personal data assistant - for real

I intentionally haven't said anything about the iPhone / iPod Touch 2.0 software. Two reasons:

1. I didn't want to write something just on first impressions.
2. I figured everyone would be sick of iPhone/iPod Touch news and reviews.

I have been running the new 2.0 software on my iPod Touch since my sister's wedding a few weeks ago and my experience has been mostly fantastic. I won't go into detail about my frustrations around trying to get the software during the 48 hours after the release ... but it was not fun. Like many others I began downloading apps like a mad man. But wait - I've gotten ahead of myself.

I have been a HUGE PDA user for about 8 years now. I started with a cheap monochrome Compaq IPAQ back in 2000 and have had all the units pictured above since. I also owned a palm for about a week ... but it isn't pictured for a reason. Last year I purchased a Moto Q. I was instantly infatuated with with online data and google maps. However, once I got past the Honeymoon phase the device's limitations began to sink in and frustrate me. I hated how the contacts and callender operated (or didn't operate) and email was just frustrating.

Enter the iPod touch. I purchased the touch about 6 months ago and instantly transfered my .mac (mobile me) email and all my contacts / callendar over to the touch. So many people talk about apps on the the iPhone; however, the bigest feature I have come to love is excange support. Now I am able to aggrigate my corporate Best Buy email and my mobile me email all in one place. Push is nice too. I like apps like twitterific and texas hold 'em; however, those are just something fun - exchange is what I work on every day and it communicates better than any other mobile device I have used in the past. Integrated charts and graphics show up in line and attached PDF, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files are a dream to view.

Apps are buggy. The OS is a little slower - only bugs me a little. I found by limiting the number of apps on the phone the crashes are tollerable. Every day it appears to become more stable and reliable. As predicted - the app store is full of terrible applications. One has to dig to find the quality, but that is true everywhere. But look at the bright side - the world needed a few thousand tip calculator applications any ways .... right? All jokeing aside, I love the 2.0 software. While it isn't perfect - it offers expandability to a great platform that strikes a chord with my use and daily agenda. It would be tough to go back to a Windows mobile device after using the iPod Touch.