The iPod Touch 3G

Brilliant!

I haven’t got an iPhone 3G, instead I bought an Nokia E71 (review pending) and I couldn’t be happier. I did however update my iPod Touch to the latest 2.0 firmware, and have downloaded a few apps which are pretty cool. With my Touch I get all of the benefits of the iPhone, except for the ability to surf the web and make calls while out and about. Or can I?

Some of you may have heard of Joiku, but for those who haven’t it’s a small application that you load onto a Nokia phone that instantly turns it into a mobile hotspot. That’s right, you can hookup your laptop, or in this case iPod, to your phone over WiFi, no messy Bluetooth or cable connections necessary. I downloaded it to my E71 (right on the phone), and gave it a whirl today, and I have to say it works, very very well.

Once connected, you can surf the web as normal. In my case, on my iPod. The Safari web browser works just great, as does the App Store. This setup actually one-ups the iPhone in that you can use the iTunes Store as well. Since I’m connected via WiFi, I can buy and download songs wherever I am, instantly. This is the reason I actually set this up, and it works brilliantly.

While this wouldn't give you the ability to use location-based software, it is still an innovative solution to getting many of the new iPhone's features on an iPod Touch. This would also let you use your cell phone as a wireless modem for your laptop. Pretty slick!

Of course, if you have a Palm smartphone or a non-WiFi enabled Windows Mobile, you can always use PDANet to connect. Not quite as slick or as versatile, but effective nonetheless.