iPod Touch - upgrading to 2.0

Since I got my iPod Touch last month it has quickly worked its way into my daily use. Though I still keep the iPod Nano around for running, the Touch is my preferred device for general entertainment and music listening, especially if I'm within reach of a WiFi point I can access. On Saturday I upgraded the software on it to 2.0 and downloaded a couple of the free applications from the iTunes store. I'll talk about the ones I like in a future post.

Overall I do like the new software. The ability to download applications directly from the App Store into my iPod through WiFi is fantastic. If I download an application and then later connect to iTunes it asks me if I also want to place the application into iTunes so that I have it there as well. It's very nicely implemented.

The only problem that I've encountered so far is that the WiFi connection is now a bit unstable initially. Whereas before I could pop into Mail or Safari every time and it simply worked, now very often my Touch has a difficult time connecting immediately after pulling it out of sleep or turning it on.

I'll hit the button, slide the unlock and see a nice solid connection on the WiFi indicator. The problem is that if I go directly into Mail or Safari I get an error that reads:

"Safari can't open the page because it is not connected to the Internet", with an OK button:


Eventually it will go through, though it takes considerably longer than it did prior to the update. This has had an impact on the way I use the device; I used to leave it upstairs and if I wanted to quickly check e-mail without running down to my basement office I would simply grab the Touch and check my e-mail. Now it's a much more frustrating process.

That issue aside the Touch is a great option for those of us that want the cooler part of the iPhone experience. If only Apple had made the iPhone carrier independent I'd have one right now. Instead I'll have to be content to use my iPod Touch until my Sprint contract is expired.

Bonus iPhone/Touch Tip:
Ever wanted to grab the screen on your iPod or iPhone like I did to show those error messages? It's really easy:

While viewing the item you want to capture hold down the Home button and then press the power button at the top edge of the device. The screen will flash white and briefly fade. Then pop into Photos and a folder named Saved Photos will contain your screen shot.

You can transfer it to your Mac by loading up iPhoto and importing it.

Comments

bdavidson said…
Unless Apple made different hardware versions of the iPhone, it wouldnt work on Sprint anyways. The iPhone is a GSM phone. Pretty much the global standard. Sprint is CDMA.

The only GSM networks in the USA are AT&T and TMobile.

I think Apple made the correct decision to build only one iPhone platform on GSM.
Anonymous said…
Yo David,

I had the same problem with WiFi instability with my iPT after the 2.0 upgrade - my wireless router didn't want to give it an IP address.

I solved the problem syncing my data, doing a full hardware reset, then restoring the iPod from the backup. No hassles since!

Hope this helps,

jmg
Anonymous said…
I have to agree with bdavidson above on the GSM part. I secretly hope for Verizon and Sprint to either close their doors, or switch to GSM one day. After all, AT&T did switch in a way, as their pre cingular merger network was also CDMA.

The main reason I'm behind GSM is because I have seen how well one standard works. I traveled across a portion of Europe a few years back, and having reliable phone service everywhere was amazing. I bought a SIM in the UK to put into my T-Mobile phone, then traveled into the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. In every location, my phone found a provider that would work with the SIM I had, and always had a good signal. So many of the companies over there have agreements with each other, so if coverage of their own network is poor in one area, the other company makes up for it. At one point in my trip near the German and French borders in Switzerland, my phone saw 9 different providers it could work with.

It is a shame though that the iPhone is locked to a specific provider though. Had Apple allowed both T-Mobile and AT&T to carry the device in the US, some interesting competition would have happened. But instead, we get stuck with horrible data and messaging plans all because AT&T is the only place to get an iPhone.
Unknown said…
I had the same problem but I don't think you have to go as far as resetting the hardware. Simple hit the "Forget this Network" button and the add the network back. Even if the settings say you are connected.

Keith
Eytan said…
AT&T was never CDMA. They were TDMA when on older standards, and then in 2000, when much of the industry thought they would go to CDMA, the successor to TDMA - they did not and instead opted for GSM. I was AT&T, then Cingular, now AT&T again, and I went from TDMA straight to GSM around 2002.

Verizon has announced its intent, when building its 4G infrastructure, to base it on the successor to GSM. As has AT&T - so both AT&T and Verizon will be on the same infrastructure starting about 2 years down the line. AT&T will have a leg up because enhancements can be made to the existing hardware without putting in all new hardware for the transition to 4G. Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it), Sprint has put its weight behind WiMax and will be using that for its 4G data - so no, I doubt you will ever see phones that run on Sprint from Apple (unless WiMax REALLY takes off, but I doubt it).
David Alison said…
I would love to see a standardization across the US where all carriers used the same tech so that I could move phones from one carrier to another; unfortunately that just doesn't look like it's ever going to happen.

@Keith: I tried that; no luck. I think I'm going to have to go with JMG's suggestion.
Chris Haseltine said…
I upgraded to the first leaked 2.0, bricked my ipod touch and had to wait around for the official launch which finally came around about saturday evening for me... since then everything works fine on the touch, but syncing is becoming a nightmare, esp. with apps. I got to level 50 on enigmo only to wake up the next day after a sync with no apps installed because "itunes couldn't find the selected app." even though it was right there in the folder. upon re-sync i was back to level 1, and also lost all my other data from ebay, paypal, etc.

apple bit off a bit too much this time i think...
Anonymous said…
My ipt has also slowed down with the update. The get rid of this network idea did not work for me. One big missing app still (unless I have missed it) is syncing notes from IPT to my mac. Anyone know anything about this?
Pecos Bill said…
Sounds like Apple took the same lousy WiFi code from Leopard and stuck that in v2.0. (the iP/iPt v1.0 was halfway between Tiger & Leo). Sounds like very similar behavior to the way my MacBook works.
David Alison said…
@Pecos: I did find that it seems more sensitive to WEP encryption than just using a plain old wide open access point. I'm dropping off my WEP encryption anyway given the false sense of security it provides and going with a combination of approved MAC addresses on the router and a non-broadcasting wireless name.
Pecos Bill said…
@David: Sorry to say, a MAC address can easily be changed and anyone sniffing a network should be able to see what valid addresses exist. WPA without TKIP should be better. TKIP seems to freak out at what it thinks are cracking attempts and put the entire network on hold for what seems an eternity.

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