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iPod Touch Vs. iPhone: Pros and Cons

By Curtis Adams

Like the iPhone before it, the iPod Touch has come a long way without having to deal with many competitors. This is because until quite recently there wasn't much out there being offered by competing brands that even came close to tackling the capabilities of Apple's widely popular MP3 Player. Other companies like Microsoft and Sony have thrown in their touch screen players into the ring, but none of them have yet to outshine the iPod Touch.

The iPod App Store brings to light a significant factor in the iPod Touch's popularity. Because of the wide variety of software that consumers can buy, the Touch doesn't merely compete with MP3 Players like other iPods do. The Touch is actually being seen as competition for handheld gaming devices and PDAs as well.

The iPod Touch is marketed as a gaming device, and the music functionality is secondary. Much like the iPhone is a phone that "happens" to have a built in iPod, the Touch is a handheld gaming console that happens to have the same. Apple has pushed the Touch that way for several reasons. For one, it works. For another though, they don't want to distract you from buying the iPhone. So which one should you buy? The differences between the two devices are so minuscule that people already question buying the more expensive phone. It's not like the phone does a whole lot more anyway.

When there is a practical choice between an iPhone and iPod Touch, you need to consider the features above all else. The iPod Touch doesn't have a phone, it doesn't allow for connection to the internet from anywhere, and it doesn't have cool tools like Bluetooth and GPS. These are things you might not definitively need but, let's face it, they are things you are going to use should you have them.

An iPod Touch owner gets to save a lot of money. An iPhone costs about the same, depending on the model, but only when a long contract is signed. Without the contract, the Touch is $400 less expensive. Then to justify spending that extra money, iPhone owners must spend around $30 a month extra so as to get internet via their cellular provider. The overall cost of an iPhone, once an AT&T contract is done with, is in the thousands.

Ask yourself what you'd want the device for. If it's a phone, you already have one. The iPhone's phone isn't anything special, it just happens to be built in. If it's a camera you want, you likely have that on your current phone. If it's GPS functionality, maybe the iPhone is for you, though buying one of many other GPS enabled phones for a lot less money is also an option.

With all of that in mind it's clear why the iPod Touch is the better choice. While people who are in the market for such a device shouldn't be shy to start shopping around, they shouldn't be surprised if it's the Touch that ends up in their cart.

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