Topic: My sister got an ipod touch 3rd gen

[Pugnate]

Well she got it a few days ago, and it is actually really cool... some thoughts

1. $500 she nearly paid for the 60GB variant, which is pretty overpriced considering what you can get for that amount of money.

2. The device has a stunning chrome finish, and is thin as three stacked credits, but seems very fragile. There are reports that the chrome finish can easily fall apart, so she had to get a proper case for it. Unfortunately, as protective as the leather case is, it hides all that makes the device look stunning... so yea.

3. The bundled headphones are crap. Aside from the expense of a screen protector and a leather case, she will have to buy Bose headphones.

4. The UI is stunning. I have used touch screen devices from tons of other companies, and nothing comes to the simplicity in design and smoothness of the ipod touch interface. It is also very responsive and really fast. The screen quality is also quite good, though a half-step behind Samsung's AMOLED devices.

5. The 64GB flash drive is nice, but the device can't be used as a portable hard drive unlike the older iterations, which is ridiculous. Apple seemed to have made the thing even more restrictive.

6. So what my sister did the first hour she bought it, was hack it using some jailbreak software. Quite proud of her for doing that. Suddenly the device can be used as a portable harddrive, and she can download a shitload of applications. She feels guilty about pirating them, but oh well.

7. The games are actually quite excellent, and definitely quite a few notches above what I expected. The popcap games are especially good, like Peggle, Bejewled, and of course, Plants vs Zombies. There are some other games on there as well, and while the touch screen isn't ideal, it isn't as bad as I expected.

8. Other applications are pretty good. Safari seems to work very fast on it, and is designed well to fit on it.

So overall, while I think it shouldn't be priced much higher than a PSP or a DS, and I would never get one for that price, it isn't bad as long as you hack it. I wouldn't pay more than $250 for it though.

[gpw11]

The iPod Touch/iPhone is great.  I imagine I'd eventually bite the bullet and buy a touch to jailbreak (if not an iPhone).  Easily has the most user friendly UI out there and best touchscreen on the market.  And yeah, I hate on touchscreen games, but the casual games are great.  My stance is that they can't compete with the DS/PSP for serious games and shouldn't bother.  That said, as far as phone games go, the touch/iPhone blows Android and WM out of the water.

And yeah, you gotta jailbreak that stuff.  Just make sure you warn her about the Nike+ sensor 

[Pugnate]

haha yea I saw that thread.

Can you jailbreak an iphone easily?

I'd get an iPhone, but $800 for a 32GB 3GS is fucking absurd.

edit:

I agree that while it is awesome for casual games, more hardcore games are useless once the novelty wears off.

[WindAndConfusion]

No smartphone costs $800, Pug. Someone wants to rip you off.

[Pugnate]

No smartphone costs $800, Pug. Someone wants to rip you off.

This is the first time I can say you are wrong about something.

http://www.buy.com/prod/apple-iphone-3gs-32gb-never-locked-legally-unlocked-gsm-cell-phone/q/loc/12435/211493259.html

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=iphone+3GS

iPhone 3GS 32GB unlocked costs $800-$900. The 16GB variant costs $600ish.

You can get a locked version from AT&T on a contract, but through the course of that contract, you end up paying about $1000 for the iPhone without realizing it.

That's why so many people from overseas are shocked by the North American cellphone industry when they come to work/study. So many Canadians and Americans go on these contracts and don't realize that in the long term they are paying an arm and a leg for a cellphone. $800+ for an iPhone is just crazy.

edit:

I should mention that the problem is that North America is HUGE in terms of landmass. A typical country in Asia or the Middle East is 30% the landmass with 500% the population...

Anyway, it is very easy for a cellphone network provider in Asia/Middle East to offer cheap services because of this. In this part of the world, using a cellphone is incredibly cheap. You don't lose airtime when someone calls you, there is no such thing as unlimited weekends and evenings, because it is unlimited all the time. It basically costs me about $12 a month on my network and I call as much as I want, when I want.

It is impossible to offer such cheap services in North America.

If you compare USA to India, USA's population is 5 times less than India's but spread across 7 times the land mass.

[WindAndConfusion]

It's $500 or a little more for an unlocked smartphone, if you can find one. Even if you can't find one, you can buy one at the subsidized rate, pay the ETF, pay the $36 "line activation fee" to recoup the expense of having a cell phone representative slap you in the face with his hairy limp cock, ask to get your phone unlocked (which they are now legally entitled to do), and then bolt without ever paying a single month's service. This is still more than $200 less than $800, even when you include the cost of tax, shipping, and cock-slapping.

[scottws]

I want a Droid.  Those things are sweet.  I'm not a big fan of the iPhone.

[Pugnate]

It's $500 or a little more for an unlocked smartphone, if you can find one. Even if you can't find one, you can buy one at the subsidized rate, pay the ETF, pay the $36 "line activation fee" to recoup the expense of having a cell phone representative slap you in the face with his hairy limp cock, ask to get your phone unlocked (which they are now legally entitled to do), and then bolt without ever paying a single month's service. This is still more than $200 less than $800, even when you include the cost of tax, shipping, and cock-slapping.

iPhone 3GS 32GB dude. Even on Apple's website it was about $850 for an unlocked one when they were offering. If you can regularly get one for $500 fully unlocked in a legal way, then you should be a rich man selling those online for a huge profit.

Your other method is great, except it isn't quite legal.

[gpw11]

It's $500 or a little more for an unlocked smartphone, if you can find one. Even if you can't find one, you can buy one at the subsidized rate, pay the ETF, pay the $36 "line activation fee" to recoup the expense of having a cell phone representative slap you in the face with his hairy limp cock, ask to get your phone unlocked (which they are now legally entitled to do), and then bolt without ever paying a single month's service. This is still more than $200 less than $800, even when you include the cost of tax, shipping, and cock-slapping.

ETFs vary immensely though from carrier to carrier and region to region.  I agree that you can do it a lot of places, but if you live somewhere that the only carrier offering the phone doesn't cap their ETF, you could be looking at  $500-$600 early termination fee depending on the subsidization length.