Should I pay the $10 to upgrade my iPod touch?

September 17, 2008 11:44 AM

I recently purchased an iMac and got a free iPod touch as part of the educational promotion. I don't have an iPhone, and am fairly locked into my current (non-ATT) contract, so I won't be getting an iPhone anytime soon. I've tried to figure out what the new software upgrade, 2.1, will do for me, but just from looking at the Apple site, it's difficult to figure out what I can do with the touch as it stands, and what I would gain by upgrading.

Additional question: I am almost always around a wifi connection so I would love to be able to make calls using the touch and VoIP, and this lifehacker article about "turning an iPod into an iPhone" seems to be just what I want. But why does it talk about jailbreaking it? I thought this was only relevant to sim cards for iPhones.

posted by tractorfeed to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

Response by poster: Forgot to add -- this is not the most recent iPod touch, but the one that was the latest as of August, 2008.
posted by tractorfeed at 11:59 AM on September 17, 2008

jailbreaking it also always you to install applications on the device that aren't in the Apple store.
posted by mmascolino at 12:06 PM on September 17, 2008

2.1 adds stability to the platform (I'm assuming the Touch was subject to the same App crashes as the iPhone, which are completely gone with 2.1 for me). It should also fix the slow backup/sync problem. I'm not clear from your question, but if you have 2.0 then 2.1 is free.
posted by shinynewnick at 12:11 PM on September 17, 2008

The big add with 2.x is applications. You get access to everything from the App Store, including my application, Graffitio. (Shameless plug).

I paid the $10 for my touch, and it's well worth it. The applications add a lot of functionality to the device.
posted by AaRdVarK at 12:13 PM on September 17, 2008

Response by poster: shinynewnick: thanks for the info. $10 is a cheap enough price for stability. iTunes says the version of the software I have now is 1.1.5, so perhaps they weren't upgrading the older versions before shipping.
posted by tractorfeed at 12:14 PM on September 17, 2008

If you look around, you can upgrade for free. Just as stable.
posted by piedmont at 12:27 PM on September 17, 2008

1.1.5 is the latest version you can have w/out moving to 2.x (which costs money, even if you went out and bought a brand new one today). 2.1 will give you the App Store and all that stuff, and you'd be coming in after the pain and suffering of 2.0. it'll also give you the Calendar, Mail, etc. apps if you don't have those already. (you probably do, but the Touch didn't ship with those when it was released initially.)
posted by mrg at 12:58 PM on September 17, 2008

Jailbreaking is not the same as unlocking. Unlocking allows you to use an iPhone with any GSM cellular carrier. Jailbreaking allows you to install non-Apple-approved 3rd party apps on your iPhone/iPod.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:38 PM on September 17, 2008

Upgrade for the apps. Otherwise it's just an oversized ipod.
posted by CwgrlUp at 4:15 PM on September 17, 2008

seconding piedmont. with a little help from google there are ways to upgrade to 2.1 for free. from then on all updates go smoothly.
posted by alitorbati at 4:52 PM on September 17, 2008

Try Fring! It's an Application that uses your local wireless network to deliver a cordless VoIP connection over the iPhone. It also works with SIP account services (VoIP, Presence and Messaging, Hosted PBX), Skype, GoogleTalk and many more providers.
posted by Communications at 12:03 PM on October 22, 2008

Now try Google Earth for iPod touch/iPhone -- just released, in the app store, and free.

It. Kicks. Ass.

Definitely worth the $10 right there.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:30 AM on October 28, 2008