I'd like to buy a small, portable device that I can use to access the internet via wireless. Would you recommend an ipod touch, Kindle touch, or something else?

Not sure what your price point is and what Apps you need to run but I have a Kindle Fire and it serves the purpose you describe and for $199 is a good solution. Of course you can go for the IPad if you want something slightly larger that will run a variety of Office Apps. Depending on what you want to do the IPad can run around $500 give or take $100 based on how much memory you want or need.

Thanks, Bos! I should have mentioned my desired price-point! An iPad would be too expensive for me right now. I am looking at about 200 or less.

@answerjill, take a look at the Kindle Fire, it’s in that price range and a pretty good little device.

Samsung Galaxy Player is five inches and can fit in your pocket or pocketbook. A Kindle fire is seven inches and really cant.

About the same price.

The Samsung has full access to both Google and Amazon Appstore. The Kindle Fire is hooked up to Amazon Appstore.

Personally, I bought an older Nook Color (the price went down quite a bit when the Nook Tablet came out), rooted it, flashed it with CyanogenMod7, and turned it into a full-on tablet, no longer locked into the B&N App Store. At 7”, it still fits in my jacket pocket, and you can easily find them for under $150.

Even a stock Nook Color can access the internet. If all you need is a browser, then you can skip the hard part and just use it as-is. If you want to flash it, the process is fairly simple if you have someone walk you through it, but a little hairy if you don’t have a good guide.

@BosM I disregarded the Kindle Fire simply because it isn’t supported by CyanogenMod. I like my tablets to be unrestricted, hence part of why I don’t like iPad; it’s Apple store only, with no real access to third-party software.

Thanks, all! I’ve decided that I want to go in for something pocket-sized. Also, my emphasis is on sound quality for listening to mp3s.

@Buttonstc the Galaxy is a good option. I wasn’t sure how small @answerjill wanted to go with the device, or what features. Good suggestion

I find that having a user-adjustable equalizer helps a lot, which is another strike against Apple as the iPod doesn’t allow that.

But even then, without good headphones/earbuds, the best player will sound like crap, so if you don’t like the sound, it may not be the player ;)

Thanks, @jerv . Do you have any favorite headphones/earbuds?

Not particularly, at least since they stopped making my olds faves. Generally, I go for the buds that go in your ears, like the Koss Plugs, and I always look for frequency response between 15Hz and 20KHz; some only go down to 20Hz (no bass) while some only go up to 15–18KHz (no high end), but my ears have a wider than normal range, so I have to be a bit fussy.

Thanks all for the advice. I decided on the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6!

Apparently they still do make my old earbuds; I just don’t see them on shelves. Try these and be prepared to be surprised that a $15 set of buds can put out better sound than many $30–80 sets.

The best part is that if something does happen to them (like the time I snagged one in a car door and ripped a bud right off the cord) you don’t feel a bit hit to your wallet/purse. Pick up a set, and you will soon find the difference between cheap and inexpensive :)

@jerv

How long ago did you purchase the ones you currently use?

Also, how comfortable are they? Do you find them to be on the large side?

The reason I’m asking is cuz I was reading some of the reviews on Amazon and many find them to bee quite uncomfortable to fit snugly in the ear the way they’re supposed to. I have pretty small ears so I’m curious about this.

The other thing more concerning is that some people who’ve been using them for years and then purchased an additional pair state that the build quality has significantly deteriorated when comparing the newer to the older.

Just wondering what your experience has been regarding these aspects.

What is the purpose of your purchase? If you could swing an ipad…and btw..you can get refurbished ones from apple with a years warranty for less on their website..you will have the most support and largest array of apps to choose from. If you just want to check email, and maybe look up something on the web…any of the devices will do a terrific job.

About three years, so mine are the older ones. They came with three sets of cushions, but I had to use the largest ones. There are other buds that don’t have cushions large enough for my ears.

Bear in mind that, due to working the places I have, I am used to wearing “foamies”. Some people cannot stand the feeling of pressure that those give either, while others barely even notice. You can usually tell teh peopel who find them uncomfortable because, after a year or two working in a foundry or on an aircraft carrier, they are going deaf. If you can wear earplugs, you can wear the types of buds I like. If not, you will have to do without hte sound-isolating qualities they offer.

@SU_ZANN The iPad isn’t much more compact than a netbook, and definitely not pocket-sized, as the OP wanted. Also, while the number of apps available may favor Apple, the number of free apps favors Android by a considerable margin. And then there is the iTunes application, the only way to control an iDevice or transfer content from your computer. If you own a Mac, all is well. If you own a Windows PC (like most people) you will have issues, and if you own a Linux PC, forget it. By contrast, Android devices are easy to sync to and manage content on. Add in the better browsers (not stuck with Safari) and all, and you can see why I no longer use nor recommend Apple.
However, they do have good support.

@SU_ZANN – I mostly just want it for listening to music and maybe using a few apps here and there – like the one that tells me if the bus is on the way. I may use it to check email sometimes, too, but I mostly plan to use my computer at home or work for that.

you can buy apple ipad 3

@rubylovejoy Again, I don’t think those qualify as “small”. Nice try. Maybe when the iPad Mini comes out.