The iPod Touch Is Perplexing But Fun For This Bear of Little Brain

Many who know me well might say that I practically live on the computer. Nonetheless, I consider myself a bit of a Bear of Little Brain when it comes to embracing new technology, so when I found out in September that I was the winner of an iPod Touch, I was delighted but also rather intimidated. This is a gal who owns a cell phone that spends most of its time on the kitchen table waiting to be recharged. A gal who is still occasionally befuddled by her portable CD player. A gal who relates disturbingly well to Jeremy’s parents in the comic strip Zits. So I celebrated my acquisition but proceeded with trepidation.

I’ve now had the iPod for two months, and we’ve had a little more opportunity to get to know each other. My first observation is that the iPod seems to be designed for tiny fingers. I’d say there’s some truth to that, as teenagers seem to be the biggest target for these devices, but how much larger do fingers actually grow after the teenage years? The trouble is more that my fumble fingers haven’t adapted quickly enough. I discovered that they do make styluses specifically to aid in iPod navigation and text-typing, and I may have to invest in one of these; it looks like they run as cheap as a couple of bucks. Still, I can’t help thinking it might have been a nice gesture for Apple to include one of these with the iPod itself. I would think this would be a common problem.

Along those same lines is the issue of my eyes. I find it very hard to read much of what comes up on my iPod because the screen is so small. Generally, I can zoom in by tapping the screen, but I seem to have to hit it in just the right spot in order to elicit a response, and if I’m not careful I wind up zooming out again before I have the chance to read whatever it was that interested me. Moreover, I also have a tendency to accidentally click on links while trying to increase the font size or scroll to a different part of the screen. In addition to the stylus, I’m considering investing in a magnifying glass.

Once that stylus comes in, I’ll probably make more use of the Notes feature, which allows me to type in and save my ruminations with the help of the pop-up keypad. I always carry a notepad or two around with me in case inspiration strikes, and it’s much easier to jot things down by hand than on the iPod, especially if it’s something of any length. On the other hand, I have a tendency to misplace things; one notebook containing a number of rather useful notes went missing on me for the better part of a year, much to my consternation. So if I have something I’m especially keen to remember, the iPod is a pretty good place in which to store it.

I always wear a watch, so I really don’t use the Clock feature much, but it’s neat to be able to look up different locations throughout the world, and the Alarm, Timer and Stopwatch might come in handy sometime. Same goes for the Calendar. The Calculator is a nifty feature for a right-brainer like me, and given the fluid state of the climate in Erie, PA, I can always use a Weather update.

My main association with iPods is iTunes, but while my brother helped set me up with that, I’m not quite brave enough to venture into that territory without his further aid. I blame that partly on an episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa has a fictionalized version of an iPod and accidentally racks up thousands of dollars in bills downloading songs. Terrifying. So come Christmas break, Nathan can give me a hand with that one, hopefully in time for me to bring my iPod along on our traditional post-Christmas trip. By then, perhaps I will have become fully accustomed to the feel of the tiny ear buds.

At the moment, I’m using the iPod mostly for Internet navigation via the browser Safari and YouTube. I was surprised to see this website has its own application icon; I guess it’s just an indication that it’s one of those sites that meteorically rose to become a part of everyday life for a huge portion of the web-browsing population. I’ve been hooked on YouTube ever since I discovered it while hunting down Saturday Night Live‘s Lazy Sunday four years ago, so having such easy access to it is a nice little bonus, especially since my own laptop’s sound hasn’t functioned in some time. I was getting my YouTube fix on my parents’ computer, but the iPod is even handier. Annoyingly, my laptop’s USB port is also not speaking to me, so I have to plug it into the desktop to charge it up. Which makes me wonder whether my iPod’s battery power will survive my upcoming trip... So far it seems to keep a charge for a decent length of time, though, so I’m not too concerned about it.

With so many different applications available - and there are quite a few I have yet to try, both built-in and downloadable - there ought to be something on the iPod Touch to please anybody willing to embrace a bit of new technology. While I haven’t figured out all the ins and outs of mine yet, it works well and has a lot of nifty features that would be especially handy to me away from home. I just need to get in the habit of toting it around and find a good way to protect it. I suspect that this slick little gadget will find its way inside many a brightly wrapped package this Christmas, and that once they get the knack of it, the recipients will find it a gift that keeps on giving.