Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

So... I got my N810 around xmas time and I love the thing for web browsing, playing with apps, and all that jazz, but I've had a decent amount of experience using the iPod Touch and its not arguable that its a great piece of hardware running great software. I'm in the market for a new music player, and for some reason... the N810 doesn't really appeal to me for music. I know we have wonderful apps like Canola, but I don't know... I just don't really look at it like a music player.

When I bought the N810, I chose it over the iPod Touch for several reasons, and I'm pleased with my purchase, however I never really considered having them both... but I have a friend who may sell his 8GB iPod Touch for $200 and its quite tempting.... am I crazy?

Edit: I think I've come to my senses and realized that I'm just trying to satisfy my gadget urges, and it would be best not to waste my gadget fund on something that is very similar to the N810. What I need is a real DAP if anything, not an iPod Touch.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I would stick with the N810 if I were you, unless you just have money to burn. I got mine about the same time as you, and I think it works great for music. Yes, it's certainly true that the touch has a much more refined interface for music, no question. But remember, this is a SOFTWARE thing, meaning that potentially the tablets could (in the future, with new third-party software) far surpass the touch in terms of interface, also the memory is expandable in the tablets, which is nice. I definitely would agree that Canola2 is no iPod touch replacement, but it is free (when you have a tablet that is) so I'd say that's pretty sweet everything considered. After all, considering that the touch is a *dedicated* music/video play I would SURE HOPE it would be a lot better in that respect than the tablets which aren't even really advertised as media players! Yet they do the job just fine, I personally use my N810 as a music and internet radio player everyday and I definitely can't complain, it's a great little portable music player.

But again, seeing as you've had a good month of experience with the N810, and it sounds like you've had a decent amount of first-hand use with the touch, if you truely think you'd be happier using the touch, I would certainly say go for it, $200 isn't a bad deal for 8GB.

:)

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I'm considering a large MicroSD card instead and using Canola with my media library. Does Canola handle large libraries well? I haven't had experience with it use more than a few files. The inertia scroll seems to be pretty inconsistent graphically and I feel like that could become annoying when scrolling through long lists of songs or artists. How is your 8GB card working out, is it fast enough to support video?

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Oh yeah, I've got maybe 500 or so songs in my library currently (I like to fill up my card with movies too ;)) Canola handles it no problem. It does take a few minutes the first time you add your music directory since it has to catalog all the tracks for you but after that it's quick.

The scrolling works fine for me, but if you had a lot of files (say a few thousand+) and you were viewing them all (all songs), yeah that would be a pain to scroll though. My biggest complaint with the scrolling is that even though there's a scroll bar in Canola, you can't use it! It's apparently just so you can get a visual idea of how many tracks there are in the list, but you can't actually scroll with it. Definitely poor design in my opinion.

The memory is plenty fast. I've got my videos encoded in MPEG4 400x272 1mbps 24fps, quality is excellent and full frame rate. The 8GB is enough space for about 8-9 feature-length movies with these settings, lower bitrate a bit and you can get more if you want. Also remember we'll have the 16GB microSDHC cards in just a few months and 32GB microSDHC by the end of the year. So by then we'll actually have more space than the new 32GB iPod touch. :D

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Do you mind if I ask how much your 8GB card was?

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Yeah, I paid about $150 (USD) in late January when it was newer on Amazon.com (wasn't available on newegg.com at the time). It's WAYYY cheaper now, around $75 on either amazon or newegg. That's roughly half what I paid after only about a month and a couple weeks, not a bad deal at all if you ask me. (although I'm kinda kicking myself for not waiting a few more weeks, hehe :rolleyes:)

The card, by the way, works great with the N810, just plug it in and you're good to go. Only thing you need is a MicroSDHC->MiniSD converter, those are cheap though, maybe $15 or so.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Hi.

I am faced with a similar predicament of thinking about an iPOD touch. No one can deny the fact the interface is nothing short of perfect and it does what it is supposed to do very well! Add that to the fact the soon to be released sdk, the touch will be very serious contender for tablets. I agree that potentially there could be many applications developed around maemo, but will it have the same energy and momentum and excitement that Apple SDK will have? Moot point. But personally I would still keep the 800 as it has skype and Gizmo, which is awesome.
Cheers
Anand

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I would wait until the SDK is released for the iP/iPT. One thing I do often is listen to podcasts. One thing you can't do on the IPT is download music (maybe iTMS, but not any web page with mp3 or other links).

I have three iPods (I gave away my original). The last few audiobooks and music were put on the n810, not the iPod Video. To do ANYTHING with the library on an iPod, you need to attach to an external computer.

It would probably be easier to create a link to my MacBookPro (I have EVDO and a portable router) to my n810 to my music and audiobook collection than to do it via an iPod - and until I can edit the library on the device, OR access the library on my laptop via some link via Wifi, I won't consider the iPod.

