Poll: Are you spending $20 on new iPod touch apps?

So while the iPhone and Apple TV got shiny new firmware updates and new features for free today, iPod touch owners will have to lay out $20 to get Mail, Weather, Stocks, Notes, and Maps -- five apps the iPhone's had since day one. That seems like a raw deal to us -- but then again, we're up to our necks in handheld devices that can check email and take notes. So what's it going to be, iPod touch owners -- will you be laying down a Jackson or what?

Are you shelling out to update your iPod touch?

Yes! How else will I know what the weather's like?Hell no -- and I'm pissed that the iPhone and Apple TV got free updates today and the touch didn't.Dude, it's called jailbreaking. Have you heard of it?Who cares? For $20 I can totally get a new Zune tattoo.Vote

[Tyson Williams @ Jan 15th 2008 6:28PM]

Hell no, Jailbreak it.

[brad @ Jan 15th 2008 6:32PM]

agreed..all the apps and more for free... Sorry Steve I love you and all...but your high if you think I'll give you $20 for something that should be free

[Andrew Jones @ Jan 15th 2008 6:42PM]

That portion just doesn't make ANY sense. My guess is that PR will fly into damage recovery mode in a week or so, they'll wind up giving the firmware update for free, plus refunding anybody who had to pay. I mean, what's the justification there? A lot of dev time went into making these apps? Right - and NONE whatsoever went into those Apple TV updates, I'm sure...

[j3lunt @ Jan 15th 2008 11:37PM]

WHAT?!?! Pay the $20! Who else is going to pay for the software developers to create this for the iPod Touch. I mean seriously think about it... this unit is technically self renewing. instead of paying for a WHOLE NEW device with these new features, all you need to do is download it!

iPhone users pay for it through the service fees that we pay to ATT/Cingular which Apple takes a cut from.

Right?!

[John @ Jan 16th 2008 12:02AM]

Apple gets a stream of revenue from the iPod touch through the iPod store... 4,000,000,000 songs so far.

[WillisOGeeky @ Jan 16th 2008 9:59AM]

ok, so from the time I voted, (10am 1/16) I'm showing 24,484 people who will not pay....... unless people voted more than once.... now imagine if Apple did free up this update... whats the poll on that? How many would give up being a Jailbreaker for free apps of the 24,484 who wouldn't pay? I bet more then half of those people who won't pay would give up jailbreak for free apps, effectively getting everyone on the same page for the sdk next month.......... apple.... everyone of the 24,484 write apple and tell them to free it up!

[Campustech @ Jan 16th 2008 5:43PM]

It's just the fact that the NEW iPod touches get the apps for free, and people who owned it early on have to may MORE.

[Isaac @ Jan 15th 2008 6:29PM]

Damn you apple for the price, but I will pay for it just for the bouncy Icons.

[FlamingGhost @ Jan 15th 2008 9:11PM]

I vowed i wouldn't buy and even voted saying I would.. 20 minutes later I got it =p
WARNING UK USERS

obviously not made for us - only London is avaliable on weather program and can't get mail app to work with my yahoo or aol account

maps is great however need a constend connect so no good on the move, notes i kinda find pointless? and stocks has a 20 minute delay so no good for stock brokers?

very cool in the way you can now rearrange icons, make new pages on the home menu and add webapps icons!!

£12.99 is waste of money but i would still recommend it!! yeahh life doesn't make sence haha =]

NOTE** you need latest ipod and itunes updates but works on PC even tho in the requirements it only says mac

[FlamingGhost @ Jan 15th 2008 9:44PM]

**FIGURED OUT HOW TO VIEW LYRICS ON IPOD TOUCH!!**

first you have to insert them in to your song in itunes - if you don't no how..
right click on song
get info
lyrics tab
you then ned to paste them (get from web - google?) and click ok

drag song onto ipod touch
play song
if you tap the artwork (which brings up where the fast forwarding, shuffle and repeat options are) the lyrics should now be ther =]

[Richard John @ Jan 15th 2008 10:13PM]

I thought it would be the same as the dashboard widgets... I even have Bridgend on the dashboard widget.

[Josh @ Jan 15th 2008 10:30PM]

I just wanted to be able to use mail, which beats the crap out of yahoo mail mobile. Weather is nice too but who cares. I can't wait for more applications - and yah - i was pissed about paying too but i bought it as soon as i got home, screw waiting any longer, i just want full functionality and more legitimate applications that dont take a day to make work. Hopefully they release a legit way to customize everything further...

[kavendano14 @ Jan 15th 2008 6:29PM]

This is probably worse than the ripoffs I get from Microsoft, Never saw it coming from Apple. :(

[mark @ Jan 15th 2008 7:09PM]

meh - apple always makes you pay for 'updates'.

[Ian Armstrong @ Jan 15th 2008 7:45PM]

"Suddenly, the company that could do no wrong could do no right. Jobs felt compelled to send out another communiqué, this time announcing that an Apple-approved iPhone platform for third-party developers would arrive in February of 2008. (No word yet on whether Apple will charge for the applications.) "I'm thinking his hand was forced," Chen says, "and he was getting tired of all the bad press." The general perception was that Apple was maximizing short-term profitability at the expense of customer satisfaction. It was acting--shudder--like Microsoft."

