What is the purpose of an iPod Touch

My turning "11" daughter says all she wants for her birthday is and iPod Touch. Got no idea what it is, I wouldn't have thought it would be appropriate for that age. Any thoughts appreciated.
 
That's only thing my 17yr old daughter wanted for her birthday which was 2weeks ago, I too didnt know what it was or what it did. Something about being like an Iphone but without the mobile :confused:

She is on that thing day and night
 
It's an MP3 player, but its like an iPhone and is touch screen.

If i had an 11 year old daughter i wouldn't be giving her an iTouch, just personally. It's probably because i had to work for everything i own and i don't think children should be given all the bells and whistles, they need to learn the value of money - plus those things aren't child resistant, chance is that she drops it and the screen smashes.

If she really wants an "i" something, possibly try an iPod Nano, it still has a screen but it isn't touch screen, it's a lot cheaper and a lot more durable for a child - they also have them with cameras now i believe and doesn't have the internet (i think an iTouch can or does?)

Put it this way, i'm almost 19 and never had or was given an iPod or iTouch, i recently got an iPhone because my old one decided to basically roll over and die on me - plus it was cheaper.
 
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I think lots of 11 yr olds have one of these.

Is basically a small handheld computer that can run lots of applications inc music, video and photos - games too.

My 13 yo got one for her birthday and still uses it.
 
It's probably because i had to work for everything i own and i don't think children should be given all the bells and whistles, they need to learn the value of money - plus those things aren't child resistant, chance is that she drops it and the screen smashes.

So, almost 19 year olds don't drop things? :p

Learning the value of money and getting a nice gift for your birthday aren't mutually exclusive.

Put it this way, i'm almost 19 and never had or was given an iPod or iTouch

So that means no-body else should be given one as a gift?
 
So, almost 19 year olds don't drop things? :p

Learning the value of money and getting a nice gift for your birthday aren't mutually exclusive.

So that means no-body else should be given one as a gift?

Lol, we try harder not to :p

I tend to agree, i guess it depends on the circumstance. I mean if you're giving your child everything they ask for, etc. It's not teaching them anything except that if you ask you shall receive and i think it brings up a spoilt brat. Although if your child isn't used to these things then it's okay, my Mum gave me $100 to buy a bra (don't ask why it costs so much for a single bra, no it's not brand name) and i cried and cried, i was 17 and i didn't ask for it. I wasn't used to this, i didn't get given such large gifts, so it was worth a lot more to me than if i just said "hey Mum, can i have $100 for a bra?"

So if the kid isn't used to it, then sure, give them it. Although it shouldn't be a regular occurrence, and i still think an 11 year old should be given an iTouch as it is quite fragile and i don't believe having full access to the internet uncensored is quite appropriate, plus she's 11!!

I don't know, maybe i was sheltered not sure, i just don't see why a little girl needs expensive technology.
 
If i had an 11 year old daughter i wouldn't be giving her an iTouch, just personally. It's probably because i had to work for everything i own and i don't think children should be given all the bells and whistles, they need to learn the value of money - plus those things aren't child resistant, chance is that she drops it and the screen smashes.

If she really wants an "i" something, possibly try an iPod Nano, it still has a screen but it isn't touch screen, it's a lot cheaper and a lot more durable for a child
I'm all about kids learning about the value of money, but you gotta let kids be kids :D, wish I got an iPod touch as an 11 year old

As for the price difference, there isn't that much. 8Gb iPod touch's I have seen around the $200 mark a couple of times recently (example), 8Gb Nano you are looking at $175.

And lets face it, most apple products are just toys, anyone wanting serious equipment would be looking to the brands that supply greater product features for a better price :cool:
 
I'm all about kids learning about the value of money, but you gotta let kids be kids :D, wish I got an iPod touch as an 11 year old

Lol, okay - i guess i am old fashioned, which is really funny because i'm the youngest here!

I never really wanted those things as a kid anyway, even though all my friends had them i figured i had a better way to spend $200 - like putting it towards a house :D
 
It's an iPhone without the Phone bits, GPS or camera, basically. You can browse the Internet on it. You can listen to music, watch videos, play games, install applications from the iTunes Store.

I agree with Lil - if I had an 11 year old, they sure as hell wouldn't be getting one. Too fragile. Get an iPod Nano instead.
 
Lol, okay - i guess i am old fashioned, which is really funny because i'm the youngest here!

I was thinking the same thing, you're the youngest and you're being the strictest. :) I agree with you, but then again we don't have kids ourselves, maybe society has changed a LOT since I was 11 and a bit since you were 11. Not sure I'd be happy with giving all that technology to an 11 year old, at that age I was barely finished with dolls! :eek: Then again, I understand peer pressure at that age and the desperate need to fit in. How complicated it must be for parents these days.
 
My 11 year old Son recently got one, traded in a lot of older games etc at the games shop, plus used his birthday and Xmas savings to purchase a second hand iPOD touch. He even paid me so he could download a movie, I agreed...silly me, I think it took nearly all day to download that movie and burned up my monthly limit at a rapid rate of knots.

