iPhone and/or iPod Touch users?

Ned Bulken

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OK technophiles,
My venerable old Palm Treo 655 which I've had for 2 years now is on its way 'out', may already Be out in fact. I have a very blank screen which is quite annoying, given that I use the PDA (I'm not using it as a phone at the moment) for the typical calendar/contact list/ to do list as well as e-book reader and audio book source.

Being a Macophile, I'm leaning towards an iPod Touch to replace the Treo, however the $200 for a basic Touch has me holding off at the moment. (Bonus check next payday, so I may splurge). I'm going to continue going without a smartphone (though I'm looking into a new cell phone). I'm pretty certain that there are Apps for time management, and contact info, but is there an app which will let me access/edit Excell spreadsheets?

Are there any other apps you would recommend? TIA

Ned
 
Hi Ned:

I'm delighted to see a topic that I know something about!! :):) I have an iphone after 3 years of Motorola Q's (which I was very happy with). But I love the iphone. There are apps for *everything*. I think the only--maybe--downside is the touch keyboard takes some getting used to.

The app for modifying excel spreadsheets is Quickoffice. I haven't explored and don't have a lot of apps installed, but I do have and love a Sudoku app, a Math game called Mathzombie, a Twitter app called Twitbird, and a free level !! called ihandy level.

the iphone is so impressive that after 20 years of PC's (and advanced skills on them) I bought a Mac, which is equally impressive.

I hope this helps,
Cynthia
:):wave:
 
I'll have to check out QuickOffice. I've got iSpreadsheet, which is a very basic spreadsheet app. I don't think it can read Excel files but it can output a delimited file that can be imported into Excel.

...Are there any other apps you would recommend? TIA ...

The list is pretty long.

AppBox Pro - A boatload of handy apps wrapped into one
TRAFFIC! - Shows real-time traffic maps of the freeways. Probably not that useful in your neck of the woods
GasBag - Gasoline station locations and prices, updated by users so it's only useful if others in your area are inputting the current prices
iCarPark or Park'n Find - Both use GPS to remember where you parked, and both show a satellite view from Google Maps
MotionX GPS - A full-featured GPS interface
MotionX GPS Drive - A GPS interface geared towards driving. The display is a bit small to use behind the wheel in my opinion, but it's very handy for finding nearby points of interest and businesses
Carpenter - A toolbox of various tools like levels, inclinometers, and a plumb bob
Theodolite - A surprisingly accurate surveying instrument. I like using it to put GPS location info on a photo
CameraFlash - Lighten up dark photos taken with the built-in camera
RedLaser - Scans a product bar code and searched the Internet for places to buy it. (Not always the lowest price, but still pretty nifty.)
ForumRunner - A great way to follow FamilyWoodworking on the run. Much faster than TapaTalk
SPL Meter - How loud is that machine? Now you can tell. Handy for balancing a surround sound system, too.
Moodagent - Cool app for creating music playlists based on "mood" criteria.
Grocery G - A handy grocery list app
Radio Paradise - App for listening to my favorite Internet radio station
Pandora - App for listening to a bunch of songs (if you like them all in the same style)
WolframAlpha - A reference library that's hard to describe, but fun to use.

Those are a few that I use pretty often. I've also got several games and other time-wasters. I use the web browsing and GPS capabilities in my iPhone a LOT more than I ever imagined I would.
 
If you're going to spend $200, buy the iPhone. I love mine. I use "Docs to Go" to access my Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. This app allows you full editing capabilities. It syncs with Outlook for mail, contacts, and calendar, but although it will give you an alarm when tasks are due, it has no direct interface with Outlook tasks - the only low point as far as I'm concerned. BTW, I have a photogapher friend that uses her iPad as her portfolio. Beats carrying around a big album.
 
Vaughn,
cool list, I'll check them out When I get the Touch.

Rennie,
I'd love to have an iphone, but I'm going to hold out at least until the 4G rollout on Verizon. The Touch gets me in the ballpark without the monthly expense that the studio doesn't need quite yet. iPad is on my 'someday' list for just that reason. Until then the website will have to be 'enough'.

I had Docs to Go on my Treo (technically I still do, I just can't See it at the moment). I didn't realize they had an iPhone/Touch version as well.
 
...leaning towards an iPod Touch to replace the Treo, however the $200 for a basic Touch has me holding off at the moment.

My son has a touch which he mostly uses for games, so I can't help much on the app front, but I have used it enough myself to tell you that it is an amazing pocket computer. (It *IS* a computer, tiny as it is...)

Some of my thoughts:

- Remember to check out Apple's refurbished store -- right now an 8GB touch is $149 for the last generation version.

- We have found that the 8GB is plenty big. If you have a truly enormous music library that you want to carry in it's entirety, then you may run into troubles. But my son has literally dozens of game apps on his ipod, and hundrds of songs, and has not run out of space yet.

- I commandeered this on our last vacation and the WiFi is really good. I used it to check my email, browse google maps, and check a few web spots as needed. Yes, typing on the screen is awkward and I wouldn't want to do it much, but for just checking in and verifying if you have an important email, it is the cat's meow. Free WiFi is more and more available -- all the rest stops along i90 in NYS have it.

- spend a few bucks for a silicon skin to wrap around it and provide a bit of bump resistance.

- LEARN TO CHECK YOUR POCKETS. My son (he is only 10) sent his ipod through the wash in the pocket of his jeans. That was an expensive lesson.
 
just pulled the trigger on a used 8Gb 2G Touch for a mere $50 At worst, one of the kids gets a music player that doesn't Eat AA batteries. at best, I get a mini computer!

as for the library, I have a couple of dozen audio books which I enjoy, and ebooks, more than 'tunes' I'm interested in.

My Treo got me in the habit, when I walk in the door it goes in the same spot every time, and when I go to bed, it goes on the charger next to the bed, rarely is it more than arms reach away.
 
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My phone is dying and I am in REAL need of a new one. But I want to switch to Verizon so an I-phone is not yet an option. Rumors are that is about to change so I am wondering mine will hold out that long.

I have been thinking Android. One of my biggest desires is being able to sync up with outlook. Contact and appointments are the biggest issues.
 
Darren, that DSLR app is just too cool. I don't have a laptop to hook up to my Nikon, but if I did, I'd be all over that app. :thumb:
 
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