- FastCompany / December 2007

[John @ Jan 15th 2008 6:30PM]

Seems a bit silly to me, especially with the announcement of third-party app support, which would mean thousands of different weather apps, notes apps etc.

[Ian Armstrong @ Jan 15th 2008 7:48PM]

See that's the rub... you'll need the updated OS in order to load up a 3rd party app.

So you see how we all end up paying eventually here.

[Alex @ Jan 15th 2008 8:00PM]

Actually, you can still install the 1.1.3 update without paying for it - just update iTunes, connect your touch, and click "Check for Update" (on the device page in iTunes). Obviously, it doesn't include Mail/Stocks/etc.

[David @ Jan 15th 2008 8:59PM]

Oh well... at least this will jump jailbreaking into something commonplace (like downgrading PSPs)

[Touchy @ Jan 16th 2008 11:19AM]

yeah i dont think the free 1.1.3 makes the touch ready for the 3rd party apps. I was looking into it and it looks like youll need the $20 "January update" to be able to install those when they come. Free 1.1.3 doesn't give you customizable home screen which is what you would need.

[Curtis @ Jan 15th 2008 6:30PM]

Hahaha this made me laugh...

Are you shelling out to update your iPod touch?

Yes! How else will I know what the weather's like? 1 (20.0%)

Hell no -- and I'm pissed that the iPhone and Apple TV got free updates today and the touch didn't. 1 (20.0%)

Dude, it's called jailbreaking. Have you heard of it? 1 (20.0%)

Who cares? For $20 I can totally get a new Zune tattoo. 1 (20.0%)



Where's the other 20%?

[Jason @ Jan 15th 2008 6:43PM]

It went to pay off Steve ;)

[Hecktic @ Jan 15th 2008 6:31PM]

very disappointed in apple on this one, only for one reason, not that they are charging money for it, but that out of the box itouches are bundled with it. come on now apple play nice? do i smell i rebate coming around in a few weeks if enough people make some interweb noise about it? or play fair and not bundle it with new touches

[ChillyWilly @ Jan 15th 2008 6:58PM]

Fully agree with your comment. I know $20 is not that big of a deal, but it's more than just the dollar amount.

[Jeff @ Jan 15th 2008 7:33PM]

charging for new software is hardly something new.

Are you upset that new macs come with iLife while you have to pay $79 to use it on your old iBook?

This whole Engadget comment uproar is asinine.

@ ChillyWilly: what is it then? the principle of the thing? they hurt your feelings? If you don't want it, don't buy it. If you do, you do. what's with you people?

[andrew @ Jan 15th 2008 7:42PM]

If I buy Madden 07, I don't expect to get Madden 08 for free. Same goes with iLife. If I buy an xbox, and they upgrade the UI and software, I expect that for free. Same goes for with ipod touch. It's not the money that bothers me, it's just a d*ck business move.

[Ian Armstrong @ Jan 15th 2008 7:52PM]

Oh give me a freaking break Jeff, even Microsoft (which fanboys love to call M$) doesn't charge for service packs. This is designed to do one thing - pad against the fact nothing important happened at MacWorld this year.

Apple's current stock price assumes growth 10%+ ahead of the sector average while going into a slowdown or recession in the US Economy - and might I add that Europe is showing similar signs of slowing. This is nothing more than padding against a major correction in stock price at the expense of user loyalty... under the assumption that the fanboys have enough goodwill stored up that it won't hurt Apple's overall image.

It's a very thin red line.

[hecktic @ Jan 15th 2008 8:51PM]

andrew and jeff you missed the point , how are you gonna charge someone that bought the same product 2 months ago with out the software that the same product is selling with now , this is low by apple. I dont even own an itouch and I'm pissed by this bullshit move. Dont include the software and charge everyone

[Hecktic @ Jan 15th 2008 9:02PM]

sorry andrew miss read what you wrote, yes i agree w/ u but like i said charge everyone or dont charge at all, simple. but like i said in a different post i think apple is just using ituouch users a test subjects to see how their business model is going to work when the sdk for the iphone is going to come out, and its sad, for atleast us iphone users because even if they are charging for it atleast itouch users have actually something to look forward to for their ituouch while us iphone users have another lame update that aint worth pissing on if it was on fire

[ChillyWilly @ Jan 16th 2008 2:04AM]

@ ChillyWilly: what is it then? the principle of the thing? they hurt your feelings? If you don't want it, don't buy it. If you do, you do. what's with you people?

Jeff, I am echoing what other people said. The hardware of the iPod touch has not changed. The same one I got 3 weeks ago is the same one you buy in the store today and it will be the same one someone buys next month. Those who spent $400 3 weeks ago and today (yes, each model currently in the box at the retail stores do NOT have the new apps on them yet), have to spend $20 to get the new apps. But if you wait a week or two, you can get a model that has them.

