Last week I went to the local Apple Store and played with an iPod Touch. I’ve been wanting to get an iPod for a few years now, mainly because I’m all about rating my songs from 1 to 5 stars. Currently I can only do that via iTunes, which means I have to be shackled to my Mac to punch ‘em in. But if I had an iPod… Well… Then I’d have the freedom to rate my songs whereever I want.

I know. Some of you are reading this going “This is what’s important to you? Rating songs?” And the answer is: yes. Some people like to go boating. Some people play video games. Some people knit or do crosswords or collect bugs. We all have different passions that we pursue with what little free time we have. Mine is music, and what I love to rate songs. (More to the point, I don’t want to waste my time listening to songs that “didn’t” make the cut. If they have 1 star? I’ll never listen to it again. Two: it’s okay, but there’s something “wrong” with it that I didn’t care for. Three: it’s good enough, enjoyable and catchy. Four: Now THIS is a good song. Worthy of recommending to others. And Five? Well, if a song rates 5 stars, my friend, I could listen to it for the rest of my life on a deserted island. (With a solar-powered USB power supply, of course…)

Wow. What a ramble.

So, anyhow, I played with the Touch and it blew me away. Originally I laughed at the idea of spending so much money for an 8 gb player, when you could get the 80 gb iPod Classic for $50 LESS. Then I picked it up, and away we went, down the rabbit hole.

So it’s important to note how much more you can do with the Touch. Wifi. Larger screen for movies. Virtual Keyboard. Plus, if you hack it you can install nifty “iPhone exclusive” programs that allow you to check mail, browse Google Maps, enter notes, etc. My hope is that after February when Apple releases the SDK for the iPhone/Touch that we don’t HAVE to hack it to install these things.

And that’s why I’m waiting until the Spring to get one. Not only will there be more applications, but it gives them the chance of updating things at the MacWorld conference thingy in January. (Rumor has it they’ll be announcing the much-hyped tablet subnotebook.)

Huh. I guess that’s all I’m writing about today. The iPod Touch. One thing to note: it still lacks an external keyboard as an input device, which means it’s just shy of replacing my beloved Sony Clie TJ-37. Without that, I’d still have to rely on this puppy to hack out blog entries on the fly at the gym.

Which makes me think: maybe my money would be better spent on an older Treo that would combine my phone & PDA capabilities. If only Palm hadn’t dropped the ball down the abyss of darkness with the Treo. How hard it is to implement WiFi in the thing? It’s what all Treo owners want, so there’s little excuse to hold back for the sake of the cellular industry. It’s sad. (And don’t even get me started on the Foleo disaster… Oy….)

So, yeah. As much as I’d love an iPod Touch, I’d much rather have a 2nd Gen 2gb iPod Nano and a Treo with WiFi.

THEN my life would be complete. Ha ha. (Nah, but my pants WOULD be 5 lbs lighter, with all my “schtuff” in the pockets.)

Kevin