Forget The iPhone: The iPod touch Is Where It’s At

MacLife ^ | Monday, December 7, 2009 | J.R. Bookwalter

[Star Traveler]

Forget The iPhone: The iPod touch Is Where It’s At

Posted 12/07/2009 at 8:33:11am
by J.R. Bookwalter

Apple may have to fend off a number of competitors for the iPhone’s crown of smartphone dominance, but one area where there seems to be comparatively little competition is the roost ruled by the iPod touch.

Based upon a report by Flurry, a San Francisco mobile analytics company, there are 24 million iPod touches in use, which represent 40% of the total 58 million iPhone OS devices, according to Gigaom’s Om Malik.

After all, the iPod touch has one big advantage over the iPhone: No wireless carrier commitment, which adds more than $2,000 to the purchase price over the 2-year contract. Otherwise, it’s functionally the same as the iPhone, sans camera (which is rumored to appear with a future hardware refresh), for a one-time price. With a virtual explosion of free or cheap Wi-Fi almost everywhere, the iPod touch begins to look like a very enticing alternative that helps boost the iPhone OS market share.

The mobile advertising company AdMob (currently being acquired by Google), reported back in October that the iPod touch accounted for 9.8% of all request for applications and websites that embed their advertising scripts. The iPhone, by comparison, has 22.4% of such requests. But the AdMob results mostly mirror those of Flurry, and point to an increasing user base for the iPod touch.

“It’s important to remember that the iPhone’s flank is protected by an often-overlooked, powerful fighting brand: iPod touch,” the Flurry report released today explains. “As all industry eyes look to the iPhone, the iPod touch is quietly building a loyal base among the next generation of iPhone users, positioning Apple to corner the smartphone market not only today, but also tomorrow.”

Malik goes on to state that the inclusion of a camera on the iPod touch could really push it into the stratosphere, not only for use as a digital camera to take snapshots (and presumably, video) but also as a secondary role as a barcode scanner, for instance.

Also in the iPod touch’s favor: Gaming. Flurry notes that Social Networking and Gaming are among the biggest categories for iPod touch use, which have already started to erode the lead held by specialist game device makers such as Nintendo.

[Star Traveler]

And here we are... "prepping" the next generation of iPhone users... :-)

[Star Traveler]

iPodTouch, the next generation of iPhone users...

[ilgipper]

I am literally attached to my iTouch, or I guess the other way around. It goes where I go. With it, I have my podcasts, music, games, internet, various applications for bank accounts, etc. It is awesome. I can see how it easy it would be to transition to an iPhone from here so i could use it everywhere, whereas now I am dependent on wifi.

[AnnaZ]

Have it. Love it.

[UB355]

Bought a iPod Touch 2G last January. It’s the coolist thing I’ve ever owned.

[GnL]

Just got a 32GB iPod Touch in October. Incredible little machine that I am amazed by everyday. I’ve got all my music on it, plus it is like having a little computer in your pocket with all the apps and internet capability. I can read FR anywhere in my house now. It’s also the first Apple product I’ve ever owned.

[justlurking]

iPodTouch, the next generation of iPhone users...

Yup, that's how I ended up with an iPhone. I bought an iPod Touch when I was traveling a lot, and wanted to be able to watch movies on the plane.

But, since it has all the software of the iPhone (except the stuff specific to the phone), I was able to see how well the email client (IMAP, Exchange integration) and web browser worked, I decided to upgrade to the iPhone.

I waited until the 3G came out. Then, I sold my iTouch. The iPhone is by no means perfect, but it's better integrated and more functional than any smart-phone I've had.

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

With it, I have my podcasts, music, games, internet, various applications for bank accounts, etc. It is awesome.

Definitely so... :-)

I have the iPhone, which is basically the iPod Touch with a phone attached. And it does have the camera, too, but that's supposed to be coming, later, for the iPod Touch, too.

Many don't realize all the functionality of this device the iPod Touch/iPhone. It is quite amazing.

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

The iPhone is by no means perfect, but it's better integrated and more functional than any smart-phone I've had.

