Update (Apr 20, 2010): This post has been updated to reflect more current information on iPod Touch vs iPhone.
Decisions, decisions: Should you get an iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPod Touch, a near-replica of the iPhone that works in generally the same way but has fewer features?
I own the iPhone 3GS, but I’ve done some research on both the iPod Touch and the iPhone for this feature comparison.
See how the iPod Touch compares to the iPhone in my iPod touch vs. iPhone overview:
iPod Touch vs. iPhone
Every feature on the iPod Touch is also on the iPhone. But not every feature on the iPhone is on the iPod Touch. So first let me show you the features iPhone DOES have, then let me show you what the iPod Touch lacks:
Feature Breakdown:
*Note: Grey text denotes features common to all three models: iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch.
iPhone 3G Features:
Software:
- The latest iPhone OS, including the native apps: Messages, Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Settings, iTunes, App Store, Voice Memos
Hardware:
- 3G Internet
- 3 Megapixel Camera
- Harddrive: 16GB or 32GB
- Speed: 412MHz
- Memory: 133MB of RAM
- 3.5-inch Multi-Touch display
- GPS
- Wi-Fi
- Cellular service (AT&T in US, varies by country)
- 10 hours video playback
iPhone 3GS Features:
Software:
- The latest iPhone OS, including the native apps:
Hardware:
- 3G Internet
- 3 Megapixel Camera
- Harddrive: 16GB or 32GB
- Speed: 600MHz
- Memory: 133 MB of RAM
- Speed: 600MHz (up from 412 MHz)
- Memory: 256 MB of RAM (up from 133MB)
- 3.5-inch Multi-Touch display
- GPS
- Wi-Fi
- Cellular service (AT&T in US, varies by country)
- 10 hours video playback
- Compass
- Video Camera
iPod Touch Features:
Software:
- The latest iPhone OS, including the native apps: Messages, Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Settings, iTunes, App Store, Voice Memos
Hardware:
- Harddrive: 8GB, 32GB or 64GB (double the available iPhone capacities)
- Speed: Cortex A8, Apple chip
- Memory: 256MB of RAM
- 3.5-inch Multi-Touch display
- Wi-Fi
- 6 hours video playback
In summary, the iPod Touch runs on the same software as the iPhone, but LACKS mobile features like a cellular signal, GPS, data connectivity (3G/EDGE), and of course that pesky 2-year contract with AT&T, which is required to buy an iPhone.
The iPod touch is also thinner and usually cheaper than the iPhone depending on your agreement with your service provider.
Apple usually makes iPod Touch users pay $10-$20 for major OS updates, while iPhone users get them included as part of the service contract.
iPod touch (Buy on Amazon) is a great basic media devices, especially for children. An iPod Touch is also great for “non-techy” people who don’t require a full-blown mobile computer and telephone with a mobile service contract. But if you want to go all out and you want the ultimate portable assistant, then go with the iPhone.
Keep in mind: Apple often issues major updates to both the iPod Touch and the iPhone, usually during summer, so it might be worth waiting it out so your new device doesn’t start becoming obsolete a couple months after you buy it.
What do you think?
What is your media device of choice, iPhone or iPod touch? Why?
Helpful Links
iPhone specs: iPhone | Apple Store
iPod touch specs: iPod touch | Apple Store
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Err can I connect my iPod touch to the o2 Internet so basically I don’t have to be in my house to acesss the Internet I don’t mind paying but is it possible.
Obviously the ipod touch is better I just got one and it’s awesome! But the problem is with iphones it’s just that for them when you get one you have to have had a cell phone or whatever before and you have to have a 5 year plan of something like that so yeah if your wondering which one to get I would definetly suggest and ipod touch. Good Luck! Bye
Ipod touch by far. my opinion not THE TRUTH!
Great Article…thanks
Hey I’m a developer and i’m interested in doing stuff for mobile devices. I have a Verizon account now (old phone though), my plan it to get a Droid phone and an iPod touch, that way i don’t need two cell providers and can get used to both os’s. What do you think, good plan? Or do I need to bite the bullet and get both an iPhone and a Droid phone. Thanks –
to be honest .. i have tocco lite samsung .. its not bad but i only brought it for fone calls and text massaging .. i have to pay £15 month for 100 minuts and unlimited tetxts .. NOW .. whyy would i buy a ipohone which is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more expensivee when i have a prefectly good phone here with me .. so i rather buy an ipod touch becuase i already got a phone and ipod is like iphone but iphone is like a phone if you get me but anways my opinnion is that ipod is better if you have a good perfect phone in your handss .
I think for best buy its Ipod Touch, considering its price is 3x less than Iphone you can buy a basic mobile phone and enjoy Itouch wifi, sleekness and same applications as iphone.
Finally, thankyou Genielinda! An iphone is better.
which ones better then, an itouch or iphone!ONE PERSON TELL ME AND BE HONEST!
Honest answer here..
My niece has iTouch and likes it. She is able to make video calls when in WiFi area and uses Skype.
