Doodad Dilemma

I’m really interested in what iPod Touch users think of its ereading capability. It seems like a better deal than the Sony Reader, even without being specifically designed for ebooks, simply due to its all-in-oneness. I’m not positive I need all of the Touch’s features, but the Sony Reader costs more while doing less. On the other hand it seems like it does what it is meant to do very well. I’m not entirely sure I would be comfortable reading a book on either screen though.

How many gizmos am I able to manage at once? I carry several as it is. Music isn’t really something I care about traveling with, but I do enjoy podcasts. That said, I haven’t used my Nano in over six months, and no longer bother to keep it charged because if I’m somewhere where I can listen to music I’m more than likely using my Macbook. However, I do use my phone to check my email fairly often, and it is a painful process. I’ve never responded to an email on it because I would rather stab myself repeatedly than tap out a million character changes via T9. The iPod Touch’s wifi ability would make it actually useful to me, unlike a basic mp3 player.

I hesitate though because I’m also the person who is always the last to board every gadget ship before the next big one sails. So I feel like as soon as I sign the sales slip, the iEmployees will spill out of the stockroom with a full marching band and dance routine touting the new version that will not only create wondrous works of creative fiction specifically geared to its owner’s tastes but will also emit an electronic signal that pokes and prods his or her olfactory system to emulate that beloved libraryesque dust mite and old glue scent.

No really — I got my Macbook the week before the fancy skinny metallicy one sprung from Jobs’ loins. It came with a free Nano, because no one would want one in a few days once the fancy color video ones dropped. (The one I used about eight times before it found its way into the bottom of a bag in the bottom of a box in the bottom of my closet.)

I’m not bitter or anything. I have no love loss for my Macbook. I named it Steve McQueen when I first started it up, and it remains classically cool. There’s not a single thing I dislike about it. I bought him a snazzy metallic silver vinyl cover for the wrist area and around the keyboard, and a gray and black padded case that doesn’t scream “Laptop! Easy pickin’s!” when I carry ‘im around. We pretty much go everywhere together, and I’m positive Don is mildly jealous of our close bond. It is purely a working relationship though. McQueen is my writing partner and my project manager. A sort of techie version of that big purse your mother would carry around that always had tissues and bandaids and pens. Only instead it’s like directions, and a calendar and jpegs of toilet-trained cats. (Don’t judge. I see the crazyass search queries that bring you people here.)

Back to the digital book reading device, I will probably give up and just buy a bigger laptop case that will also hold a real book or two. Or a hard case for McQueen so I can just use almost any old bag. Or maybe I should find a telecommute job and just never have to take anything anywhere rendering this whole dilemma moot. See, this is how I end up being the last person to get onboard.

I did just order a book, I Saw You … Missed Connection Comics. It’s a collection of comic about those ridiculous Craigslist ads. Right, I know, exactly not the sort of reading that would work on an ereader — but, I mostly read non-fiction and novels. This is an odd exception. How could I pass it up though? Those ads! This was book was inevitable and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.