Meanwhile, the n810 often sits atop my dashboard and shows the map scrolling by (my zmapper program which is fully GPL and uses US Census maps - it was a complete rewrite of Roadmap for the Zaurus designed to be fast), I'm also listening to the audiobook, podcast, or music. Sometimes the next podcast is downloading at the same time.

Will the iPod Touch platform ever allow the apps to be integrated? Maybe. And will there be a charge? Maybe. And prices are likely to come down, not up in a few months. What will they let the SDK do? I've no idea. They've already BRICKED unlocked iPhones with updates. Somehow I don't think they are going to allow applications to do anything they want. It may be a very good closed platform, but it still will be closed. Or maybe not. My idea is to wait and see.

(I saw one similarly priced as a return at Target, but for the above reason passed on it).

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Hi,

I own an n800. Although I don't like apple at all (they never had a product that cought my attention and I can't stand their marketing campaigns), I feel that with the iPod Touch thay finally came out with a good product. So I did buy the touch even if I don't listen to music. So I can give you my thoughts:

Interface: The Touch's interface is amazing for what it is. Very good for browsing music, not good at all for any serious work.

Browser: The safari implementation is wicked and it does work well with the small screen and multitouch, but it's no match for the n800.

Applications: Here I face one of the problems that make me hate apple.
- You can't run 3rd party apps (unless you jailbreak it as I did, but then you'll loose everything if you upgrade and you don't know when apple will stop jailbreaking).
- Everything must be done through iTunes and that sucks. If it freezes (as it does) you have to restore the touch and loose everything. Apple controls what you do because it always goes thru their program (unless you ssh).
- Apps are very simple compared to the n800.

Portability: The main plus. It's really small and easy to carry if all you need is a music/video player and a browser. The fact that it doesn't support 802.1x limits it a lot as you cannot use it in university networks in Europe (eduroam) and several companies.

Linux/Apple: Linux=almost everithing free. Apple=everything has a huge cost, including upgrades (mail/weather, etc), tv-out (not backwards compatible, must by apple cables), etc. Plus, everything apple is expensive.

Having said this, I don't think the iPod touch and the n800 are competitors. The n800 (and n810) is a working machine in which you can play, while de iPod touch is a toy and nothing more, although it is a great toy.

As always, if you want beautiful toys with lots of eye candy, go with apple. If you want to get the work done, go with something else.

I quite like having both.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Apple has stated that it intends the iPod Touch to be a mobile internet platform so it does in fact compete with the Nokia N 800/810. It may not currently have the expandability of the N800/810 terms of software but when the dev kit arrives it will and at that point it may well come to rival the N800/810 the question I have is whether Gnuite would port Maemomapper to the IPhone (assuming some GPS over bluetooth is feasble there) since that is the only app currently that would tie me to the N800/810.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Take a second look at his name, then take a guess.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Well, I have both an iPhone and a N800. They both have their uses... I enjoy surfing the web with the 800 more that the iPhone, but you can't beat the iPhoe/Ipod as a jukebox... iTunes integration would be a killer app for the 800...

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Well it was more of a rhetorical question.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

The only thing you'll want to watch out for is this:

Once you grow comfortable with an iPhone or iPod touch, you will likely use your N810 less and less. Especially with 3rd party apps starting at the end of this month. You'll have a GOOD music player that syncs, in addition to an "internet platform" in one.

What will the N800 provide other than unpolished/unfinished versions of whats on the iPod/iPhone? We'll likely see multi-IM clients from companies like BeeJive (JiveTalk), and if they provide access to the filesystem then we'll end up with quality versions of FTP, Terminal apps and real games from big developers... Stuff that will never reach the N800.

And an email client works, instead of having a broken one for 2 years (IMAP) and terrible open-source ports :) with contacts that can actually SYNC.

I am sorry that I mock the N810's software, but every time I get started on a post I remember my frustrations and observations.

Free and frustrating just doesn't add up. I'd wager that most people are willing to pay a few dollars for something that works, easily.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

One issue that hasn't been addressed in this thread (which may be of only limited importance to most users) is sound quality between the iPods and N800's. This matter has though been discussed elsewhere in this forum (search "audiophile"). But we may be talking a bit of apples-and-oranges here if sound quality is of any concern. Even among the various dedicated media players on the market, there appears to be significant difference in and concern for the quality of the sound produced. For those interested in pursuing this matter, Google of course provides the gateway.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Apple has been bricking jailbroken iPhones via iTunes updates. So I don't think:

We'll likely see multi-IM clients from companies like BeeJive (JiveTalk), and if they provide access to the filesystem then we'll end up with quality versions of FTP, Terminal apps and real games from big developers...

So I think it will more likely be a few highly polished but captive and isolated applications (e.g. no downloading or playing podcasts - which really frustrates me) v.s. what you consider unpolished on the N810 but with all the flexibility. Even a "disk mode".

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Erm. The bricking is only unlocked iphones, because people are messing with the baseband firmware.... Which by the way you can now undo with the 1.1.3 firmware, as it completely rewrites the baseband.

