Can you get by with an iPod Touch 4th Generation 8gb?

Based on my experience with a iPod 3rd generation 32 GB, and my recent purchase of the iPod touch 4th gen 8 GB you can get by with only 8GB if you don’t need to have all of your media with you.

When using my old iPod 3^rd generation 32GB, I found out that I rarely used its full storage capacity. (I don't usually haul around a lot of music or videos – instead, I just transfer what I want to listen to or watch for the day using iTunes). Apps, I discovered, don't take up a lot of space, even games and books don't take up too much space, unless you want to carry substantially more of your entire collection with you. Amazon's Kindle app is especially device friendly, since you can archive books you've finished instead of keeping them on your iPod. iTunes is a great way to manage the content you want to store on your home computer and what you to store... this becomes a sort of "docking station" for managing what you want to take with you.

When using the iPod touch 4th generation as a netbook substitute, storage isn't very important. I can check my bank account balance, transfer funds and pay bills online, listen to the radio on Pandora or Slacker, watch music videos (and a lot more) on YouTube, Skype, stream Netflix, and do a whole lot of other stuff on the iPod 8GB no problem.

Looking back, the only real reason I decided to get the iPod touch 32GB version with the 3^rd generation was for the faster processor. But with the iPod 4th generation, ALL THE IPOD TOUCH 4th GENERATION HARDWARE IS THE SAME, except for memory.

Please keep in mind that with the iPod 8GB edition you give up about a gig to system operations, leaving about 7GB or so for your media. You need to leave sufficient room for your apps. I probably wouldn't put more than 6GB of music or video on the Apple iPod touch 4th generation 8gb version. The other editions also give up the same amount of space, but proportionately the 32GB and 64GB versions take a smaller "hit" to your overall storage space.

The iPod touch 8GB meets my “cheap” and “simplistic” needs nicely. The price doesn't get into nose-bleed territory where I start to wonder whether a netbook would make more sense, and it's inexpensive enough to fall subject to daily wear and tear - making it very handy for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, or jogging.