Help me find an alternative to Ipod touch

October 8, 2008 10:31 AM

Looking for a new MP3 player with Ipod touch abilities (WiFi, Touch Screen, Games etc). But, I want to around half the price of the 8GB Ipod touch (can be used in good condition as long as it is under $100)

Alternatives I was looking at are:
the Audiovox XV6700 phone, unactivated. I have a phone and I am happy with it. the Audiovox XV6700 has wifi, camera,media playing.
Will all this work without the activation? Since SD cards are getting really cheap, I would be able to add 4GB for less than 10 dollars.
How is the video playing on this? I have a Nokia E62 as a phone and one thing that turns me off is the poor playback quality.
Since it has a keyboard, lack of touchscreen isn't a big deal.
Verizon units sell cheap on Ebay.
Downside: stylewise, it still looks like a phone and it's not shny and touchy.


Other alternatives:
Palm Lifedrive or Dell X30 PDAs. Worth it?

Any other ideas? It just seems to me there are a wealth of devices out there than do more than the Ipod touch and at lower prices.

posted by spacefire to computers & internet (14 comments total)

Having used Palm and Dell devices, they have the capabilites to do everything in the same way that having 10 fingers gives me the capabilities to play Chopin. They work OK, but video playback is not quite as smooth, nor is surfing. Music sounds alright but navigation can sometimes be iffy. My first gen Touch just does everything well.

I'm really, realy not a fanboy, at all...promise. For just music I would recommend another player for the most part. But for an all in one, the Touch can't be beat (yet).

At this rate, with the 2nd gen out, I'd give it 3 months before the original Touch can be had for $100 used. If you can wait, it'll be worth it.
posted by piedmont at 10:41 AM on October 8, 2008

You want something just as good for half the price? I don't think that's gonna happen.

You can get a refurbished iPod touch for $179.

If you're going to use it primarily for listening to music or watching videos, a refurbished nano would do the job for under $100.

If you want to use it primarily for surfing the internet, though, I really don't think you're going to find anything with a screen or browser comparable to the iPod touch for under $100.
posted by designbot at 11:01 AM on October 8, 2008

Are the Lifedrives really <>
But seriously, a lifedrive at that price is still a bad deal.
posted by unixrat at 11:08 AM on October 8, 2008

The Creative Zen gets pretty good reviews. They have two models in your price range: 2 and 4 gb. It has an SD slot, too so you can kick that up a bit.
posted by nitsuj at 11:20 AM on October 8, 2008

sorry, the Zen doesn't have games or anything like that. The thing tht makes the Touch so good are the fact you can download games from the AppStore. Doubtful you're going to find anything else as robust, especially for half the cost.
posted by nitsuj at 11:23 AM on October 8, 2008

Samsung P-2

TSD works great, skinnable UI. Plays several different formats. The best kept secret of the new portable Samsung media is JSVICoder. The samsung's video codec is really just a simple AVI wrapper. JSVIcoder lets you recode your AVI's (divx,xvid,etc) to watch them all on the P-2. And since it's just a header change, it's really quick .. you don't usually have to re-encode the whole video.

Also it's cheaper than the touch for the same size flash storage. I just got one of these. Sound is great, EQ is great, features are great. I bought it not even realizing that it was touch sensitive and it won me over ( i am not usually a fan of the touch sensitive stuff ).
posted by judge.mentok.the.mindtaker at 12:19 PM on October 8, 2008

Oh also, there are games for the P-2
posted by judge.mentok.the.mindtaker at 12:19 PM on October 8, 2008

but the P-2 doesn't have Wifi. I want to use this device for light browsing as well.
posted by spacefire at 1:52 PM on October 8, 2008

If the iPod Touch is your gold standard, what you're asking for is almost impossible.

1. Browsing - I think the Touch/iPhone is an exceptionally easy to use browser in its size. Everything else is bigger (like a Nokia Tablet) or harder to use (Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc.)

2. Games - Everything else, excluding real game systems (DS/PSP), is going to have a worse game library. Software companies go where the money is, and right now Apple's got the hype, the customer base, the store, and the technology.

3. Touch screen - Almost all other touch screen devices use a resistive touch screen (you have to push the thing). The Touch uses a capacitive touch screen, which doesn't require pressure.

Now is probably the lowest reasonable price the Touches are ever going to be. Apple was blowing out the first generation (free with the purchase of any Mac) a couple months ago, and the new Touches are out. In a few years, the batteries in the first generation will have degraded enough so that buying one isn't recommended.
posted by meowzilla at 2:13 PM on October 8, 2008

@meowzilla

but the difference in price between the first and second generation touches, when bought new, is only 20 dollars for the 8gb....you're saying a new first gen is not going to go under $150 during the next 3 months?
I admit I would snap a new Itouch, even first gen, right away if it went under $150.
posted by spacefire at 2:38 PM on October 8, 2008

I don't think you're going to find a legal solution for under $100, but there are great deals on Craigslist theses days.

Have you looked at something like a PSP (no keyboard, but wifi, web browser, games, music, and video) or a Nintendo DS? It takes a little after market spending to get a DS to do everything you want (like getting a home brew card to hold and play MP3s) and the browesr is extra, but you can find both of these for around $100.

What you really want is an iPod touch. Save your pennies for a little longer, it will be worth it.
posted by Ookseer at 1:15 PM on October 9, 2008

I took the plunge and bought a Touch :)
posted by spacefire at 12:07 PM on October 10, 2008

If you got the 1st generation, my advice is to jailbreak it and load it up that way before taking the plunge on 2.0, if you haven't already. The only thing that made 2.0 worth it was Remote... and I kind of wish I hadn't upgraded.
posted by piedmont at 1:54 PM on October 10, 2008

thanks, yes it is the first generation!
posted by spacefire at 4:31 PM on October 10, 2008