Since we're just spreading misinformation... All N810's with ScummVM running will explode and Nokia bans you from using their products forever.

People are bricking their phones because they are stupid. There is no other reason.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

When os2008 has a functional pim I will get rid of my palm lifedrive and stop considering the purchase of an ipod touch. If the touch sdk provides developers with easy access to create useful software I will be in line to purchase one. Also why can't Nokia develope a similar touch type keyboard to the iphone/touch? The touch onscreen input just feels antiquated.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Apple are great designed products but it is all closed software, even worse then MS, overpriced and underspec'd for what you get. Using the latest version of Canola along with a good sized memory card or two and you have a more functional device than an ipod touch with much more memory... Sure its a little larger as it has speakers but its not bad! BTW you can get a 16GB SDHC card from newegg at the minute for all of $70!

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

in canada it is improper edicatte to have more than two beer ... in your hands at one time.same goes for geeks and gadgets.more than two and youll have to keep some in yor pocket

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

Umm, the Touch is 32GB now. N800 - $250 , 2x16GB SDs = $140, that gives you $390 vs $499, or roughly $110 difference. And that's with the N800 using questionable flash memory. Buy some SDs that use Samsung flash in them, and I'm sure that gap would close up.

I wouldn't call that particularly overpriced, given that the touch does have a few hardware differences over the N800, such as graphics acceleration, a 624MHZ CPU, and a tiny size (small costs more).

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I got my N800 for $179, added a couple of memory cards and never really considered the Ipod Touch after playing with it. Very slick but not the best internet machine for me - and I don't have lots and lots of music.

On the other hand - No one gives Tiger Woods any crap for having more than one golf club - if you want both, get both. Who cares what anyone else thinks :)

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I might as well add my further two cents (metaphorically, but certainly not financially, speaking): In media, I'm only interested in audio (music and books) not video playback. While I have used my various Nokia tablets over the years for this purpose, I have recently fallen back on my old Dell DJ which has a 20GB hard drive and excellent music reproduction (and with Deubox software lends itself to great cataloging). I've even paired it with a small Headroom amplifier and signal processor designed for use with mp3-type players. However, the Dell is a bit clunky and only plays mp3, whereas I now want to switch to ogg for better quality reproduction using less storage space.

So, I've researched and ordered myself an 8GB Cowon iAudio 7, which handles not only mp3 but also ogg and flac files, and is very small, and permits file cataloging as an option to id tags. And the price at NewEgg, for example is only(!) $149 including free shipping.

So, I will be using more clubs than one.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I have an older iPod Shuffle that i use for podcasts. I have a Radio Shack mp3 player too. Both units mount as disks via USB. With the Shuffle, i need to use special software to load new stuff. So i have scripts that find, add, and delete files. The scripts modify the file names, and squirrel the files into random folders. An index file preserves file order - you listen to them in the order that you add them to the unit. With the RS unit, you copy files there, and that's it. You can create subdirectories. The unit plays files in directory order. So if you have a book with ten chapters, it isn't enough to have them named alphabetically, you must actually create a new directory and copy them in order. That's easy enough.

After a couple years of use, i've found that the Shuffle makes mistakes. Sometimes the catalog gets updated for a delete, but the actual file isn't deleted. The orphaned file can't be played, but it does take up space. Since the files are renamed, it can be hard to track them down. Every now and then, the Shuffle gets wedged with filesystem corruption, and i need to blast a new FS to it. I keep an archive of the original image, and do this from time to time. It can be a pain to figure out which files were on it before damage happens, even if it's accessible. The files were renamed... In summary, the RS unit was cheaper, and in the long run, easier to manage. When the internal non-replacable battery in the iPod dies, i'll use the RS mp3 player forever. It uses a AAA, which i can get anywhere.

The main reason i didn't use my 770 for podcasts is that my 2 GB Kingston MMC card was really slow, and i didn't have the new, fast driver. Reflashing the 770 to get the new driver killed it - WSOD. My N800 has a 1 GB SD card, and it could be used. It's fast and reliable. And i could use it for podcasts going to work. The sound quality is good, and the battery will last well more than an hour. But my iPod has buttons that i can work with one hand while driving without looking at them. And, besides, i have momentum with the unit.

My iPod Shuffle is 512 MB. The RS mp3 player is 1 GB. I guess i could get twin 16 GB SD cards for the N800. But the N800 runs 'flite' (text to speech), and a GB of text goes a long way.

Is there a MIDI or ABC music file player for the Nokia yet? That's the moral equivalent to text->speech for lyric-free music.

Re: Am I crazy if I'm considering getting an iPod Touch in addition to my N810?
 

I envy your simplicity. I have become such a gadget whore and feel this need to buy new products even though I already own stuff that fills my requirements.

Currently I pocket my iPhone for online stuff and music, and an Archos 605 for video. Though I expect with the release of new intel MIDs I'm going to be whoring myself out to yet another product. How do you keep yourself from buying all the new junk!? :)