What to do with an old iPod touch?

December 31, 2012 8:12 AM

I have an iPod Touch 4G 8GB. Since I've moved from iTunes / MP3's towards subscription-based services, I've been using it less and less. What are some projects to make it useful again?

I have in my possession: TV w/ HDMI input, 2.1 speaker system w/ audio input jack, Windows desktop w/ wifi + HDMI output, iPad 2G, Android phone, subscription to Amazon Prime, subscription to Rhapsody (soon to be Spotify if they can't get their act together and develop a real iPad app... ahem.)

I'm not interested in "turn it into an eReader/game player/portable wikipedia!"-- I already have all that capability without hauling another gadget around. I have a couple ideas and questions below, but I'm open to any other creative suggestions.


1. First thought is a media device a la Apple TV, using an Apple-to-HDMI cable. Can this be done? Will the image quality suffer vs. running an HDMI cable from my desktop? Will it support Amazon Prime streaming? What about YouTube?

2. Music hub for the speakers. Are there any apps or hacks that would allow me to stream or control the music from iPad/desktop/phone wirelessly, keeping the Touch plugged into the speakers?

3. Last thought is an alarm clock. Are there any really great paid clock apps out there?

Thanks in advance.

posted by ista to Technology (7 answers total)

AirPlay from the iPad, using iPod touch as the output.
posted by thirdletter at 9:00 AM on December 31, 2012

The program Sleep Cycle is pretty awesome as it records statistics on your sleep patterns.
posted by Yowser at 9:04 AM on December 31, 2012

I use an old ipod nano in my car and I sync a monthly playlist to it. Then my music starts up immediately when I turn on the car - no need to hook up my iphone. Just a thought.
posted by kdern at 9:08 AM on December 31, 2012

Airfoil has a Speakers app that may do what you want to do. You can stream audio to it from a Mac.
posted by professor plum with a rope at 9:42 AM on December 31, 2012

Seconding Sleep Cycle. If you are into monitoring things, you could also try SnoreLab, which measures (and records!) snoring. Not sure if you can run both simultaneously.
posted by lulu68 at 1:35 PM on December 31, 2012

Remember that with Home Sharing enabled you can enjoy your entire itunes Library to iTunes on the touch. You don't need the HDMI cable to do everything you want to do in conjunction with your Apple TV, assuming your wifi speed is >10 mbs. Just launch Amazon Instant Video and YouTube and stream content to your Apple TV. (This may require a jailbroken Apple TV with FireCore, which we have. These are very easy to install, though).

We use our old touches as a combination hi-tech alarm clocks and to stream libraries to bluetooth and airplay enabled speakers. It's a fantastic internet radio.
posted by R2WeTwo at 2:03 PM on December 31, 2012

Try rdio instead if spotify. It's a great app/service and better than spotify most of the time.
posted by milarepa at 8:19 PM on December 31, 2012