Useful Gadgets And Free Apps For Apple iPod Touch

I take my Apple iPod Touch almost everywhere I go. This little gadget is the most amazing thing. I think of it as the "everything tool" because it can morph itself into anything.

I have installed an awful lot of apps already and I never paid for a single one yet. Of course there are apps you can purchase. But I'm finding so many that serve all the purposes I need and all for free.

I have also discovered a number of really low cost gadgets that make the iPod Touch even more powerful and fun to use. But I'll get into that in a moment. First, let me tell you about some of the free apps and what they can do for you.

Examples of Free Apps

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Many organizations you might be doing business with offer free apps to enhance your relationship with them. Most banks and brokers have created apps to use their services. Many social networking sites also have free apps. Such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Most credit cards have apps to keep track of bonus points, pay your bill, and monitor activity.

HubPages has a free app to do most anything that can be done on the full site, only easier.

Many news television stations have their own free apps to watch their programs, such as MSNBC, BBC News, and CNN.

There is also an app for a social site where people can record posts rather than type them. It's called CinchCast. And there are many people on Cinch who offer daily or weekly recordings on interesting subjects, some educational. You can browse to find your interest, and then save it in your following contact list to be notified every time they record a new post. Hey, you can start your own webcast blog if you like!

Some free apps have ads to keep them free. I also discovered that some are free because they are hoping you will buy the expanded version. But I've found many of the free versions powerful enough as is.

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Once I was planning to go and buy a new pedometer to measure how far I walk since I'm an avid hiker. But I immediately thought of my iPod Touch and how versatile it can be, so I clicked the Apple App Store to do a search and sure enough I found, not one, but two, pedometer apps. And both were free for downloading.

I tried them both and both worked fine. The magic is that the iPod has special chips that allow apps to be aware of physical movement. The pedometer apps were extremely accurate. I tested them by comparing to a known measured walking distance.

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Do you buy a lot of books? Did you ever think of getting a Kindle from Amazon so you don't have to store all those book?

Rather than spending money on a Kindle, Amazon lets you download a Kindle app for the iPhone or iPod Touch. And it's FREE!

Of course Amazon also has a free app to make it easy to place orders in your Amazon account and track your orders.

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I found a number of free apps that let you tune in radio broadcasts from around the world. There are a lot of these types of apps to choose from, such as BBC News, ShoutCast, and Public Radio (shown here).

You can even download free apps to get live television. MSNBC's app lets you chose video on demand from recent news programs. I also tried NHK Live, a Japanese News broadcast that streams in English.

Another one that's interesting to watch (and determine what propaganda they dish out) is Aljazeera. A free app by LiveStation.

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Since I write online I need to reference a dictionary quite often. The days are long gone that I leaf through a thick printed bound dictionary. I usually go online to one of the few good dictionary sites.

But recently I took a trip and wanted to do my writing while traveling. And I thought about the fact that it would be a good idea to have a dictionary with me.

"But wait!" I thought. I have the iPod. I did a search for a dictionary app and discovered that Merriam Webster has one for free! You can't beat that.

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So, if you have an iPod Touch and you need something to enhance your life, think first if there is an app for it. Search the App Store. You never know what you might find. I have downloaded games like Pac-Man, Solitaire, and FreeCell. All for free and they work great.

I have also had some fun with free apps such as the Drum Kit shown here, where you can actually play drums on the screen by tapping the images of the drums and cymbals. It sounds so real.

And if you are into real estate or just looking for a new home, install the free app from Zillow. I use this site on the desktop to check out values of houses.

Even Craigslist has an app to make use of their site so much easier on the iPod Touch.

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Now, what are really cool are the various gadgets that you can get to make your iPod even more powerful.

These gadgets are so low priced they are next to nothing in cost and yet they add so much more usefulness and enjoyment to your iPod Touch.

Some of these devices are made for other MP3 players and the iPod Nano as well. But my focus here is to show you what is available for your iPod Touch.

I personally bought each of these items so I can tell you all about my experiences...

I wasn't happy with the poor quality of sound from the inner speaker on the iPod. And I don't like to use ear buds even though they were included. So I bought this iLuv and I really do love it.

Since I Like to use my iPod to play newscasts, this makes listening to it so much more enjoyable. Real stereo sound. However, the speakers at so close to one another you don't really get the stereo effect. But the quality is really good.

The iPod I have doesn't have a built in mic. So I bought this little thing. I figured for the price, if it didn't work, no loss. Well, it works great as a mic for recording if you want to make a podcast with Cinch, which I spoke about earlier, or if you want to make a voice memo with the voice memo app that's included with the iPod. But I had hoped to use it with Skype, which has a free app for the iPod Touch as well. Guess what? I discovered that when you plug in the mic, it disables the speaker. So you can't have a two-way conversation.

If you want to use Skype for a two-way conversation with your iPod Touch, you need to use ear buds with a mic attached in-line on the cord. That works.

I just had to try this and I am amazed at how well it works. The main purpose is to play your iPod music through your cars radio. So it includes a car cigarette plug. Better known today as a utility power plug.

A big plus! I found I could use the FM transmitter alone in my living room. No need to use the car power plug. The little transmitter plugs into the port on the bottom of the iPod and it draws power from the iPod. I place it near my stereo and tune it to a clear frequency.

The transmitter can also be tuned to transmit on any frequency in the FM broadcast band. The quality of sound is as good as your stereo radio.

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If you plan to travel with your iPod Touch, you may want to get a car charger, a protective case and maybe even an LCD Screen Protector. For the price, it's almost a no-brainer.

Have fun with your iPod Touch and let me know if this was helpful

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Copyright © 2011 Glenn Stok

iPod Touch is a trademark 
of Apple Computer, Inc.

In Dedication to Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer has passed away on Oct 5th, 2011. My deepest Condolences go out to his wife and four children. Steve has changed the world in the way people communicate and conduct their lives with the many innovations he has developed. He will truly be missed.

The following video was made by AzRmusic. Made with sounds from Apple products and Steve's voice.

Apple iPod Touch, 8 GB (4th Generation)

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I have been using the 1st generation iPod for over a year now. It has only 8 GB and I am fine with that even though I have downloaded and installed over 50 apps and have tons of music and photos.

I'd say there is no need to spend more money as the 8 GB version is most likely all you need. And now you get the extra advantages of the 4th generation iPod for the same price I paid. Enjoy it !