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Originally Posted by Mrgauth
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Any thoughts?
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The answer is, "Nobody knows".
It's a tricky thing, like buying a digital camera and wondering if they're about to bring out something new - it's often best just to buy what you need now rather than fret over advances. They will happen, but if the device does what you need now, then, despite comments you will often hear about something being "superseded" or "made redundant", well, your device still continues to work as it did. I've the first generation iPod Touch, and I've not lost anything by not having an external speaker (which would actually annoy me), and the apps I've bought or downloaded make the device a keeper, yes, for as long as it lives. I actually use it for music and movies least, tending to use it as a bedtime browser, and apps for shopping lists, notes synchroniser (Evernote), weather apps, games, ebook-reader (not used often, but Stanza), reference apps (measurement convertors, wikipedia, photography) and random other apps that tickle me pink. I enjoy my iPod, and tend to take it everywhere (whereas I hardly take my mobile phone anywhere). So, seeing as it does what I want now, I got one, and I don't expect to change it until it dies (Incidentally, I have my old iPod Photo, coming on four years old, which is still in very happy use. It jumps from the iPod speaker dock downstairs, to the one in the bedroom, going strong, and is also useful for transferring a large volume of files from the different workstations we have around the place - PC, iMac, laptop, MacBook).
Saying this though...well, there are some reasonable rumours (though still rumours, based on claimed Apple orders for such a screen) that a 9" screen may be happening in the Apple world. Some folk are talking 9" iPod Touch, and some folk are talking an itty-bitty MacBook, and some are no doubt talking about something between or outside of either of these things, and some are no doubt saying that Apple are just buying these screens for some bit of hardware being used in development that might not even get to market. For what it's worth though, the timeframe where "new device" comes up (and this is compounded with another rumour about a new iPhone) is June this year, at the Developers' Conference, where the iPhone 3.0 software is being revealed/released(?).
As with all rumours though, this could all just be fluff. If I were looking at an iPod Touch at the moment (noting that my specific needs and desires may not even go close to yours), I'd wait until after June (or longer if rumours firm up into nearclose-certainty), but, if there's still nothing but rumour, I'd just buy the iPod Touch. That's me though - you no doubt have different needs and desires, not to mention degrees of patience.
The only other thing I'd mention is looking up "jailbreaking" of the iPod. It may be that this gives you more confidence in continued development of apps for the the device. I've not felt the need to jailbreak my own, but I consider the option to do so a plus.
Cheers,
Marc