Why you should buy an iPod touch

I generally try to keep this blog on topic with posts about science news. However, every now and then I like to take a little detour into the world of gadgets (and, as the traffic to my earlier post on where to find a Wii in Vancouver suggests, such posts are popular).Like many guys, I have a bit of a weakness for the latest tech toy. As a result, I often suffer buyer's remorse after spending my hard-earned money on something that I rarely ever use (I'm talking to you fold-out Palm keyboard!). So it's been a delightful surprise that, in the months since my wife bought me an iPod Touch for my birthday, I have only become more and more convinced that it is one of the best gadgets ever made.For those who don't know, the iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone. Which may sound a bit lame except that, if you already have a cellphone -- and don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a three-year Rogers contract -- you can get almost all the things that make the iPhone so neat at a fraction of the cost.Like other iPods, the Touch is great for listening to music and -- with its sharp, wide screen -- is simply fantastic for watching movies and video clips.But what really sets it apart from all other iPods is that it has built-in WiFi. That means you can surf the Net using a special version of Safari that makes reading web pages surprisingly easy (and way better than on a BlackBerry). The WiFi also allows you to use all sorts of neat Internet-powered applications from Apple's App Store, using the Touch to check your email or keep up with your friends on Facebook.In fact, every day it seems there's a new application on Apple's App Store -- many of them free -- that opens a whole new world of cool things you can do with the iPod Touch, from playing games to checking movie times. (I might list some of my favourite Apps in a future blog post.)
In a sense, its WiFi capability makes the iPod Touch almost like a mini-laptop that you can hold in your hand. In fact, I often find it easier to pick it up at home to check my email -- or the weather, or a stock price -- than it is to boot up my computer. As a new father, I've found the Touch particular effective when one hand is occupied holding a baby -- since you can check your e-mail one-handed.The Touch's lack of cellphone capability means that, when you're out of WiFi range, you can't get on the Internet. But that's less of a problem than you might think. First, most of us spend a lot of our time either at home or at work -- both of which, for many of us, have WiFi. And finding free WiFi is getting easier and easier. Plenty of people leave their home WiFi open without a password. But even if you find that practice ethically questionable, all sorts of coffeehouses and cafes offer free WiFi to their clients -- including, now, Starbucks (as long as you have a Starbucks card).And I've saved the best for last: Earlier this month, Apple announced that it was cutting the price of its iPod Touch lines. That means the 8 gigabyte version that a few months ago was $280 is now just $250. Plus, they've added a small external speaker and a volume control knob on the side (so you don't have to fiddle with the screen to change the volume)..