Read somewhere that the iPod Touch can be charged via the USB port on a Mac, even if the Mac isn't powered on, is that actually true?, or does the Mac need to switched on for it to charge?. The battery life seems to run down quickly on the Touch too, so any recommendations about how to make it last longer?. I've read about turning Wifi off etc. Also anyone recommend any good free apps - I've mostly got like ones so for Sports scores, news, Lastfm, Yahoo Radio etc.

thetimefan said:

Adjust Brightness
Dimming your phone’s screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. Additionally, turning on Auto-Brightness allows your iTouch screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On.


Turn Off:
Turn off Bluetooth
Turn off Push Mail
Change Mail Auto-Check
Auto-check fewer Mail Accounts
Turn off EQ if you want to but I'm willing to give up some juice for this..

Allow your iTouch battery to get down in the RED ZONE/SECTION, recharge to 100%, once a month. Don't not forget to unplug your iTouch from the USB/Charger after it's fully charged.

Battery life goes a bit quicker if you're gaming using any of the apps/movies/videos. I think the max is 5hrs give or take. Music much longer 16 to 22, I use the On-The-Go option to creat a list of music that keeps me from have to flick through you albums to find songs, helps battery life a lot.

You'll have to cut your computer on to charge up your iTouch. Better yet go to Radio Shack in get iPod/Touch/Phone plugg-in chargers.

Free Apps.

Sport & News
NPR News
New York Times
ESPN ScoreCenter
Sportacular
AP Mobile


Music
Pandora
Last.fm
imeem mobile
LyricFind Lite
Mix Meister Scratch - Be your own MC and Scartch over the songs on your iTouch.

Shazam .... allows you to identify music anywhere: radio, TV, Film by holding your iTouch/Phone towards the music and tappping "Tag". You'll need the Apple microphone with the mic. Really

Remote - use your itouch to control iTunes on your computer

Social Networking
Facebook
Echofon aka Twiter,

Do you like games racing, tennis, golf, or scrabble and stuff like that?


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[Edited 9/23/09 12:21pm]
[Edited 9/23/09 17:47pm]

Thanks for the reply. I have my screen bright, so will remember to do the Auto-Brightness and switch off the other things you suggested. I mostly have been using the iPod for watching music vids on youtube, using the internet etc. The music idea is good, will have to make more playlist(s) & check out the on-the-go option too. I'm thinking of getting a plug-in charger now, as I thought you could just charge it when the Mac was switched off. I have the ESPN, Facebook, one called Twitterific & the Remote apps, will check out the others you suggested too. I have the Pacman demo, a free synthesizer app, a beat creator (which I don't know how to use at the moment!, so probably uninstall that app) & a game called Mazefinger too. I like sports games, I have a soccer management game which is good. Madden 10 looks cool, is there a demo of that available?, as I'd like to play it before I buy it. I've also added like a webpage as a application icon (home screen or something it's called), do you know how to delete it?.
[Edited 9/23/09 13:52pm]

I think it charges if the Mac is on standby.

thetimefan said:

Hold down the icon and all the icons will start to wiggle. A little X will appear on the icons for all apps that aren't native. Click the X on the one you want to ditch and return to your regular programming.

Correction: About your battery: Allow it to get down into the RED zone once a month and then recharge to 100%. What this does is keep you battery calibrate so you'll get a more accurate reading.

If this app has an icon, you should be able to press on it (icons wiggle) press the x in the left hand corner of that app ... it will say, do you wanna delete.

Nah, they don't have a Madden 10 Lite.

Checkout these Out: All Free.

PocketSports Football (Free)
Streetball Lite (pretty cool)
HoopsLite
Papertoss
Virtual Pool life
Tightwire
Volkswagen Scirocco R 24H Challenge 3D
Touch Hockey: FS5

TD3 said:

You are a cavalcade of useful information.

Vendetta1 said:

Well thank you. Damn thing has become addictive.


iPod/Touch/Phone users check this out too. You can upload U-Tube video up your iPod/Touch/Phone. Some other usefull free software, too. http://www.dvdvideosoft.c...wnload.htm


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When I plugged the iPod Touch into the Mac, I can select the other apps to delete, but as this is like a home screen or whatever (it's like a webpage bookmark has been made into an app icon), the 'x' doesn't appear so I can delete it. How do I hold down the icon?, as when I press it, as it loads a webpage.

Thanks again TD3.The PocketSports Football looks good, how is the lite version limited, like only select certain teams/plays etc?. I was thinking of getting the driving game but apparently it crashes the iPod Touch. Will check out some of the other games too. I think I've got the Touch Hockey game.

thetimefan said:

Keep your finger pressed against the icon (instead of lifting it) for about a second. All the icons will begin to wiggle and you'll see an X in the top-left corner of any icons that are not native apps. After you've deleted it, press the home button to re-stabilize the icons.

thetimefan said:

You're welcome.

PocketSports Football allows you to play for 2 quaters, the game ends at halftime, pretty cool none-the-less. You can pick routes, select to run, kick pass, punt, and play zone defenses, there's a lot to grasp even in the lite version. Yeah, the two teams Alanta vs San Fran and I'm sure with the full version you get to pick your teams.

As far as the Volkswagen Scirocco R 24H Challenge 3D, I haven't had a problem with my iTouch crashing. I do read reviews and if a lot of people say so (like a couple of pages) I'll skip it. But sometimes games crash because iTouch/Iphones users haven't updated their software for iTunes and/or apps. They have a couple of cool raching cars, motocycle lite apps. I like the Free Wi-Fi Locator too.

The Tightwire game is funny as hell to me.....the affects and the guy yelling when he loses balance and falls below.

At the that, thetimefan, go over to apps store/page on iTunes, type in anything that interest you, a lot of stuff is bound to pop up.

Thanks again TD3. When i plugged the ipod into my Mac 2day to charge, found this in the trash.

http://img85.imageshack.us/i/ipodu.jpg/

A TV guide app i was using did crash, so i'm guessing it could be that. the file was like 300+mb though, so could it be the ipod touch os itself crashed?. The ipod i have has the 3.1.1 update, & only got it last sunday as a bday gift, so i don't think it should be having problems with crashing yet.
[Edited 9/25/09 8:19am]

thetimefan said:

You are welcome.

Hm. Needless to say you've deleted the TV app. If it crashed while you were using the app, it's the app more than likely. As I've mentioned, check the reviews always before downloading, if the app has any issues people will review tell if it sucks, crashes, or/and if it's unstable. At that, if it's something you really like check back in a two weeks/month to see if app vendors fixed or got the buggs out. Any app vendor worth it's salt continues to get the buggs or improve their app performance.

Thanks. The app itself is only 1.2mb and like I've said, the file in the trash folder was over 300mb, so I'm guessing the app is what caused the ipod touch to crash. I've just read the reviews again and the app seems to have a history of crashing, so it's more than likely that what caused the crash. My apple mouse stop working earlier too!, after i ejected the iPod from itunes, but I'm guessing it may be an usb issue, as both were plugged into the keyboard.