I went with iPhone.. needed smart phone, address book (not just phone numbers). I was already paying nearly the monthly fees on my old phone (LG Neon)
Recently went on trip and it was Blackberry GPS vs iPhone GPS. iPhone won hands down. Cloudy day and Blackberry couldn’t stay connected and had us going way out of our way. Wish the iPhone was voice, tho.
Apps are great… and more plentiful than apps for Blackberry. You don’t use them daily, tho, but I use several and not just games.
If you are already paying $30 a month for a phone plan SWITCH to iPhone, it is soooooo worth it.
I use the phone a lot and battery only lasts a day for me. The speakers could be better.
My opinion and I have used both.
you are welcome… and…. iPhone #4 is coming out in the fall with front facing camera for video sharing. oh… that is a GREAT feature.
is there realy goin to be an iphone #4
to jarede:
the iphone has more features, but to me the monthly plan cost is waayyyyyyy to much, and its not really worth it, in my opinion :/
With the touch, can you use any mic/earphone (hands free device) or does it have to be the apple mic/earphones.
in the app store there is an app called iCall which allows you to make free calls anywhere if you have wifi, and if you have headphones with a mic, which i do:) also there are free texting apps which send text through email, again only if u have wifi, so the only thing the ipod touch cannot do is camera (for obvious reasons i.e lack of camera
) and anything thats needs internet u can only do if u have wifi available, all in all its awesome 
I honestly think the iPod touch is better because u don’t have to pay every month
unless you get an sim-free iphone, which is essentially an ipod touch with a built in mic and camera
But you don’t need to pay monthly on an I phone do u.
Anyone know if you can get GPS on the iPod Touch? thats pretty much the decision maker right now for me so feedback would be *awesome*
yup, you can buy a receiver that you plug into dock and if you jailbreak the touch, it will work
GPS on the ipod touch is a tricky thing, you have to be near a modem that is broadcasting wireless internet as the ipod touch lacks the ability to connect via network coverage. in other words, if you want to use the GPS practically in your car, you will need the iphone to be able to connect to the network
no, i said receiver, which connects directly to satellites. it does not need wifi, whats the point of having gps when you have to be right beside your router?
http://gizmodo.com/5065102/ora.....ld-iphones
yep, there’s an app called gps coordinates that you u can get in the app store
Hi i was wondering if u jail break your ipod touch do you get all the apps for free from using cydia?
its possible, but thats illegal. cydia isnt for hosting cracked apps, its for hosting 3rd party software.
I personally find it to be stupid to buy an iPod touch -_-…
If your gonan go for one, you might as well just get the iPhone
and if you don’t want the phone plan?
iphone is the greatest!!!!!
iphone is better i have both of them they are the same thing other than the ipone can call
I know I have a iphone to and I am 10 years old.
well the only thing the i phone does is phone text and camera and you ca purchase text(sms) apps anyway. the i pod is much better.
so not true i have both
ipod is a lot better i have 3.1.3 software just came out i have both ipod is better because i pay over 120 bucks a month
for iphone
hows the internet on the ipod touch
good (:
the iphone is slower and has a lot of virusses
ipod touch is ok, but an iphone holds itz value better than ipod touch. u also get bragging rights w/ the iphone. every1 has an ipod touch but few have an iphone. got mine on craigslist w/ out a service contract
I have both, the iPhone is the best phone around.
no, not best. the only reason its so popular is because the browser interface is the fastest and easiest to use, and the OS is good too. but it lacks alot of features and apple is greedy
hello, well I wanted a ipod touch for one reason; internet (watching youtube videos and listening to sites ilke pandora) and the iphone was out of the question for two reasons, money and I already have a phone. though when I got my ipod touch the wifi is so slow that I can’t watch youtube videos or listen to music on the internet…though my mom’s iphone CAN and we are using the same wifi….is there a difference in the connections?
i phone has 2 connections to internet wifi and or 3g
i love ipod touch its better then iphone i had a choice to buy iphone or ipod touch.Didnt even think for a second.IPOD TOUCH.There are so many reasons i can’t even name them all.If you have a choice, here’s a tip got the ipod touch.
thanks for the help bro ipod touch it is (:
does ipod touch allow for any other means of internet connectivity than wifi. Are there plans to be on 3G connectivity
no, but the ipad has 3g
This must be an old post as the iPod touch has everything but a camera, which I hope they are working on for the 4th Gen. The iPod touch can call people with an app and txt with an app. They also just can do everthing thing you can imagen, go to an apple store you’ll see.
is the i phone better then the i od thouch??? i cant find dat anywhere!
apple is the best ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
all the aplications to a iphone are the same to a itouch?? i mean like zynga poker?? FB, myspace??? can i play zynga poker everywhere in a iphone 3g??
yes the apps are the same, same app store
why can’t they make the i-touch a phone as well or the I-phone with more memory space thus making it identical to each other. This way there would be only one device and you wouldn’t have to pick one over the other, you would take the best of both and make the best device possible.
