with things like Skype)
- SMS
- cellular connectivity
- camera
- built-in mic
- have to pay for firmware updates (whenever a major new version launches, it costs you something like $10-$20 on iTunes)

[DuffMan]

There is actually an app that will allow you to send SMS messages over the net. Of course this requires it to be connected to the internet, but with WiFi being pretty much everywhere in a major city, that shouldn't be a problem

[curt_grymala]

Awesome news.

I know the app you're talking about, DuffMan. I downloaded the free version of it on my iPhone (as I still have not been able to find out whether or not SMS is included in my AT&T plan - since it's a corporate/govt account, I don't get to check the details like I can with my personal account). Apparently the only difference between the free and paid version is the amount of messages you can send.

DMF - Thanks for the info about the processor. I have noticed a lot of slowdowns when playing a few games on my phone.

They will definitely be using it mostly for PMP and gaming.

[curt_grymala]

Yeah, you can sync your apps with as many iPhones and iPods you like.

Awesome!