iPod Touch as PDA and Camera Accessory ???

Question

Level 1

39 points

iPod Touch as PDA and Camera Accessory ???

Hi,
I am looking to get an iPod touch to replace my 15GB 3G iPod. I like the idea of using it as a simple PDA where I can edit my calendar and address book. But I have a few questions.
Are there any major drawbacks to using the iPod Touch as a PDA?
Also, since it lacks a camera does anyone make a dock connector with a camera built in, so you just plug the camera into the dock connector and can take pictures?
Thanks!

eMac 1ghz 768MB Ram SuperDrive 80gb HD, Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Jan 2, 2008 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

jr20079

Level 4

1,960 points

Jan 2, 2008 10:04 AM in response to MacRick

I don't see any drawbacks. Apple is releasing a kit to developers so they can make more apps on the iPod touch/iPhone so that would probably add to the PDA functionality. Currently there are no compatible camara adapters out there

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Answer 2

Phil Huse

Level 3

564 points

Jan 2, 2008 10:58 AM in response to MacRick

Apple does have a camera connector for some iPod models but I don't believe it is supported on the Touch as it does not allow for "disk mode" as the hard disk based ipods do.

Whether future updates will address this is unknown.

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Answer 3

jim.barr

Level 1

55 points

Jan 2, 2008 11:14 AM in response to jr20079

I agree. I'm a long-time Palm PDA user, and am giving the iPod Touch a chance to be my new PDA of choice. So far, it is working well. If you can embrace simplicity in function, it is pretty slick out of the box. The Calendar and Contacts apps, while basic, are quite useful. That said, I do have a "wish list"....

*1. EASY syncing the Touch's calendar with Google Calendar*
There are other methods, but unfortunately, I haven't gotten them to work as well as I would like. Though I CAN keep the Google Calendar page in Safari offline, it's not editable. Personally, I'd like to see iTunes updated to sync with Google Calendar directly without needing to use Outlook.

*2. ToDo list*
Setting events in the Calendar is a doable workaround, but I'd like to see a "real" ToDo app with priorities and checkboxes. A hierarchical structure would be nice, and integration with the Calendar app should be essential.

*3. Notepad app*
I have two kinds of notes I would like to take: Text and drawn. I'd either like to see two separate apps or one "combo" app that would allow both. There are many times when I simply want to jot down a note, a phone number, or something. A simple note-taking app would be great.

*4. Text Editor*
I would love to see a simple text editor so that could read and write .txt files synced with the host computer.

*5. eBook reader*
After playing with Safari and reading .PDF files through it, I would LOVE an eBook reader that would sync and display .PDF, .txt, Palm DOC, and MobiPocket files. At the very least, .txt and .PDF.

I'm hoping that the forthcoming SDK could provide more useful apps, but some of my wishes will also require tweaking to iTunes for syncing.

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Answer 4

MacRick Author

Level 1

39 points

Jan 2, 2008 12:31 PM in response to MacRick

Thanks, I am going to wait until after MacWorld to make a purchase just in case there's a price cut, or GB boost.
Also, my question on the camera was whether or not you know of anyone who makes a small dock connector accessory that is the camera lense, and uses the Touch as the display to take the pictures. Because it would be great to the camera feature like the iPhone.

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