IPod Love

I just graduated from college this past May. I got a lot of very nice gifts for graduation from family members, but my two absolute favorite were from my grandma and my parents. My grandmother gave me a bracelet that she received for her college graduation. It is sentimental and beautiful and I would wear it forever if it were a bit less delicate.

My parents got me an Ipod Touch. I have never been a ‘techie’ or a gadgets person, but I absolutely love this thing! It is great for checking emails and bits of web browsing (like blog reading) from anywhere on a Wi-Fi network. I’ve mentioned that I’m studying for the GRE and often study at places with free Wi-Fi like Starbucks or Panera. If I’m going to be there for hours, I can drag this tiny thing along instead of lugging my laptop just for the purpose of checking email. It has more than enough memory for my music and two movies that I watch often. (I normally wouldn’t want to watch a movie on such a small screen, but it’s perfect for an airplane trip.) My one fear was that it wouldn’t be comfortable to run with, but it fits securely into a strap on my arm, so I feel safe running with it. And I don’t know if this is an improvement from the first generation or not, but it is really quite lightweight, so it doesn’t feel like a huge burden on my arm or in my purse.

The applications that are available with this make it hands-down the best Ipod ever. (In my humble opinion, of course.) Tons of great applications are free and tons of paid applications have trial or light versions that are free. If you are thinking about a paid app, I highly recommend searching out a free one to make sure that you like it first. I have found this very useful.

I now have apps for just about everything. I have a few games (Scrabble and Paper Toss) for wasting time while waiting for an appointment, in an airport, long car rides, etc. I have an app that keeps track to make sure that I drink eight glasses of water a day. I have an app called Lose It that keeps track of caloric intake. I have an app that tells you the nutrition facts of food from fast food places. (Restaurants) All of these apps were free. The one application that I’m considering purchasing is the iTreadmill, which keeps track of your running distance and pace. I have the free version right now and after I use it I’ll let you know my thoughts after a few runs with it.

Finally, there are a few things that come with the Ipod that I use often. The calendar keeps track of all of my appointments for a day. Maps and weather are great for getting directions and checking the weather when I have an internet connection. (Note: Here, I have one most of the time. When I move it’s going to be a different story.) Finally, the notes feature lets me keep track of my to-do lists for the day, and I don’t have to worry about losing the little slips of paper that I used to write them on.

Happy Friday!