Why is the iPod Touch such a popular product, with seemingly little competition? The fact is that it’s an iPod, and that alone makes it stand out. The iPod brand wins out over others any day, in the eyes of most consumers, because of a whole set of factors that are all its own. To put these factors simply, the iPod brand is popular, it is attractive and it is trusted. The last one is perhaps the most important. In a world of ever changing electronics consumers never know what to buy, and so they put their faith in the brand they’ve been told is the best-and the brand that has so far lived up to that claim.
While other companies are coming out with devices that claim to be better than the iPod Touch in a lot of ways, what they lack is the massive support of thousands of applications that users can download. Consumers know that they can get all kinds of software for their Touch and they know they can get it easily. The competitors are still far from being able to match that, let alone convincing consumers that their offerings are just as good.
The iPod Touch is marketed as a gaming device, and the music functionality is secondary. Much like the iPhone is a phone that “happens” to have a built in iPod, the Touch is a handheld gaming console that happens to have the same. Apple has pushed the Touch that way for several reasons. For one, it works. For another though, they don’t want to distract you from buying the iPhone. So which one should you buy? The differences between the two devices are so minuscule that people already question buying the more expensive phone. It’s not like the phone does a whole lot more anyway.
When there is a practical choice between an iPhone and iPod Touch, you need to consider the features above all else. The iPod Touch doesn’t have a phone, it doesn’t allow for connection to the internet from anywhere, and it doesn’t have cool tools like Bluetooth and GPS. These are things you might not definitively need but, let’s face it, they are things you are going to use should you have them.
When looking at the price, the iPod Touch is only less expensive in theory. The upfront cost is actually about the same. People add to that the contract and the added data fees that iPhone brings with it to justify buying the Touch instead. You’ll likely end up paying for data in the near future anyway with some other phone. As for the contract, the majority of people sign one anyway.
Ask yourself what you’d want the device for. If it’s a phone, you already have one. The iPhone’s phone isn’t anything special, it just happens to be built in. If it’s a camera you want, you likely have that on your current phone. If it’s GPS functionality, maybe the iPhone is for you, though buying one of many other GPS enabled phones for a lot less money is also an option.
With all of that in mind it’s clear why the iPod Touch is the better choice. While people who are in the market for such a device shouldn’t be shy to start shopping around, they shouldn’t be surprised if it’s the Touch that ends up in their cart.
The iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music. But it’s not just the sound that people are interested in. An iPod can also be a fashion statement, and there are lots of iPod gadgets that can dress up your device. Learn more at Gizmos, Gadgets and Toys.
Tags: consumer electronics, iPhone, iPod, smart phones
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