iPad 2 vs iPhone 4S vs iPod Touch (4th Generation)

With the release of Apple’s latest product, the iPhone 4S and iOS 5, Apple’s lineup has 3 great products all operating with the same OS. There is no longer a distinction between these devices in terms of software. The world of Apple now revolves around OS X and iOS with both of these revolving around iTunes. Steve Jobs may have left us, but Apple’s ecosystem is far from gone. However, the question still comes down to whether we need all three of these devices or just one or maybe two. Today, I’d like to compare all three and let you decide.iPod Touch (white)

Let’s start with the iPod. Here’s a device that changed the portable music industry forever. Of course, during its humble beginnings, it was simply a music device. For whatever reason, Apple felt like there needed to be more, so they have created numerous iterations of this one device over the years and today, we have iPod Touch.

iPod Touch vs iPhones

The iPod Touch has seen 4 revisions since it was first introduced back in 2007 and this latest one is the closest they’ve come to the iPhone since. Because of this, let’s first compare the Touch to the latest iPhones:

iPod touch iPhone 4S iPhone 4 iPhone 3GS
Capacity 8 GB
32 GB
64 GB
16 GB
32 GB
64 GB
8 GB (as of Oct ’11)
16 GB
32 GB
8 GB
16 GB
32GB
Screen size (inches)
/Resolution
3.5 / 960 x 480 3.5 / 960 x 480 3.5 / 960 x 480 3.5 / 480 x 320
Processor Apple A4 Apple A5 1 dual-core 1 GHz Apple A4 Samsung ARM Cortex-A8
Battery Life Video: 7 hours
Audio: 40 hours
Talk/Video/Web: 8/10/9 hours
Audio: 40 hours
Talk/Video/Web: 7/10/10 hours
Audio: 40 hours
Talk/Video/Web: 5/10/5 hours
Audio: 30 hours
A-GPS No Yes Yes Yes
Camera under 1 megapixel 8 megapixel & VGA 5 megapixel & VGA 3.2 megapixel
Video Camera 720p HD 1080p HD 720p HD Yes
FaceTime 4th gen. and later Yes Yes No
Siri Support No Yes No No
Phone No Yes Yes Yes
Wi-Fi Yes Yes Yes Yes
Size (in inches) 4.4 x 2.3 x .28 4.5 x 2.31 x .37 4.51 x 2.31 x .37 4.5 x 2.4 x .48
Weight (in ounces) 3.56 4.9 4.8 4.8
iOS 5 Support? 3rd gen and later Yes Yes Yes
Monthly Fees No $55-$99 $55-$99 $55-$99
Price $199/$299/$399 $199/$299/$399
(w/ 2-year contract)
$99
(w/ 2-year contract)
Free
(w/ 2-year contract)

Clearly, the 4th gen Touch most closely resembles the iPhone 4. The great thing about that is for all of you who don’t want an iPhone because you already have another device you love or you’re stuck in a contract, the iPod Touch is the perfect replacement. It can give you access to all the apps that iPhone owners rave about and now with the new generation of Touch, you have the dual cameras, iOS 5 software and it comes in white too! Also, with iMessage, you can now send instant text messages to every other iOS device over wi-fi.

Now I no longer own an iPhone, I’ve been seriously considering the new iPod Touch. Not only for its music capabilities in my car, but also for the apps that I miss—mainly my Chase bank app that allows me to deposit checks just by taking a photo of it. With the front-facing camera, you can use the Facetime app to communicate with every iOS device over wi-fi. So essentially, you can use the iPod Touch just like an iPhone when you’re connected to a network.

iPad vs iPod Touch

Apple iPad
The iPad was a “revolutionary device” that Apple made us believe that we needed. And despite the fact that it’s the best selling tablet on the market today, some people still wonder what its main purpose is. Those of us who have owned an iPad at some point understand that it’s really nothing more than a large iPhone. Although I make that sound like a negative thing, it’s actually the one fact that is what makes the iPad such a popular device. Apple’s ecosystem of devices and their connectivity to iTunes has made these products indispensable.

http://ledfrog.com/?p=21311&preview=true

iPod touch iPad iPad 2
Capacity 8 GB
32 GB
64 GB
16 GB
32 GB
64 GB
16 GB
32 GB
64 GB
Screen size (inches)
/Resolution
3.5 / 960 x 480 9.7 / 1024 x 768 9.7 / 1024 x 768
Processor Apple A4 Apple A4 Apple A5 dual-core 1 GHz
Battery Life Video: 7 hours
Audio: 40 hours
Video/Web: 8/10
9 hours on 3G
Video/Web: 8/10
9 hours on 3G
A-GPS No Yes (3G models) Yes (3G models)
Camera 0.7MP back, 0.3MP front N/A 0.7MP back, 0.3MP front
Video Camera 720p HD N/A 720p HD
FaceTime 4th gen. and later No Yes
Wi-Fi Yes Yes Yes Yes
Size (in inches) 4.4 x 2.3 x .28 9.56 x 7.47 x .528 9.5 x 7.31 x .346
Weight 3.56 oz 1.5 lbs/td>

1.32 lbs
iOS 5 Support? 3rd gen and later Yes Yes
Monthly Fees No AT&T –
250MB $14.99 per month
2GB $25.00 per month
Verizon –
1GB $20 per month
2GB $30 per month
5Gb $50 per month
10GB $80 per month
AT&T –
250MB $14.99 per month
2GB $25.00 per month
Verizon –
1GB $20 per month
2GB $30 per month
5Gb $50 per month
10GB $80 per month
Price $199/$299/$399 Wi-fi only
$499/$599/$699
Wi-fi + 3G
$629/$729/$829
Wi-fi only
$499/$599/$699
Wi-fi + 3G
$629/$729/$829

The iPad and iPods are not to be directly compared of course due to their very different sizes, but the point of these charts were to show you just how close the iPod touch is to Apple’s other mobile products.

