Any good iTouch knock offs or other PDA suggestions?

[toastysquirrel]

I'd like to update my PDA (Tungsten T3) to something more modern, an iPod Touch sounds fun and fancy. Unfortunately I don't have the cash to spend on a good used model, nor do I have the patience to try to land a good bid over at eBay. "Gee, that iTouch looks awesome, and only $30!?" Then one minute before the auction ends the price is over $120. You guys know what I'm talking about.

So, what about any imitation iTouches? Has anyone had good experience with them or care to recommend something that functions similar to the iPod touch?

Really I guess I'm looking for something "cool" that has your basic PIM software, support for MP3s, alarms, an external speaker, decent sized screen, isn't too heavy, good touch recognition, voice recorder, can sync with Windows 7x64, and won't complain when I don't call the next morning.

Love to hear some opinions.

[r0k]

I'd like to update my PDA (Tungsten T3) to something more modern, an iPod Touch sounds fun and fancy. Unfortunately I don't have the cash to spend on a good used model, nor do I have the patience to try to land a good bid over at eBay. "Gee, that iTouch looks awesome, and only $30!?" Then one minute before the auction ends the price is over $120. You guys know what I'm talking about.

So, what about any imitation iTouches? Has anyone had good experience with them or care to recommend something that functions similar to the iPod touch?

Really I guess I'm looking for something "cool" that has your basic PIM software, support for MP3s, alarms, an external speaker, decent sized screen, isn't too heavy, good touch recognition, voice recorder, can sync with Windows 7x64, and won't complain when I don't call the next morning.

Love to hear some opinions.

First of all, use a sniping service. Figure out what you are willing to pay and use a service like bidrobot to place your bid 7 seconds before the auction ends. This prevents overpaying rookies from overbidding you in the last two minutes.

Second of all, focus on slightly older models. If you need a TX replacement, you aren't (necessarily) looking for a device with a camera.

I might be selling an iPod Touch for a family member who now has an iPhone. I'll check "completed listings" over at ebay and see if it's worth the trouble. If it's going for $50 (actual sale price, not asking price), I'll probably opt to keep it and use it as a spare remote control or something.

[Varjak]

If you think you're really going to get a $30 iTouch (one that actually works) you are going to be disappointed (frankly, as you should be).

There are counterfeit iProducts available in big cities (NYC, and China, and I'm sure others); but the truth is they are probably not worth the hassle (and with extra costs in shipping, possible fraud losses, etc.) not much more economical. I'd suggest saving up the money and buying when you have the resources.

[SyncRaven]

I'd like to update my PDA (Tungsten T3) to something more modern, an iPod Touch sounds fun and fancy. Unfortunately I don't have the cash to spend on a good used model, nor do I have the patience to try to land a good bid over at eBay. "Gee, that iTouch looks awesome, and only $30!?" Then one minute before the auction ends the price is over $120. You guys know what I'm talking about.

I wouldn't buy used on ebay personally unless it was professionally refurbished since in my experience many people sell junk or something just about to die .
I don't think your going to get a decent full touch device under $100.
I would think the creative zen players are the best thing you might consider, as they are about half the price of an ipod:
Creative ZEN Touch 2

Personally I would totally opt for that over an apple device - since I would prefer android based apps and apple devices are a pain to service (cases are hard to open, solder points too close together etc).

If you just didn't have the budget for that you could also consider one of the ematic touch devices:
ematic touch

They are pretty solid devices - not full touch devices like the zen player, more limited "feature" touch players like a feature cell phone, but if the features they include are all you need then it might work. Keep in mind each Ematic device has different features (some have web browsers, some have cameras) so you want browse the different ones depending on what you want.

Hope that helps.

[SyncRaven]

Opps.. Sorry I just realized this was an old post. Really need to pay more attention.

[LandSurveyor]

Hah! I did the same thing. Got bored and decided to page through the threads.

Incidentally, my original Zen is still rockin' right along and works so well that I don't have the heart to replace it. The new Zens really need more capacity than 8gb.

I think that if I update my Galaxy S to a newer smartphone, it may just become my next music player. At least I can put a bigger card in it. Or I could just dig out my mothballed Imagio since it also has an FM receiver.

I guess the general answer to this old question is that any old smartphone can be a good music player/PDA. Might as well recycle some of these old electronics. I've got SO much old stuff socked away in drawers.