Itouch Ipod - Any users out there?

[KCmike]

Thinking of getting my daughter this for Christmas. Just wondering what everyone thinks?

 

[krcit]

Both of my dd's have them. In fact, I got my older dd the new 4th generation for Christmas. She is on it pretty much constantly, lol.

 

[Jillpie]

It is an excellent and fun "toy", almost like holding a computer in your hand. However, parental controls are non existent. So if that is important to you (she can go to all objectional sites freely), I would pass till she's older.

 

[autumnpalm]

I have the newest one... I'm not sure what the model is, but it's the one with the camera and video recorder. I really like it. Very easy to use, lots of neat features and I haven't had any problems with it so far! Previously I had the 120G iPod and it broke frequently. I had it replaced four times in one year, luckily it was under warranty. I highly recommend the iTouch though, very fun!

 

[HelenePA]

my dd10 is getting one for christmas. she always has mine anyway. she will NOT have the password to itunes though.. that would just be very very costly. lol

 

[BroganMc]

I'm a Windows PC gal and got my first Apple products this year. An iPad and iPod Touch 4g (also a new iPod Nano).

I was seduced over the summer by the iPad over frequent trips to the local Apple store. Coolest device ever. It's become my personal digital friend and TV. But it gets kinda heavy to hold and cumbersome to stick in a purse.

Hence I got my iPod Touch 4g as soon as they were released. Smaller than the iPad but much more functional than my old HP PocketPC. I got a cheapie silicon skin for it, a screen protector and a little carry bag at Target. Added a stylus to my collection too.

Then I signed up for Virgin Mobile's unlimited MiFi card for $40/mo and had the option of using my new toys wherever I was. (I'm too cheap to go for a smartphone plan.)

The Nano I got mainly for its radio and kinda regret that purchase. The touchscreen on the nano and lack of ability to shut it off means the thing is forever out of battery charge. It wasn't worth the price, no matter how cute it looks as a digital watch.

My nieces and nephews adore all my new cool toys. (I'm a web designer so getting electronic gizmos is a trick of the trade for me.) They are forever asking to power the Touch and iPad to play games, watch videos on Youtube or surf the web. They'd all dearly love one of their own. Alas they are all far too young to have such a pricey gizmo for themselves. The age range is 9-13.

Be advised there are some issues with some wireless routers not playing nice with Apple products. I think it is mostly Netgear routers. I use Linksys so have no problems but couldn't set up my toys on my brother's Netgear router. (He also uses MAC Address filtering which is known for bugs and may have been the cause.)

I did give my sister a Touch for her birthday over Thanksgiving. She loves it. She's another "wants a smartphone gadget but not pay smartphone contracts" person. Also got her a carrying case. For Christmas I'm adding an iHome clock radio to charge it and portable charger for her office/car. Oh and some iTunes gift cards.

My sister gave her hubby an iPad for his birthday (which he loves) after I got mine and basically sold her on the concept. My BIL and I both found ourselves playing with them at the store, and we are both decidedly NOT Apple people.

If you can afford it and you think your daughter is responsible enough to care for one, I give the new Touch a high rating. You may want to throw in some iTunes gift cards so she can add apps and content too it as well.

Oh and make sure you pick up a case for it to protect the screen and back cover. They scratch very easily. Amazon has cheap ones for under $5. I got this one in October: http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Silico...RY2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292643908&sr=8-1

 

[epcotprincess]

If you don't have an iPhone or an iPad, they're awesome. If you have one or both of those, they are silly to have because you have 2 devices that sort of do the exact same thing... I have all 3 and I'm giving my iPod touch to my mom because I honestly have no need for it. But I LOVED it before I had my other 2 items.

 

[BroganMc]

If you don't have an iPhone or an iPad, they're awesome. If you have one or both of those, they are silly to have because you have 2 devices that sort of do the exact same thing... I have all 3 and I'm giving my iPod touch to my mom because I honestly have no need for it. But I LOVED it before I had my other 2 items.

True. An iPhone makes an iPod Touch redundant, but an iPad is a significantly different device. It's weight and size make it far less portable.

 

[Tinijocaro]

It is an excellent and fun "toy", almost like holding a computer in your hand. However, parental controls are non existent. So if that is important to you (she can go to all objectional sites freely), I would pass till she's older.

Most kids could care less about going online on an iPod touch but just to be safe, you can make the internet password protected. My dd12 is getting one and she will use the camera, games, itunes and movies but no internet. She is fine with that.

 

[Wishing on a star]

My son, who will be 13, wants one of these.
I would love to hear more about just what all you can do with it.
I am assuming Itunes music player.
Go online - how limited, or unlimited, are its surfing capabilities?
Chat...

What about games?

I know you can download little games thru their website.
What about other games, like the ones you can buy for DSi, PSP... Apple is not letting these be made available for their iTouch type products?

Thanks!

 

[Witch Mountain]

my dd10 is getting one for christmas. she always has mine anyway. she will NOT have the password to itunes though.. that would just be very very costly. lol

I second this. All the iProducts in our home (except DH's) are synced to my iTunes account and the kids do not have the password. Heck, I only use gift cards on there in the event that one of the boys decides to get on my laptop.

