A couple weeks back, I posted on the potential of the iPod touch as a mainstream Wi-Fi platform. My post was triggered by two things. One, is the (hopefully) imminent release of the iPhone SDK (note: with some qualification, the touch is an iPhone without the phone so non-telephony apps should also run on the touch). Two, is my own nascent experiences with the touch as a fanatical Blackberry 7130 user.
First, the bad news. The device can be clunky sometimes. Specifically, crashes of the Safari browser are not uncommon. I have also noted that when attempting to multi thread by listening to music and simultaneously accessing the web, music can skip and applications can become unstable.
Also, the device currently lacks copy and paste functions, which complicates its utility as a serious input device (a core reason I love my Blackberry is that it excels as an input device).
On the networking front, Wi-Fi performance can be erratic, and connecting to seemingly open public Wi-Fi connections is a black art. I still cannot figure out why it works in some locations where a connection is shown and not others. Needless to say, this limits the reliable-ness of the ‘mobile’ moniker.
All of that said, the potential of the touch as a mobile platform is undeniable. Its iPod functionality is stellar. The combination of the Multi-Touch touch screen functionality and the Accelerometer portrait-to-landscape display functions really enhance the user experience.
And while the virtual keyboard pales in comparison to the real thing, it definitely becomes serviceable with practice – if not an asset, then at least less of a liability than I perceived it to be upon initial use.
Many have suggested that the browser experience with mobile Safari is a game changer for the device, and while it is pretty solid and fun to use (a definite weak spot of my Blackberry), as a showcase for the native capabilities of the iPod touch/iPhone, it is just okay.
By contrast, the YouTube application over Wi-Fi is really sweet, and I actually found myself searching for, finding and watching/listening to music videos on YouTube and then buying the song via the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Very slick.
I have put some thoughts into ‘killer app’ scenarios in my earlier post so I won’t recount them here other than to say that the email application could get a lot better.
In fact, I would argue that email is a potential killer application for the platform as a global in-box. With better information organization and sharing capabilities, and multimedia messaging support, who wouldn’t want to be able to take their email archive with them?
Framed differently, if Apple doesn't seize this one how much do you want to bet that Google does given: 1) How much they already have invested in their multi-platform Gmail application and 2) How sexy Google Maps on the iPhone/iPod touch has proven to be (and competent Google is becoming in the apps arena)?
This is a major storyline to watch for the year ahead; namely, in an industry where the once impenetrable walls between media, mobile, PC and Internet are crashing down, seemingly only two companies – Apple and Google – have figured out how to ‘Think Different’ enough to play the disruptor role across all of these segments.
Given their respective mammoth ambitions, are ‘friends’ Apple/Google destined to become ‘frienemies’ ala Apple/Microsoft (circa 1990), and if so, when?
UPDATE 1: A couple of decent links of the forthcoming SDK are here (PCWeek) and here (Wired).
