Free iPod

[cabinetman]

Had lunch today with a buddy. He found an iPod in the street while walking his dog. So, at lunch I was playing with it. The restaurant had wi-fi. I tried to post on this forum. The screen was so small, that I couldn't make out the forum text. I expanded the screen and by the time I scrolled around to do the log in, it took forever. I kept making mistakes using the keyboard screen. So, I gave up.

My wife has one of those, but I've never fooled with it. I can't imagine having that as an only internet device. Has anybody done any posting with one?
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[jackellis]

I haven't used an iPod for anything other than to load my wife's with music. I have a Blackberry and while usable for short messages, it's not any good for anything lengthy.

I also know several folks who have iPhones. They swear by them. Maybe when my Blackberry dies in a few decades.

[atgcpaul]

Posted from my iPod. I actually do a lot of surfing from my iPod. Instant on means I don't have to wait for the laptop to boot up. BT3 and most sites render pretty well on the screen and you can always zoom in.

Can't believe the ex-owner didn't password protect his iPod. After 10 tries to login my iPod wipes all data so the casual user doesn't get any sensitive info. Too bad I can't make it self destruct a la Mission Impossible.

[LCHIEN]

you guys talking ipods or iphones.
i pods don't have wifi or browesers. they just play music and videos.

[twistsol]

you guys talking ipods or iphones.
i pods don't have wifi or browesers. they just play music and videos.

The iPod touch looks and works just like an iPhone, except that you can't make calls.

[LCHIEN]

i was just thinking maybe they meant the ipod touch. its really more an iphone than an ipod. Just has no phone service.

[atgcpaul]

you guys talking ipods or iphones.
i pods don't have wifi or browesers. they just play music and videos.

...and no camera. I can make calls from iPod. I have the skype app and headset. Works great when I have wifi available.

[SHADOWFOX]

My wife got me a 3rd generation ipod touch (32GB) for xmas and I use it sometimes to make calls using skype app and vonage app for ipod touch. Works pretty good and don't have to sign-up w/ AT&T.

[Dyidawg]

iTouch

I'm posting this from my iTouch. I also make calls from this with my headset and skype

[cabinetman]

Posted from my iPod. I actually do a lot of surfing from my iPod. Instant on means I don't have to wait for the laptop to boot up. BT3 and most sites render pretty well on the screen and you can always zoom in.

I did notice how fast it was ready. That zoom thing was difficult to use as the screen was small and the frame of the text had to be large enough to read, a lot of scrolling around.

Can't believe the ex-owner didn't password protect his iPod. After 10 tries to login my iPod wipes all data so the casual user doesn't get any sensitive info. Too bad I can't make it self destruct a la Mission Impossible.

He waited 3 weeks to see if someone exerted some type of effort to retrieve the device. He said he checked everything for some sort of owner info and couldn't find anything. There were 183 songs on it, and some were punk rock stuff, but there was also some stock info. So it may not have been a kid's device. He also bought a charger. No passwords on any apps.
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[atgcpaul]

He waited 3 weeks to see if someone exerted some type of effort to retrieve the device. He said he checked everything for some sort of owner info and couldn't find anything. There were 183 songs on it, and some were punk rock stuff, but there was also some stock info. So it may not have been a kid's device. He also bought a charger. No passwords on any apps.
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That brings up a good point. If noone can log in, then a finder can't return it to me. Hmm. Maybe I'll slip a note into my case with contact info. The SN# is buried in the settings folder. Your friend could ask Apple if the iPod was registered to anyone.

Paul

[woodturner]

He found an iPod in the street while walking his dog. So, at lunch I was playing with it.

Did he contact the vendor so it can be returned to its owner? That would be the ethical thing to do.

They do have a process to track those - so if it's owner reports it lost or stolen, they do have a way to track it back to your friend, if he ever turns the unit on.

[cabinetman]

Did he contact the vendor so it can be returned to its owner? That would be the ethical thing to do.

They do have a process to track those - so if it's owner reports it lost or stolen, they do have a way to track it back to your friend, if he ever turns the unit on.

I think you have a misconception about the iPod. According to my wife who has one and uses it daily, the only reason she reported a serial number was to download from iTunes. Because there was already music downloaded to the iPod doesn't mean it came from Apple.

Because it was accessible, there was no passcode installed. When it was turned on, all the app icons were displayed for use, and usable. My wifes', when turned on initially asks for a passcode and that's it, no icons.

So tracking the owner may be impossible.
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[woodturner]

Because there was already music downloaded to the iPod doesn't mean it came from Apple..

If it is an iPod, it is an Apple - only Apple makes the iPod.

Each unit Apple sells has a serial number, which they track. Any Apple store can tell or find out for you the registered owner or original puchaser for any Apple product, including all iPods.

If you mean a different brand of product (there are vendors who make competing products), it's not an iPod and Apple would not have the information.

Here is a link to iPod page, if you aren't sure if it is an iPod or not.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/

[germdoc]

The iPhone (and iPod Touch) works great for browsing. Of course, an iPad (looked at one over the weekend) would be nicer, but is bigger and doesn't make regular calls or take pictures.

One of my beefs though with WiFi is that many places are charging pretty high rates for WiFi--hotels, airports and even restaurants and coffeeshops. So it's not quite as convenient as it seems at first glance.