iPod vs iPad comparison
13 May 2013
Technological advancements are taking place very fast. Technologies that were once revolutionary are being surpassed by newer better innovations one after another. Many of us are being caught up in the middle and the many choices available in the market today can cause a dilemma To avoid being confused by various different gadgets and their capabilities, you need to be tech savvy and well informed. Here we do a comparison between the iPod Touch and iPad. Although you may be fully aware that they are both completely different types of gadgets, they do actually meet in the middle in terms of capabilities and the features do cross over. An iPod for instance can be used as an eBook reader and an iPad can be used to play/listen to music. If you're considering purchasing one of those but not sure which, this post should help you get an idea on the strengths of each gadget so that you are able to make a more informed buying decision.
Image credits: mashable.com
Watching Movies
Both devices are able to play movies and web videos such as YouTube. The iPod offers better portability but obviously has the smaller screen. If you will be watching a lot of movies the iPad is recommended due to its screensize - making the movie more enjoyable to watch. For short video clips such as YouTube, the iPod screen size would be good enough as the picture clarity (also depends on the video quality) is great. It is also worth noting that you will need a large memory size iPod or iPad if you will be downloading a lot of movies. A 64GB iPod is generally cheaper than a 64GB iPad so that's something to consider when purchasing one of those gadgets for watching movies.
Reading - eBooks and web browsing
Again, both the iPod and iPad have the same eBook capabilities with the iPad having the advantage of a larger screen. If you love reading books, the iPad is the obvious choice. For some moderate eBook reading, the iPod is good enough and the screen clarity is again very good so you should not have too much problems reading the tiny texts and flicking through virtual pages. Both devices also have built in Wi-Fi enabling you to connect online for web browsing. This is where the iPad has a bigger noticeable advantage. Not all websites are mobile friendly so you will be very often required to zoom in in order to read web page texts using an iPod. The small screen also takes away 'ease-of-browsing' causing you to accidently press on the wrong link when attempting to click on a link - commonly known as 'fat finger' errors.
Music and Audio
Both are capable of playing music and audio files and both have the iTunes software pre-loaded. Both the iPod and iPad also have the standard universal 3.5mm headphone connection. The iPod however has no built in speakers. If you will be listening to music only using headphones, the iPod is the recommended option as it's a lot smaller and portable. If you need built in speakers to play audio, the iPad is the recommended option as you have the option of using headphones as well as the built in speakers. If portability is important, you could still go for an iPod and have the option of purchasing mini travel speakers at a later stage.
Summary
It is difficult to pick a single winner as both are capable of carrying out very similar tasks and it does really come down to personal preference and needs. You certainly don't need both. The easiest way to weigh both up is buying weighing up your priorities in terms of screen size verses portability. Once you are conclusion on whether you need something that's more portable or a larger screen size - you will be able to easily determine which is most suitable for you.