What's the big deal? Well, $20 is not that big of a deal. Anyone can spend $20 and get the new apps and be on their way, all complaining aside.

And one could even argue that because we bought when we did (ie. price changes, model changes, etc) that if we would have waited a month or two, we could have saved $20 and gotten the new apps.

What it boils down to is two fold: one, the apps should be available at no charge if the device you own is no different than the device you can buy in the store.

And two, each and every other product that was discussed (iPhone, Apple TV, iTunes) had free updates for previous owners... all adding new features... except for the iPod touch. Google Maps gets updates on the iPhone for free. iPod touch users need to pay $20.

Maybe we are blowing this out of proportion, but it's the idea that "hey, the touch is the best selling iPod of the new models... what's another $20 on top of the $300 or $400 they spent"

You say "if you don't like, then don't buy it" Well, that's exactly what I'm doing (or not doing, if you will). Until we get another touch here, I'm not missing anything.

[Kris @ Jan 16th 2008 7:35AM]

Instead of a rebate, why not contact the BBB immediately? As far as I can tell, this is extortion. They've proven that the iPod Touch is the iPhone software with features removed so they're extorting money from us to re-add some applications.

[WillisOGeeky @ Jan 16th 2008 10:08AM]

yes! Agreed, Agreed, Agreed. Play fair/Keep customers coming back and happy, not keep customers wanting to break free.....

[john @ Jan 15th 2008 6:31PM]

Like I said in another thread:

Why pay an extra $20 for apps that should have been on it from day one?

[grant-b @ Jan 15th 2008 6:31PM]

Already got them on my jailbroken iPod Touch.... "take that apple"....

[RS @ Jan 15th 2008 6:33PM]

yea i got it(despite my bitching), cant get the email to work though.

[Fred @ Jan 15th 2008 6:33PM]

Utter crap on Apple's part. Makes you wonder about that 802.11n charge doesn't it? I like Apple products and it's not gonna keep me from being a customer of theirs (yet) but it seems to me like Apple is getting a bit petty about some of these little schemes. Plus, has anybody thought about what's gonna happen when the update becomes a required part of the Touch's functionality? My guess is their gonna nab as many people as they can now and make it free later. Taking a page from MS for a change maybe? They do this with Xbox live content all the time.

[Simon @ Jan 15th 2008 6:33PM]

I already have these apps on my jailbroken iPod. But on the other hand, I like to keep up-to-date. I hope the iPod jailbreak team come up with something soon otherwise ill be forced to hand over my money to apple.

Also ill be pissed at losing all my third-party apps, either way. I just love iPhysics!

[Andre @ Jan 15th 2008 6:35PM]

I'm paying for the apps, but I kinda hope people bitch enough to get the $20 refunded.

[Camperton @ Jan 15th 2008 6:48PM]

Same. I want my touch to be clean when the sdk hits and I trust this "upgrade" more than the jailbreak, but I also wouldn't mind getting this bogus 20 dollar gouge refunded.

[Ed @ Jan 15th 2008 9:08PM]

Prediction: At the next keynote, apple gives everyone who bought the update $10 apple store gift cards.

[SaeidA.com @ Jan 15th 2008 6:36PM]

So pissed at Apple... was a HUGE supporter!

[SaeidA.com @ Jan 15th 2008 6:37PM]

We should all contact Apple and complain!!!

[IndiaTech @ Jan 15th 2008 6:52PM]

You are new around here, aren't you?

[Constable Odo @ Jan 15th 2008 9:43PM]

They low-ranked you for that statement. I can't believe these people. Complaining helped early purchasers of iPhones get back some sort of rebate. It might help. Not that $20 is much (I'd pay it without griping), but jeez, these people are really low-rank trigger-happy.

[dsgamer21 @ Jan 15th 2008 10:00PM]

Maybe it had something to do with the double post...

[Peter @ Jan 15th 2008 6:38PM]

Pretty lame of apple, I am not paying and will probably end up jailbreaking as a result. I got my Touch a while ago and waited the long, hard weeks until MacWorld in anticipation of this precious update, only to have it at a moronic cost.

It would have been a lot better if they had offered this update in the form of "spend $20 at the iTunes store, you get the update" - assuming this was for accounting reasons or something. It would still be annoying, but at least you'd be getting something more than just what the iPhone has had all along.

[Fred @ Jan 15th 2008 6:40PM]

I'm telling you, man that "Accounting reasons" thing is a scam. People give away freeware all the time. Hell, bootcamp was free for how long?

[DT @ Jan 15th 2008 7:07PM]

Fred: I'm just curious, where did you study corporate accounting? Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it a scam.

[Fred @ Jan 15th 2008 10:34PM]

If you say so man. Since when does an update HAVE to be charged for? If you can explain it better than Apple can knock yourself out. Just because someone hides behind "corporate accounting" doesn't make it valid.

[Fred @ Jan 15th 2008 10:34PM]

If you say so man. Since when does an update HAVE to be charged for? If you can explain it better than Apple can knock yourself out. Just because someone hides behind "corporate accounting" doesn't make it valid.