November 3, 2008 by Greg Schuessler.

I was at a conundrum. My Sprint contract was up and I was looking forward to possibly buying the iPhone. Enter the Sprint Samsung Instinct (iPhone competitor).

I do not have an iPhone which is why I was considering buying one, however, I do have the iPod Touch, which is essentially the same device as the iPhone, minus the phone part of it, and a few other options like a speaker to hear your music or a camera to take a quick snap shot.

In this post I will not get into all of the differences between the iPod Touch and the Instinct, rather I’ll address the usability and design differences.

iPod Touch Pro’s

1. Usability is exactly what I expect; actions are near seamless.
2. Design is 5 star. Wonderful icons/color/apps!
3. No “plans” to signup for.
4. YouTube videos easy to search and watch.
5. App store - tons of free and pay apps to download and use on your iPod Touch!
6. Web browser Safari is almost identical to computer based version.  True, Flash and some drop down navigation (JavaScript) do not always work.

iPod Touch Con’s

1. Must be connected to a free wi-fi spot to use any internet-based applications.
2. Can’t use google maps in your car (see #1 above)
3. A bit expensive for an “iPod”
4. Limited Space (currently 32GB largest - I have 16GB model)

Instinct Pro’s

1. Inexpensive (if you singup for a 2 year plan)
2. GPS Navigation (No need for a Garmin seperate device)
3. LiveSearch uses voice recognition to find businesses near your GPS location. Can then use GPS Navigation to drive you to the location.
4. LIVE TV - CNN, Comedy Central, etc.
5. Extra batteries (total of 2 batteries per phone included)

Instinct Con’s

1. Battery life can drain quickly if you watch TV
2. Touch screen not always responsive.
3. Web browser functions but not very well on all sites.
4. Mic quality not great but works.

All in all both proucts really have a lot to offer and there are more pro’s for each.  I have both and enjoy both for very different reasons.  Do you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone?  What about the Samsung Instinct?  Thoughts on the design and usability of these products?

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February 9, 2008 by Greg Schuessler.

I have been looking for a way to consolidate my music collection onto one device.  Portable hard drive, iPod, mobile phone, laptop computer, etc.  All of these devices have advantages and disadvantages to them.  I use iTunes for a majority of my music however I also have music on CD’s still.  Well, after much research I finally decided to go with the iPod Touch. Yes I know some of you are saying why not the iPhone.  I could have it all on one! But here is the deal: the iPod Touch is really geared toward music purposes and the iPhone is geared toward phone purposes.

 I’ve had my iPod Touch now for just over 4 weeks and I have to say I love it!  I went ahead and upgraded to the latest patch so I could have these cool applications: Google Maps, Notes, Mail, Stocks and Weather. 

One of the down sides to the Touch is space available.  I bought the largest one at the time: 16GB.  What do you know - about a week ago they came out with the 32GB for $100 more!  Ahh well it’s okay because I have 90% of my music on my iPod Touch and I still have about 7GB left of space.

So from a Design and Usability perspective I would have to say the iPod touch is superb!  It interacts in exactly they way  you expect it to.   I was even impressed how the Google Maps can locate where you are (within a 100 yards approximately)!

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January 9, 2007 by Greg Schuessler.

According to apple.com, iPhone combines three products — a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching into one small and lightweight handheld device. 

iPhone features a rich HTML email client and Safari — the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device — which automatically syncs bookmarks from your PC or Mac.

After reading about the iPhone on their website  I have to say I can hardly wait to see the device in person.  Unfortunately the product will not be available until June 2007 in the United States, but until then I’m sure there will be a lot of hype around the product.

Are you interested in purchasing one?  View the iPhone at Apple’s official iPhone site.

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