海角大神

What I really, really want: the iPod Touch replacement, revisited

Big purchases deserve careful, reasoned consideration. What did I really get out of my iPod Touch, and how can I replace those traits most inexpensively?

Two days ago, I wrote an article discussing the damage done to my often-used iPod Touch and my decision-making process when it comes to a replacement for it. A great many of you encouraged me to straight-up replace my iPod Touch with a new one, and I appreciate the comments. I thought I鈥檇 walk a bit more thoroughly through my replacement decision and discuss what I ended up replacing it with.

How I鈥檝e Used My iPod Touch in the Past
As I mentioned, I originally received one as a gift in 2008. I used the item extensively (averaging multiple hours a day, I鈥檇 bet) over the past two years. Here鈥檚 a list of the nine significant uses I鈥檝e found for the item (in no particular order).

1. I鈥檝e used it as a pocket notebook.
2. I鈥檝e used it as a podcast and music player during thrice-weekly exercise.
3. I鈥檝e used it as an exercise tracker as it records my distance and pace via Nike+.
4. I鈥檝e used it to check email and reply to it.
5. I鈥檝e used it to entertain my children, particularly on car trips.
6. I鈥檝e used it for music in the car on long car trips.
7. I鈥檝e used it to quickly record lots of small pieces of data here and there.
8. I鈥檝e used it to check some internet services (Facebook, Twitter).
9. I鈥檝e used it to keep my listened and unlistened podcasts synchronised.

Are These Uses Now Met By Other Devices?
Now that I鈥檓 in a situation where I need to replace the item, I need to ask myself if each of these significant uses is met by another device at this point. So, let鈥檚 walk through each of them.

1. I鈥檝e used it as a pocket notebook.
I often use the free program Evernote to jot down notes using the iPod Touch. However, I do find myself alternating between using Evernote and simply using a pocket notebook, mostly because the input on the pocket notebook is so much more efficient (though I do sometimes end up re-recording the note in Evernote when I鈥檓 at my computer, it is very easy to type it in). Moving just to a pocket notebook isn鈥檛 a major loss to me.

2. I鈥檝e used it as a podcast and music player during thrice-weekly exercise.
This is an existing need that isn鈥檛 replaced by anything I have.

3. I鈥檝e used it as an exercise tracker as it records my distance and pace via Nike+.
This is an existing need that isn鈥檛 replaced by anything I have.

4. I鈥檝e used it to check email and reply to it.
I can now do this on my cell phone with similar efficiency to the iPod Touch.

5. I鈥檝e used it to entertain my children, particularly on car trips.
The 鈥渆ntertainment鈥� that it used to provide was the ability to watch a children鈥檚 movie on it, like WALL-E, on a long road trip. For Christmas this past year, we received an in-car DVD player as a gift, which pretty much eliminates the entertainment aspects of the iPod Touch.

6. I鈥檝e used it for music and podcasts in the car on long car trips.
Other than the dodginess of radio, this is an existing need that isn鈥檛 replaced by anything I have.

7. I鈥檝e used it to quickly record lots of small pieces of data here and there.
This is a similar situation to the pocket notebook. It鈥檚 far easier in the moment to just record the information on my pocket notebook, but I have the additional burden of often having to re-record it. I think moving fully back to a pocket notebook isn鈥檛 a major loss.

8. I鈥檝e used it to check some internet services (Facebook, Twitter).
I can now do this on my cell phone with similar efficiency to the iPod Touch.

9. I鈥檝e used it to keep my listened and unlistened podcasts synchronised.
This is an existing (minor) need that isn鈥檛 replaced by anything I have.

What Are My Usage Needs for an iPod Touch Replacement?
This leaves the following factors as features that I want a replacement for.

1. I鈥檝e used it as a podcast and music player during thrice-weekly exercise.
2. I鈥檝e used it as an exercise tracker as it records my distance and pace via Nike+.
3. I鈥檝e used it for music and podcasts in the car on long car trips.
4. I鈥檝e used it to keep my listened and unlistened podcasts synchronised.

In other words, I鈥檓 looking for a device (or devices) that can do the above things.

It鈥檚 easy to find a device that handles 1 and 3 鈥� pretty much any mp3 player will do that. The trick comes in with the other options.

I could simply buy a good pedometer or exercise watch to take care of the second option to some extent.

The fourth choice is very tricky. From what I鈥檝e seen, the only devices that manage to pull this off well are iPods and Microsoft鈥檚 Zune device.

So, to put it simply, I can buy a low-end device (like the ) that will handle just needs 1 and 3, and I can pick up a good pedometer ($30) to somewhat handle need 2 or a good exercise watch ($100 or so) to really handle need 2. This leaves the fourth need in the realm of some sort of additional manual management, which can be a pain.

Also, I could buy a for $95 that would handle all but the exercise uses. Or, I could buy an for $135 that would handle all four needs in one device.

Of course, I could spend $200 on the replacement, which would also nail everything but mostly give me redundant features compared to the Nano and the items I already have.

My Decision
I picked up a Nano 鈥� and it works like a charm. I saved $65 over just replacing my Touch and I鈥檓 not missing out on any important needs.

Why So Much Effort?
In truth, this thought process took much less time than it did for me to write it 鈥� and probably for you to read it. I spent, all told, about 45 minutes actively evaluating what my real needs and wants were and what the various options were.

The easy choice would have been to just directly replace the Touch. However, spending some time really looking at my needs added up to a $65 savings, money that can certainly be well-used elsewhere in my life.

Why write it out in such detail? It shows, quite clearly, the value of thinking about whether you actually have a real use for something, what those real uses are, and what you can buy that meets those real uses. I cut away the fat to show what I actually used the iPod Touch for, then I looked at what other things I have already take care of those needs, then I just looked at the factors that were left. Doing that helped me to buy a lower-cost player, a decision that saved me $65 over just buying without thinking.

That鈥檚 what I call a win.

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