Back in June 2007, I couldn't convince my wife that checking my email in grocery lines was worth $US1,320—the cost of an original iPhone and one year of the cheapest plan. These days, the trend-setting phone costs even more money over its life, and it's more than a little restrictive and even a bit buggy. So I'm amazed at how little love the iPod touch gets. It's a slimmer iPhone with almost all its features, it requires no contract, and when you can't get a Wi-Fi signal, your plain, humble mobile phone can step up to take its place. Here's why anyone considering the iPhone should opt for its oft-ignored sibling—the iPod touch—instead. Photo by sarchi.

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Do-it-yourselfer leevonk wanted a simple way to carry and amplify an iPod—and did it by constructing an iPod "boombox" out of Tupperware, old computer speakers, and styrofoam. In short you need small computer speakers which are either battery-powered, or don't require a wall outlet. Fit them into dollar store Tupperware (which has all the right holes cut out with a dremel) and drop the iPod in. Styrofoam keeps the whole kit snug. The end result isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it's sure to be a conversation starter at the picnic or beach.

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Windows/Mac OS X only: Freeware application DiskAid enables iPhone and iPod touch owners to use their devices as an external hard drive. Install DiskAid, plug in your iPod touch or iPhone, and watch as it detects your device and lets you to copy files and portable applications to and from it. You won't be able to upload images or songs to the device and be able to listen to them or view them on-device, but with DiskAid, you can transfer files like documents and portable apps from your Mac to your iPhone and then to your PC. (Here's how to transfer songs from any iPod to your computer.) DiskAid does not require you to jailbreak your device and works from the get-go. DiskAid is a freeware download for Windows and Mac OS X. Thanks, Jay!

There as many applications and methods for copying music from an iPod to your computer as there are iPod models themselves, which makes finding a sure-fire, free solution a matter of tedious trial and error. To save you the work, today we're rounding up the best tools and techniques for getting music off any model iPod onto nearly any computer—for free. Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered. Follow along for a detailed look at the best ways to transfer songs from your iPod to your computer, no matter what hardware or operating system you're rocking.

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Mac only: The newest beta release of Senuti—a utility that copies music from your iPod to your computer—now supports the iPhone and iPod touch. Just install Senuti on your Mac, hook up your iPhone or iPod touch, and the Senuti beta will list all the songs on the device and place a blue dot next to songs that already exist in your iTunes library. Select the songs you want and press the Transfer button to copy them to your Mac. The touch-friendly Senuti version is a beta, but it worked like a charm on the one iPhone I tested it on. Senuti is a free download for Mac only; be sure to hit the beta link lower on the homepage for iPhone and iPod touch support. Thanks, smackswell!

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iPhone/iPod touch only: Freeware application iSlsk is a Soulseek peer-to-peer client for the iPhone and iPod touch which can download MP3s from the Soulseek network directly to your device. Once you've downloaded a song, iSlsk imports the MP3 directly to your iPod so you can play it alongside all the rest of your music. Sounds too good to be true, right? It almost is. The video after the jump demonstrates just how incredible iSlsk is, and the catch:

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The Tombuntu blog points out that the latest Hardy Heron release of Ubuntu Linux doesn't play nice with multi-platform video/DVD converter HandBrake—at least not the version with a nice graphical interface. For those syncing their iPhone or iPod touch with Linux, or just wanting to get the job done, the author runs through using the command-line-controlled HandBrake CLI. There's one very simple command to modify and paste that should work for most systems, with options to scale the quality and add markers. Still want a GUI for this job? Try WinFF, which is also available for Windows.

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Apple may open up its iPhone and iPod touch devices to third-party apps next month, but the chances that Linux users will get invited to the party are slim at best. That hasn't stopped some intrepid hackers from coming up with a better music-syncing solution than the one Mac and Windows users have—a two-way wireless transfer, from almost any music organising app you like, no wait for iTunes or USB cable required. Linux users, let's take a look at how to set up your iPhone or iPod touch for any-time wireless access after the jump.

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Men's Health magazine online offers four free workout videos that you can download, drag into iTunes, and sync directly to your iPod. The routines range in intensity from the at-home muscle plan—which suggests a circuit of exercises you can do at home—to more gym-focused workouts like the "Ultimate Strength-Boosting" workout. The videos are short and serve more as reminders for how to correctly do the exercises rather than 30-minute as-you-go walkthroughs. For even more free iPod video workouts, check out previously mentioned iPod Gym. The Men's Health videos require a free registration with the site (or quickly stopping the page load before it hides the direct video links).

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The iPhone and iPod touch are almost indistinguishable devices except for one major difference—you can make calls from your iPhone, and you can't from your iPod touch. For the privilege of making phone calls with your iPhone, you have to pay $100 more upfront to Apple for the device itself, plus a minimum of $60/month to AT&T for the next two years (and that's only if you're in the US - AU editor) Let's say you didn't need that kind of firepower from your iPod touch, but that you would like to use it make a phone call every now and then. You can, and today I'm going to show you how to make VoIP phone calls from your iPod touch or iPhone using a freeware application called SIP-VoIP.

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