Advantages of an iPod touch over a Palm/Sony PDA?

Its the best decision i ever made :o

OK, the touch does many of the functions that you listed, as I'm sure you've learned by looking at the Apple website.

If you absolutely need the database, spreadsheet functions in your hand, keep the pda. But the touch gives you SO MUCH MORE. Movies, TV shows, etc are fantastic and something the palm can't approach at all. The games are an incredible experience, particularly those that use the accelerometers.

I'm also an amateur astronomer and the programs Starmap and GoSkyWatch are fantastic, much better than Planetarium and visually better than Pocket Stars (IMHO)

So unless you can't do without those handheld PC features the touch will be an amazing new experience for you.

i got a ipod touch
and a wm based phone
so that way i have 2 toys
which dont overlap that much

You can't use "frugal" and "Apple" or "iPod" in the same paragraph. 🙂 I'm not an "Apple" guy (no Mac computers and maybe never will), but I got sucked into the ipod universe and just got my, gasp, 8th iPod. Well, between my wife and I, we have 8. The touch 2G is very, very cool, but it is NOT frugal, NOR is it a PDA. No way it will suffice to replace your Sony unit. Only you can decide if it's worth buying. I'm not loaded with money myself, but iPods are just so cool, I can't see not having them. I use the Shuffles most frequently, due to their diminutive size, but since they aren't the sonic equivalent of my 2nd gen Nano or 4G iPod, those get some usage also. I'm a bit bummed that the Touch 2G doesn't sound as good (to my ears) as the 2nd gen Nano. Bass is more clearly defined on the Nano, although I must admit vocals are a smidge clearer on the Touch. At first listen, I was so taken aback by the lesser quality of the Touch's bass that I considered getting a refund, frankly. Further listening revealed that not all frequencies are relatively deficient. ie, it's a definite trade off, sonically, between the two models. I'd read that a new chip in the Touch 2G and Nano 4G would provide better audio performance than previous models. Can't say I agree, at least based on the unit I've got.

IF you mean the internal speaker, it's only audible in a very quiet environment.

I'm a long-time Palm user (presently a T|X) and I'm trying an iPod touch as a PDA. Here is my take:

The good:

- iPod is small enough that I don't mind carrying it everywhere.
(my Palm goes in my briefcase, but my iPod goes in my pocket)
- Outlook calendar & contacts sync works fine on the iPod.
- Calendar input interface is better on the iPod than on the Palm.
- WiFi-based web access far better on the iPod than on the Palm.
- Mail seems to work OK, but I'm not a big user (I never did mail on the Palm)
- iPod battery life is fine.
- lots of apps to emulate specialized calculators, flashlights, other devices so you don't have to carry them.


The Bad:

- iPod Calendar has no to-do list, does not sync with Outlook Tasks
(There are Apps that do this but they are not nicely integrated with Calendar)
- can't enter events with "no time", a Palm feature
- no sync with Outlook Notes
- I use the Palm Desktop Expense application, and I haven't found App that is as good
- still getting used to the keyboard vs. the stylus (don't really like either)


All in all I think I will migrate from my Palm to the iPod or an iPhone