My two cents

I owned an iPhone since the first one came on the market right up until I sold my iPhone 4 just a few months ago. I did this in hopes that the new iPhone would be a significant upgrade, but it looks like I’ll have to wait until the next phone until I get back on iPhone. In the past year or so, I’ve also owned an iPad and an iPod Classic. For a phone, I’ve been using the Samsung Focus with Windows Phone 7 on it and I love it. However, I do miss some of the apps I once had on the iPhone and as a result, I’ve been tempted to buy an iPod touch. After researching the information above, I’ve concluded that the 4th generation iPod Touch is the closest thing I can get to an iPhone without having to buy an iPhone.

I don’t like the iPad as much because of the pricing, so I’m willing to try the new Kindle Fire in November before I consider ever going back to an iPad. My new lineup might consist of the following before Christmas: MacBook Pro, iPod Touch (white 32Gb), Samsung Focus and Kindle Fire. It’s crazy how times change!

Apple Store Unionizing, Common iPhone Passcodes and Verizon iPad Recalled

Today I was reading about some current news coming from Apple Inc. and found three little stories that I thought I’d share with you.

Apple Retail Workers Union

Workers Union
It seems that Apple Store employee Cory Moll isn’t too happy with his $14/hr part-time wage he earns in his San Francisco Apple Store, so what does he do? Well, instead of asking his boss for a raise, working towards a promotion or possibly even finding a better-paying job, he decides to make a go at starting a union! The first argument that comes to mind is how well does $14/hr carry you in San Francisco? As I live in the Los Angeles area, I decided to use a cost of living calculator available at BestPlaces.net to compare salaries between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I was somewhat surprised to learn that the cost of living in San Francisco is about 43% higher than LA with housing being 69% greater.

With this information, I plugged in a salary of $29,000 per year. This is rounded down using $14/hr at 40 hours a week before taxes. The calculator tells me if you were making $29,000 in LA, you should find a job that pays $41,331 in San Francisco in order to maintain the same cost of living. Now, I’m not saying Cory can’t live off of $14/hr in San Francisco because I know plenty of other people are getting by making less (SF minimum wage is $9.92), but these numbers do paint a real picture.

The second argument is about whether a union would actually help retail employees or not. Typically, unions are found in heavy industries where work conditions generally include real-life dangers to health, long-term physical injuries and other ailments that employees must “suffer” while trying earn decent wages. Over the years, unions have helped to keep employees safe and protected against negligent employers. However, some might argue that due to the many changes in employment laws and protections offered to employees by national and state governments, unions are no longer necessary. I won’t get into that here, but the point is, aside from maybe securing higher salaries, what real good will a union of Apple employees do? I can imagine one negative downside to this: higher prices for consumers.

At any rate, Cory has acknowledged the daunting task ahead of him in trying to secure favor from all 325 Apple Stores, but he says his first task is to just get people talking.

The Most Common iPhone Passcodes

iPhone lockscreen
Hackers and wouldbe crazy girl/boyfriends listen up! According to the makers of the Big Brother Camera Security app, the most common passcode used on iPhone and iPod Touch devices is ‘1234’. The next most commonly used passcodes are ‘0000’, ‘2580’ and ‘1111’. The app, by the way, allows you to set your screen to lock like normal, but if someone grabs your phone and makes an attempt at accessing the device, it takes two photos of that person using the front facing camera.

The makers of the Big Brother app, Amitay, collected anonymous information from over 200,000 of its users to compile the list of most-used passcodes. Of course, these passcodes are only used in the app itself and Amitay has no access to find out what passcodes are being used on the iOS screen lock, but the results are still ironic considering these very insecure passcodes are being used by individuals who are also using security software.

All of this goes to show just how insecure our passwords are. This is especially true for those out there that not only use a very simple password, but end up using the same password on many different sites! If one lesson can be learned here, it’s to create a unique passcode, don’t use dates and don’t make it obvious. If all that fails, disable “Simple Passcode” in your iOS device—this allows you to create a real, complex password.

Verizon iPad 2 Recalled

Verizon iPad
Ok, so the headline sounds a bit more alarming than the actual news, but the point is that a small number of Verizon iPad 2 units have been recalled due to problems with them connecting to the 3G network. Apple is claiming that an “extremely small number” of units have a manufacturers defect in them that makes it near impossible to get 3G service on the device.

It seems that the recalled devices suffer from having a duplicate MEID code of another device. This apparently happened during the flashing of the chips inside the device. It’s this MEID code coupled with a mobile equipment identifier that make each iPad unique. When an iPad goes to connect, the network authenticates these numbers with accounting to ensure that the device is authorized to be on the network. However, when two devices have the same MEID number, it’s game over for both of them or at least the one that tried to connect last.

It’s been reported that Apple caught the problem quickly, but not quick enough to keep any flawed units from entering the marketplace. With that said, if you have a Verizon iPad 2 and are having connection problems, head on down to the Apple Store and get yourself a new one.