My younger son did chores and used all the money he got for his birthday to get his iTouch this past summer and it was a great investment. Based on the fact that my phone had 8gig and was almost full, I paid the difference between the 8 and the 32 gig for him.

If you think your daughter will be putting a lot of music on it and want a lot of apps, my suggestion is to get the 32 gig. It's worth the extra 70 bucks, IMO.

I suspect you'll be on here Christmas day, looking for favorite apps for your DD.

 

[AmazingGrace]

I have one and I love it. My son and I are iPod buddies and we have so much fun comparing games and apps. We love facetiming with each other. That's a feature on the newest generation, along with the camera and video camera.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My bought one for my 11yo daughter.

I had to open and test it out lol..

Right now you can get it on amazon for 214.00 no tax no shipping and you get a $25 amazon gift card back.

Also itunes has been having a .99 sale on apps. I loaded up hers with a bunch of them I think she will like. I am also getting her an itunes gc so you can go and download music.

I love the new version because you can use facetime.

I have it set up connected to the wireless in the house.

I am thinking about getting myself one after christmas

 

[IDoDis]

Most kids could care less about going online on an iPod touch but just to be safe, you can make the internet password protected. My dd12 is getting one and she will use the camera, games, itunes and movies but no internet. She is fine with that.

Not true. Kids like to go on YouTube quite frequently. There's a link right on the iTouch to view the most popular youtube videos, which sometimes are x-rated! I saw that link on DS's iTouch and asked DH if he could block youtube. He could block it entirely, but then DS would not be able to watch videos which he loves to do. So we had to have a LONG talk about youtube usage. We told him we could monitor his internet usage (which we can't do).

 

[HelenePA]

There is an option on youtube I think to turn off the naughty video's.. mine is dead right now or I'd look. She is NOT good about putting it back on the charger! She will be getting her own dock as well for christmas... mine is also an older version dd will be getting 1.7 with the cool camera and stuff... man I wanna be 10 again!

 

[Dancind]

DD sells ipods, ipads (and Macs, of course) and she will sometimes steer customers to the less expensive ipods if all their kids want is to listen to music. For small fingers and sharp eyes, the Touch is great, you can do lots on it. Yes, you can get on the internet if you are in a location that has wireless (not WDW). We put our home wireless password on ours. Only drawback, teeny tiny keypad!

I'd recommend a trip to the Apple store to check out the different models, if you have a store nearby. Very busy right now, but they have lots of specialists working.

I recently got an ipad and I loooove it, can even type on it. DD loves it more, though, so have to hunt for it sometimes. I haven't touched my laptop since I got it, we are even taking it to WDW instead of the laptop. Will rent a couple of movies off iTunes before we go, and we have a portable wireless modem for our room. We got the Wifi version so when we take a road trip, we can sign up for service for just a month.

Be aware, it's a slippery slope. We have always been PC users, Dell customers for years. Now I have a mini Mac, DH has a big iMac, and DD is supposed to get a Powerbook soon. The only thing we don't have is iPhones, we have 1 1/2 more years on Verizon.

 

[Dancind]

I know you can download little games thru their website.
What about other games, like the ones you can buy for DSi, PSP... Apple is not letting these be made available for their iTouch type products?

Thanks!

Not so much yet. You can get some EA games, like Sims. And I noticed yesterday that World of Goo (a wii game) is available for iPad. There are tons of games available, but not the same ones. I think there will be more.

 

[NewCrew42]

For those of you looking for parental controls for your kids internet usage on iTouch or iPhone or iPad, mobicip is great app for that. It is easy to install. You CAN monitor your child's internet usage, set up age appropriate internet browsing and see on their account when they attempt to use innapropriate sites (accidently or otherwise).

Also, you can control the settings for what music, movies, etc. that they buy on the device. This is under the settings control on the device itself.

Also, for those of you worried about how much your child spends on apps and music, this is what we do: Our credit card is NOT attached to the iTunes account. Our kids ONLY use iTunes gift cards to make their purchases.

Yesterday when the EA games 99 cent sale was on, I told my kids about it. My son was down to $1 in his account, he was trying to hold out till Christmas. My daughter had $3 in her account. So I caved and gave them each a $15 gift card. Happy Early Christmas! They were so excited, normally the EA games cost around $5 each, the gift card would have only bought them 3 games, but with the sale they were able to buy several. They have only spent about $5 each because they are afraid they are not getting more iTunes money until their birthday! They are so conservative spending THEIR iTunes money!

 

[rabyoga]

My hubby got me an IPOD touch 2 years ago. I LOVE It!!!! I go nowhere without it. I have music, games, and even books on it. I would recommend it.

 

[KCmike]

Great info everyone. I would love an Ipad but its just too much money right now. Looks like the kids will get Itouch's this Christmas thanks to everyone chipping in (grandmas, parents, etc.). They will all be shocked.

I do have a netgear router so I'm a little worried about that. I wonder if I should buy a new one?