AND..., the really nice thing about both the iPod Touch and the iPhone is that any improvements and upgrades to the device (either one) is a simple "software upgrade". With that, they give you new functionality that you didn't have before and new features that weren't there.

All the other phones that I've had were "locked into a feature set" that came with it when I bought it and nothing past that, no matter how long I had it.

But, with the iPhone (which is what I have) and the iPod Touch, I've seen upgrade after upgrade and added functionality and more, ever single time there was an upgrade. And it was simple, just clicking the software download -- and you got a "new phone" (or a new iPod Touch... :-) ...).

[Revolting cat!]

When is the next version expected?

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

It’s also the first Apple product I’ve ever owned.

Glad to hear that... :-)

Maybe you'll add other Apple products as you go along. There is an Apple ping list maintained by "Swordmaker" if you're interested in keeping up-to-date on what's going on there...

[Obadiah]

Your experience exactly mirrors mine. I have a 64GB Touch that goes with me everywhere. I can almost easily see buying an iPhone to have that always on, anywhere connection, but two critical points hold me back.

First, at 32GB, the capacity is way too low. 64GB is barely passable for me. I heard that it will be difficult for Apple to come out with a 64GB or larger capacity phone without increasing the footprint because they are out of space with the current dimensions.

Second, wow, it's like $100 plus dollars a month for phone and data service! Way too expensive to justify when I'm paying about $55 for two regular phones combined. Wi-fi is becoming more ubiquitous so the author gets that right. Will Wi-Fi supplant the need for 3G always connected service? Not for some, but it's likely most really don't need this level of service, except maybe those who can't live without telling someone their munching on potato chips on Twitter or Facebook.

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

When is the next version expected?

You know... there is a typical time period for each of the products and I saw a website that kept up on that, telling you when the chances were for the next product upgrade.

I would have to find that, but..., I don't know that off the top of my head... :-)

Maybe someone else on the Apple ping list might know.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Help! I use computers which are connected by hard wire to the Internet. I use cell phones and do not subscribe to texting because I don’t waNt to pay extra and none of my friends text. I was forced to get a camera with my last phone, but I don’t know how to download the pictures to anything! I use email and never Tweet or use Facebook. I am hopelessly out of date.

At least I’m not on dial up any more.

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

First, at 32GB, the capacity is way too low. 64GB is barely passable for me.

I have to chuckle on that one... :-)

I remember getting a top-of-the-line iPod and I was happy to get the 80 GB model. I thought I had it made. And that one was with a hard drive in it. This 64 GB that you're talking about is a chip and no moving parts, which is great. I didn't think I would see that kind of capacity for a chip, when I had an 80 GB hard drive in my iPod.

But, as y'all know... what was big in the past is small now... :-)

[Obadiah]

MacRumors

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

At least I’m not on dial up any more.

Well, that's conforting. It's sorta like saying "I don't have a buggy whip any more!"... LOL...

[Obadiah]

Yep, reluctantly gave up my 80GB to shoehorn into my Touch. I really like the Touch, but I sure do miss the space. I’m down to my last 3 or 4 gigs with much already culled out. *sigh*

[Star Traveler]

All Hail the iPod touch

By Om Malik
December 6, 2009

As the competition for smartphone domination starts to heat up, it is becoming increasingly clear that the iPod touch is Apple’s ace up its sleeve, and according to a report by Flurry, a San Francisco-based mobile analytics company, 24 million iPod touches represent about 40 percent of the total 58 million iPhone OS devices.

From the time I first laid my hands on the iPod touch, I have been a big fan of it — after all, it is just like an iPhone except that it has more storage, is skinnier, and has none of the hassles of dropped calls.

It is a handy little touch computer, that allows you to quickly check emails when sitting in a nice comfortable chair and reading a book. It allows me to play a game of MLB World Series, control my favorite music system — the Sonos — manage the Apple TV, and very soon, people will be able to use it to accept credit cards.

