Last week after a fair amount of expectant hype Apple announced an updated iPod range with new versions across every model. The biggest changes where reserved for the new Nano which got a new shape, a whole range of colours and some neat new features courtesy of the accelerometer previously only seen in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Nano is also now apparently much more eco-friendly with Apple claiming it is now “very recyclable”.

IPod Touch

The second generation iPod Touch was also announced and if you read this blog on a regular basis you will know I believe the iPhone and iPod Touch to be a computing platform and the closest we have come yet to reaching convergence of phone/computer/media player/games machine into one unit.  This release is more of an evolution rather than a revolution with some fairly minor updates. The iTouch is now thinner, has been given a built in speaker and boasts new separate volume control buttons on the side. The volume controls are an important addition as on the older version if an applications available on the App store didn’t provide a “soft” control you had no way to control the output volume.

WiFi and App Store

The thing that in my mind though that really makes this platform more attractive is the combination of best in class WiFi Internet access and the ever increasing offerings, from games to small business applications, that are available from the App Store.  Of course these are available on the old model as well, so there is probably nothing new that would require an upgrade from an old version. But the fact that new version is being sold cheaper then the old suggests that there will be some good reductions on the older models of the iPod Touch over the next month or so.

Do you still have a PDA? I do, but mine now sits unused and unwanted in a drawer in my office. In fact I have had a number of PDA’s over the years, and for most of that time I found them very useful. So why is my old PDA now languishing in its drawer? Well nowadays I find a combination of my laptop, my mobile phone and an old fashion pen and paper notebook is the best solution for me! I think that once I stopped using a desktop computer, my PDA stopped being as useful.

I think the PDA has probably seen its heyday, and now there are a number of factors combining or converging to bring a final end to an era. There are a lot of new competitors in the portable gadgets field right now, all of which are trying to entice the very same buyers. Perhaps the most formidable competition to the PDA is the “smartphone”, such as the Palm Treo 750, but there is also significant pressure from small laptops such as the ever popular Asus Eee, and other up and coming ultra portables, and then there are even other devices, like portable media players, especially those ones that feature networking capabilities like the iPod Touch.

There is still a reasonably healthy market for PDA’s though and if you are one of those that still sees the value and are in the market, then the Palm TX would be a great choice.

What do you think? Will the PDA follow the path of the Dodo?