I am all excited as I write this post from the iPod. I am slowly getting better at typing but I will have a full report on my initial use soon.

Thanks again to the great people that helped make this happen.

Originally posted on September 12, 2008 @ 7:13 pm

Since the last time I talked about the iPod touch, I have come to use it much more than I originally intended, and in different ways than I thought I would. The keyboard interface has changed my use of this small portable computer from something I can work on away from home without lugging my laptop to something I just do quick things on, but in doing so, it has saved me a fair bit of time.

My iPod Touch is almost always on standby mode, which means it still eats through the battery with my use if it in a single day, though sometimes much less. Powering the device has become a little bit of a joke for me as I recently took my laptop with me somewhere just so I could make sure my iPod Touch got recharged.

I have started using it for a variety of different things outside of just blogging, but the time savings it has created has made me a bit more productive.

I use the iPod Touch as a watch, constantly checking the time, and comparing it against notes I have made in Notes and To Do’s.

Since the iPod is in standby mode, it is quick to turn on and I can usually check my e-mail faster on the Touch than on waiting for my laptop to boot up, making my boot up time in the morning a bit more productive.

I also use it to check the stock markets and whatnot as I like to keep abreast of what is going on in the economy, especially related to the US to Canadian dollar exchange rate since I am paid in US currency.

I have also been using it as a way to keep active on Twitter, which is something that I didn’t really intend, but the limited typing space for messages makes the iPod Touch a great Twitter interface.

I have also bookmarked various web pages related to my sites statistics and it makes finding out how my sites are doing a one click event, no matter where I am, which has actually let me know about some downtime I had on one of my other sites, long before I would have otherwise realized it.

As for stuff outside of blogging, I have discovered how useful the Touch is for watching videos while on my long walks between my home and a local restaurant where I work sometimes, and I really enjoy lying in bed listing to Last.fm on it, much to my wife’s unhappiness.

I also use the iPod Touch for managing money and groceries, with Grocery iQ and Pennies. Both are great applications, though I find myself not sticking to inputting everything into Pennies as often as I should, though I don’t blame the application for that.

So with my enjoyment of having an iPod Touch increasing, would I now say that it is a great blogging device? Well, no… I would still recommend something like one of the many “netbooks” that are out with a decent keyboard, and maybe a 3G card so you can have ubiquitous wireless Internet access.

Did I mention there are some fun games for killing time on the iPod touch? When I don’t have Internet access, I find myself playing Sudoku, Lux Touch, and messing around with AquaForest. They are all fairly interesting, and great for keeping your mind off how long a walk has taken.

Donators

Thanks again to everyone listed below for their help in reaching my goal of getting an iPod touch.

Ryan Caldwell of College Crunch
Mark Wood, My Cousin
Jeff Chandler of Jeffro2pt0
Chris Garrett of Authority Blogger
Yan Fortin of Geeks are Sexy

Originally posted on October 29, 2008 @ 4:43 pm

When I received the shipped box it my hand, I was surprised. It was so very small, and when I opened it up, I saw a very small case, almost the full size of the shipping box, and was wondering if I had ordered the OEM version or something, as it felt like my iPod Touch was missing lots of stuff. Then I struggled to get the plastic case open before realizing that Apple had put an arrow pointing to how to open the whole thing, and its USB cable, headphones and dock adaptor fell in my lap. There was also a small, tightly wrapped tube of felt, which when opened, unravelled to be a small microfiber cloth.

I checked out the quick install instructions and found out that I needed to update my iTunes to the latest version, go figure. The iPod almost feels like a toy. It is wider than the Flip Ultra, a video camera on the go that many bloggers love and that I recently received, but thinner and close to the same overall length. It is very surprising to experience how small it is, despite having played with other people’s iPhone a few times in the past.

Once iTunes was updated, I plugged it in and went through the “installation” pages in iTunes to make sure it was set up properly with my computer. Turning on the iPod, I realized it had a full battery and was ready to go. There is nothing worse than getting a new gadget and realizing that you have to wait overnight to be able to use a shiny new gadget.

Looking at this from a blogger perspective, I laughed at the home screen of the device. Movies, music, etc… Who would need any of these things? I quickly moved all of the things that I felt were non-essential to the second page, leaving the home page more than half empty for me to add in applications that would help me in my day to day blogging.

Over the next few weeks, I will be going over the included applications, applications I have downloaded from the App Store, and my continued thoughts on the overall device. I will also be researching the jail breaking process and if it provides a better extended application experience.

For all of you not interested in these posts, I will be spreading them out over a long period of time, so that I keep pushing out great blogging related content over the coming weeks, and I will be covering Blog World Expo next week, so expect a fair number of posts on that event both during and after it runs.

Donators

Thanks again to everyone listed below for their help in reaching my goal of getting an iPod touch. I now have one, and can start convincing all of you to buy one too.

Ryan Caldwell of College Crunch
Mark Wood, My Cousin
Jeff Chandler of Jeffro2pt0
Chris Garrett of Authority Blogger
Yan Fortin of Geeks are Sexy

Originally posted on September 13, 2008 @ 3:59 pm

I’ve decided to make a map tracking the progress of my iPod Touch. I incorrectly assumed that it would be shipped directly from the USA or from the west coast of Canada, but it seems like it is making quite the journey.

The interesting thing for me now is to see if it can make it to my home in St. Thomas, Ontario before I have to leave for Blog World Expo in Las Vegas on the 18th of September.

View Larger Map

Check out the Map on Google Maps

I have been trying to write in all details and will keep this updated until the iPod is delivered.

Donators

Thanks again to everyone listed below for their help in reaching my goal of getting an iPod touch.

Ryan Caldwell of College Crunch
Mark Wood, My Cousin
Jeff Chandler of Jeffro2pt0
Chris Garrett of Authority Blogger
Yan Fortin of Geeks are Sexy

Originally posted on September 11, 2008 @ 10:44 am