We limit its usage to an hour a day, two if he has a mate over on the weekend.... socially disengaging toy. Would be great on a long trip though, woulda killed for one when I was a kid travelling around Australia, you can only play eye-spy, guess the model of the next car or how many white reflectors until the next red one for so long :D
 
I agree with Lil - if I had an 11 year old, they sure as hell wouldn't be getting one. Too fragile. Get an iPod Nano instead.

And here i was thinking that perhaps i'm an idiot because i'm the only one that think an 11 year old shouldn't have one!

I was thinking the same thing, you're the youngest and you're being the strictest. :) I agree with you, but then again we don't have kids ourselves, maybe society has changed a LOT since I was 11 and a bit since you were 11. Not sure I'd be happy with giving all that technology to an 11 year old, at that age I was barely finished with dolls! :eek: Then again, I understand peer pressure at that age and the desperate need to fit in. How complicated it must be for parents these days.

Lol, i guess it must be because we don't have kids :confused: I think i'd hate to be a parent right now.

It's a real shame that there's peer pressure on an 11 year old to be apart of the crowd, Hobo-jo said earlier "kids should be kids" it's a shame they feel they can't be and a bigger shame that they think being "grown up" is about sex, drugs and alcohol, rather than common sense.

My 11 year old Son recently got one, traded in a lot of older games etc at the games shop, plus used his birthday and Xmas savings to purchase an iPOD touch.

See, that's a bit different, he bought it for himself. So i think that's okay, you've taught your son well.

I wouldn't be happy with them having full access to all sorts of things, but i'd be proud to see that they had saved for it and it's "theirs".

Just for the record, i'm not saying if you give your kid a present such as an iTouch just because they asked or for a present you haven't taught your child well.
 
My 11 year old Son recently got one, traded in a lot of older games etc at the games shop, plus used his birthday and Xmas savings to purchase a second hand iPOD touch. He even paid me so he could download a movie, I agreed...silly me, I think it took nearly all day to download that movie and burned up my monthly limit at a rapid rate of knots.

MMmm, yep this bit is interesting - I said to my daughter, "Don't you have to be hooked up to the internet for this". She told me you could, but she wouldn't use it for that purpose, she wants it mainly to watch movies and play games. Will have to look into that download bit more!!!

I also heard they download free games too???

She is money concious and is happy wearing or buying second hand clothes. She's over toys, so I guess there's not much in her range anyway.
 
MMmm, yep this bit is interesting - I said to my daughter, "Don't you have to be hooked up to the internet for this". She told me you could, but she wouldn't use it for that purpose, she wants it mainly to watch movies and play games. Will have to look into that download bit more!!!

I also heard they download free games too???

She is money concious and is happy wearing or buying second hand clothes. She's over toys, so I guess there's not much in her range anyway.

You need the Internet to use it. You can download movies/games via iTunes, then plug the iPod Touch into your computer and upload them onto the iPod Touch from there... OR... you can use the wireless antennae on the iPod Touch and download them straight onto the touch from there.

There are lots of free games, and lots of games with a price tag of $1.19+. Most are under $10.
 
MMmm, yep this bit is interesting - I said to my daughter, "Don't you have to be hooked up to the internet for this". She told me you could, but she wouldn't use it for that purpose, she wants it mainly to watch movies and play games. Will have to look into that download bit more!!!

I also heard they download free games too???

She is money concious and is happy wearing or buying second hand clothes. She's over toys, so I guess there's not much in her range anyway.

Yes, and don't forget with places offering free wireless (such as McDonalds) if she (or her friends) are savvy enough, could be surfing whatever they like without any parental control.

Good luck!
Neil
 
Depends where your child is at in technological development. My little sister is getting one for her 12th birthday, but I believe she will be able to make use of it as she has been brought up in a pro-tech environment.

In comparison to this, when she first got her mobile phone I was resistant, as I knew she wouldn't be able to properly use it/have no need for one.

Neil: I should hope 11 yr olds are going to Mc Donalds and such as groups by themselves :p
 
My boys have one each and are pretty happy with them. Although I did Jailbreak them as I am not a fan of anything to do with itunes and $$$$

have a go yourself - just connect the unit to any computer and if your ipod is 3.1.2 or 3.1.3

Spirit - http://spiritjb.com/

Download the Spirit to Jailbreak

if you are running W7 or Vista then Right click -> Properties -> Compatability -> 'chose windows 98/ME'.

I additionally checked the box saying run as administrator.
Press ok.
Run Spirit JB

This will install Cydia
open it and in cydia goto
Sources
manage
edit
add
cydia.hackulo.us/



open cydia.hackulo.us/ and install AppSync for OS 3.1

and download what you want from apptrackr home - http://apptrackr.org/

Goodluck !
 
Back in 1991 my boss told me that any kid who grows up not being capable of using technology and computers would be the equivalent of growing up illiterate in our future.

I love seeing how my girls zipped their way around computers and appropriate games as soon as they could hold a mouse.

Don't buttonhole them into some nerd category - the 13 yo in question is also a state gymnast.

I am all for giving them access to this stuff - if it breaks - well thats another lesson but it hasn't been an issue to date.
 
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