I hadn’t planned on buying an iPod Touch, but two things happened recently that nudged me into it.  First, Barbri (the bar prep company) offered a discount coupon and an iPhone/iPod only study app.  Second, I won an iPhone dock clock radio at a Christmas party.  So, I bit the bullet and bought an iPod Touch.  Its not a bad music player, but it’s far from perfect.  My two biggest complaints are: I can’t queue another song up while one is currently playing, and I don’t have any external buttons to control the iPod Touch by touch.  Ironic that a device called a touch requires vision to operate, no?

But despite its flaws as a music player, it’s an amazing pocket computer.  The app store (notwithstanding Apple’s dictatorial approval process) is a perfect model of how to serve consumers.  I’ve downloaded over two dozen free applications that work very well.  I can manage my banking, order a pizza from Pizza Hut (with a 20% discount just for using the app!), find the perfect Coach gift, download cases from Lexis, and even check to see if a picture on the wall is hanging level. 

Notice how I used the phrase “pocket computer” earlier.  I didn’t say pocket pc because the Pocket PC was invented by Microsoft about ten years ago, well before the invention of the iPod or the iPhone.  Way back in 1999 and 2000, Microsoft had combination telephone Pocket PC’s.  I don’t remember much about them, but it’s important to note that Microsoft had a decade to refine them, and they still aren’t as functional as the iPhone/iPod Touch.

I don’t know how many PC developers there are compared to Mac developers, but I’m guessing it’s an order of magnitude.  How is it that Microsoft didn’t leverage that base to come up with an App store?  Sure, way back in 2000 the Internet wasn’t what it is today… but I had a Windows Mobile phone in 2006 or 2007, and there wasn’t an app store for Windows Mobile phones then, and I don’t think there’s one now.  If there is, I bet it’s not as one-click-easy as the Apple app store.

I’m still not ready to trade my Blackberry for an iPhone because (a) I NEED a keyboard, (b) Blackberry email is better, and (c) Blackberry voice quality is better.  But I’ll tell you what I am likely to do: Buy a Verizon Mifi device so my iPod Touch (and laptop) always has a Wifi connection.  My two Windows Mobile phones that can also use Wifi will stay at home in my junk box because there’s nothing they can do that my iPod can’t.