I love my iPod Touch. I was a bit weary back in March about the decision to buy the 32GB model but now it’s paid off. With the recent firmware update (available for 10 bucks through iTunes) comes a new little program called AppStore. AppStore is basically iTunes for iPhone/iPod specific software, with plenty of freebies. There has always been the ability to run Web Apps, which is to say connecting to a website and running an application- but this is so much better. This lets you download software to keep, more responsive, more slick, and better designed.

For those who don’t know, the iPhone and iPod Touch are identical (the iPod has no phone capability, obviously). As long as iPhone is on AT&T, I’ll never have one. I don’t think I would want my phone and iPod as one anyway for various reasons, but I digress.

The AppStore boasts a few hundred applications with more on the way. Apple is encouraging developers around the world to develop for the iPhone, and even make a little money too (some apps are free, others cost anywhere from 1.99 to 99.99).  The SDK has been available for some time now, and there are tons of unique apps on AppStore. Ironically, its the free ones that seem to be the best (the paid ones are poorly to mediocrely scored). Users weigh in on AppStore apps with reviews, for usability, performance, purpose, stability. It’s like a condensed version of an Amazon product page.

I browse the AppStore daily for new apps or updates. My only complaint with it so far, if not the only one, is that there isn’t a section to see ‘New’ apps.  I can’t tell if these are mixed in with the listings, but they are not easy to spot unless you have a pretty good memory. Perhaps a future update will make this easier to view.

I am an avid music lover, so I was quite thrilled to find the following apps on AppStore. Incidentally, they are what I consider the best current apps on AppStore so far, basically because they saved me from having to invest in Sirius or XM Radio (I have a huge disdain for FM radio- its disgusting crap that never changes because the industry is so messed up, but thats a whole other topic). Now with these I have immensely supplemented my playlist of ~3000 mp3s with free streaming music:

1. AOL Radio – Besides AOL Instant Messenger, this has to be hands down the best thing AOL has ever put out, period. With tons of stations at your fingertips, there is always something brand new just a tap away. So long as you have a data connection, you have music, and its all totally free. On top of that, you can mark favorites, or tap to purchase the track from an online store, and see a list of recently listened to songs for purchasing. This alone is worth the investment for an iPod Touch / iPhone. But wait, theres more.
2. Last.fm – Last.fm was another internet service that I was a heavy user of. It works based on delivering songs to you from picking genres you like. The userbase tags songs and artists so the results that stream to you are fine tuned. I used this a lot last year to discover new music and now its on the iPod Touch / iPhone too. It also keeps complete logs of what you’ve listened to on your account page. Can’t get any better than that.
3. Pandora – I remember when Pandora was an technical demo of sorts back in my first year of college (2000). I was quite impressed at the level of accuracy and the algorithm behind Pandora that makes it such a great / unique service. It’s very simple: Pandora lets you input your favorite bands, and based on what you put in, it creates playlists for you of music it believes you will enjoy. There are so many factors and ways it indexes music its insane- and for me, it’s rarely off the mark. Over 400 different musical attributes (see List of Music Genome Project attributes) are considered when selecting the next song. These 400 attributes are combined into larger groups called focus traits. There are 2,000 focus traits. Examples of these are rhythm syncopation, key tonality, vocal harmonies and displayed instrumental proficiency. It’s almost like Pandora can read your mind.
4. Tuner – Tuner is very similar to AOL Radio, but with full listings of Internet radio stations, or ShoutCast radio stations. These are indie stations created by users and their own playlists. There is just so much music here its insane. Comedy and talk as well. I heard this app was pulled from AppStore though, but I cannot confirm.
5. WeatherBug – Normally I wouldn’t dare ever suggest to anyone to put WeatherBug on their computer, due to its bugginess and spyware/adware it throws on your PC. But for a portable device like the iPod Touch / iPhone, it’s indispensable. If only the device’s Weather program was more robust I wouldn’t need this. But when you live at the beach, this is a must have- especially for the Google Map Weather Radar mashup.

This is just the start for what AppStore will have. It will only get better as time goes on. The top 5 apps above are free, with the exception of Tuner ($5.99).

The games are great too. One game, Super Monkey Ball (first released as a GameCube title, unbelievable) uses the accelerometers to guide the ball through the mazes. Just a glimpse of what is possible with the future of handhelds in general. It’s been said that the iPod Touch alone is as powerful as the Sega Dreamcast, a console from 2000/2001 which saw its demise when the Playstation 2 was released. That is pretty damn powerful, as most fans (including me) still have/use the Dreamcast from time to time. Mine is loaded with 800 classic Nintendo games. Child of the 80’s.

Get one of these. You’ll be glad you did.

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