I think Apple should come up with a customize your iXYZ just like Dell customizes PCs and make iTouch or iPhone A La Carte.
You want GPS, Camera, Phone and Calendar? Done! It’s $248 and You can have WiFi for an additional $19.99
No I’m not dreaming but I think it’s the future.
To answer davids question yes the ipod touch features all those things and a note pad for notes or things you need to keep sepreat from your calender
oh, Add 1 more question: if the new generation of iPod Touch does have Alarm and Events, how many events items I can create?
Does the new ipod touch have Calendar, Alarm, Events and Notes functions?
@Mike A quick search in the iTunes App Store reveals Web Save, a “file saving web browser.” I bet that would work for your purposes, but I’m sure there are dozens of similar apps, so I recommend you browse through the App Store.
Im looking at purchasing one of the iPod Touches. I’ve noticed that all the iPhone downloaded apps will work on the Touch. What I need to know is will pdfs and htmls of books work on the Touch. I work in the educational pulishing industry and we have recently changed all of our textbooks over to html from pdf. If the Touch will allow access to html files, it will go far in the education field, esp where cellphones are not allowed
Steve,this post is a bit outdated, but as of today I believe the iPod Touch and the iPhone have the same screen size.
This is what the Apple site has to say about Maps and location with the iPod touch:
“For iPod touch with Maps, the Maps application provides your approximate location using information based on your proximity to known Wi-Fi networks (when on and available). The more accurate the available information, the smaller the circle identifying your position on the map. The feature is not available in all areas. Known Wi-Fi networks are predominantly in urban areas”
Also, if you are driving, I doubt you would have very accurate location-tracking.
What would the advantages besides obvious about a iphone 3G vs the newest ipod touch? I have chance to buy iphone for same price as a new ipod touch, so whats dif. in speed, any upgrades that made etc.
Now for me, don’t care about games, music, just want to hopefully use skype/similar for calls (assuming the mic on new ipod touch works good enough), and mileage logging/mapping (now I think the ipod touch don’t have a gps- correct if wrong, so wondered how good it will work).. Also what about display size, it’s slightly different? So what else i’m I missing?
OMG, people. Check this out. I have a 16G Ipod Touch and I will tell you that the only thing that I cannot do on my touch is call the wife lady. Hehehe, why would I want to do that, tho? There are tons of free SMS apps out there and with the introduction of free wifi hotspots AROUND the world, such as McDonalds and other hotels, why complain? Hell, if your feeling froggy, Jailbreak, as I did. Restoring solves all problems, no biggie. Current software is 3.0, but you can get what 3.0 offers with 2.2.1 with clippy, a Cydia app.. Jeebus, you all make it harder than it has to beeee. Love you, bye! ^.^
I made my decision not to purchase EITHER. Ipod Touch does not have external speaker nor camera. Ipod phone (not sure of new one) does not have voice turn by turn GPS. Got Blackberry for husband. Keeping my pay as you go phone…. changing to T Mobile. When and if I get touch screen phone, it will be LG Voyager. There you go… my decisions and apple left out altogether
I got an 8g ipod touch and it work great, but i am thinking of geting am iphone.
they are alright
I forgot to include the iphone 3G
The iphone 3G and i phone 3GS
I really don’t like the iphone because the ipod touch is the same. People say if you jail break it you could call people and download apps. But i like the iphone 3gS. It makes more sense because there are lots of fun and different stuff that you can do on it. If you know somebody who has a iphone regular or a ipod touch ask what’s the different. Plus the ipod touch is only $200 at some places or $230. (I never jail breaked though.) And touch is slimer.
Dear Danny,
I completely agree with you except for the fact you are wrong about price, the iphone plan (required) will cost you atleast $50+ per month for the media package. I love the new iphone but for that price i could probably pay off some loans instead of gavinf a fancy peice of electronics. I know it is amazing but you will end up paying an insane amount of $$$$$. If you’re loaded, go for it but dont say i didnt warn you about price.
Everybody knows iphone is way better than the ipod touch. The new iphone 3Gs came out and I am gonna get it. It has voice control, cut and paste and many more new features. The thing i dont like is that it is not as thin as the ipod touch. How disappionting. The Iphone 3Gs only costs $199 and + tax $212
ipod touch 2nd gen can have a phone and unlimted free text viz wi-fi for texting download texplus and for calling download truphone or skype on itunes i’d choose iopd touch beacuse you can do almost everythiing the iphone can but for free and with the iphone you gotta pay about 80 buck a month that hurts
hey guys
should i buy iphone or the ipod???
shold i get iphone or ipod tuch but they are the same
ipod
I did not see an answer to JO790.. as to getting iPhone and not enabling phone service. Can you use it as an iTouch only then? I heard GPS is not voice.. you have to read it. Disappointed in that.
What’s this.. if you get 8G you CAN’T upgrade to 16G? This is not just a memory chip? hmmmm definitely a drawback there.
I may wait for 3rd generation.