OK, so what if it doesn’t make phone calls or have 3G connectivity?  Those are problems you can fix by buying a MiFi and getting connected to Verizon’s 3G network, and you can make Skype calls as well. Last January (wow, how time flies) I wrote about why Apple was going to rule the mobile web, thanks to the iPod touch. I wasn’t that off the mark.

AdMob, a mobile advertising company currently being acquired by Google, in a recent report said that during the month of October (on a worldwide basis) the iPod touch accounted for 9.8 percent of all requests for applications and web sites that embed AdMob’s advertising script. In comparison, the iPhone has 22.4 percent of all requests. For the U.S. market, the iPod touch brought in 11.4 percent of total requests compared with 24 percent of requests emanating from the iPhone.

AdMob’s numbers mirror the data collected by Flurry, which tracks 3,000 applications, 45 million consumers and four platforms. In terms of the total number of user sessions per month, at present, iPod touch usage is much higher than the Android-based user sessions and is giving the iPhone a run for its money.

“It’s important to remember that the iPhone’s flank is protected by an often overlooked, powerful fighting brand: iPod touch,” Flurry notes in a report likely to be released Monday. “As all industry eyes look to the iPhone, the iPod touch is quietly building a loyal base among the next generation of iPhone users, positioning Apple to corner the smartphone market not only today, but also tomorrow.”

Agreed. In a post earlier this year I wrote how “the emergence of the iPod touch/iPhone is changing how we perceive and interact with computers. My friend Antonio Rodriguez, who founded and sold his startup Tabblo to Hewlett-Packard, thinks that a whole generation of kids is now growing up with keyboard-less computing as a default way to interact with machines.”

The iPod touch is much more than the iPhone’s little brother, as Jordan Golson recently pointed out:

Apple is perpetuating a “virtuous cycle,” as Gene Munster put it in a recent research note, to keep users on the iPod touch — an improved version of the lock-in provided by the old iTunes/iPod music ecosystem. Users buy the iPod touch; download apps; developers promote their apps (and the iPod touch platform), which leads to more consumers buying the iPod touch.

This virtuous cycle is more pronounced in the case of social networks and games. In its soon to be just released November Pulse report , Flurry notes:

Empirically, Flurry compared how iPod touch session usage has changed over the last six months across key application categories important to this demographic; namely, Social Networking and Games. While Social Networking’s viral nature is understood, iPhone Games have become increasingly social with the inclusion of features like friends lists, leader boards and remote multi-player modes. Together, Social Networking and Games category usage reflects the strength of the iPod touch Generation’s influence among its peers.

It is hardly a surprise. Apple changed its tune and started touting the iPod touch as a gaming device, which has started to have a negative impact on the earnings of specialist game device makers such as Nintendo.

It is starting to make its presence felt in the e-reader business. It is already a travel planner, thanks to apps like TripIt. So what’s next? (Related post: “The Past, Present & Future of Mobile Games.” On GigaOM Pro: “Is There Any Demand for a True Gaming Phone?” (subscription required)).

I think a digital camera would be a welcome addition, for that would allow the iPod touch to take on new roles: that of a camera. Secondly, it could become an easy-to-use and cheap bar code scanner. The latter would be the first of the many offerings for the iPod touch to disrupt a business described as enterprise mobility and dominated by Motorola’s Symbol Technologies.

It is not as far-fetched an idea as you might think. Square is already building a card reader. Last week, when I went to Apple’s Palo Alto, Calif., store, I saw the salespeople using a new device instead of the typical handheld credit card terminals. They were a combination of an iPod touch/iPhone (I couldn’t tell) and a sheath that snugly wrapped around the device and plugged into its connector, making it a point-of-sale device. And that’s just the start.

Against such a backdrop, it isn’t wrong to say: All hail the iPod touch.

[dano1]

I like NOT having my phone in my iPod Touch.

For me the Touch was a big enough investment that I want to take very good care of it. On a rainy day like today I leave it at home. The little, inexpensive cell phone I have works fine for me, and I don’t feel like I have to give the cell phone the same TLC as I give the Touch.