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March 31, 2005

Wirus podType: Type on your iPod, sort of

The web site says it's, "a little idea using on-the-go playlists lets you 'type' on your iPod." The concept is sufficiently creative and the execution is good. In fact, podType is a handy little utility to keep on your iPod.

Here are the details: go to the Wirus web site and download the zip file that contains the collection of small (about 7k each) mp3 files. Each mp3 has the artist listed as 'Ω Wirus podType' and the album is 'Ω podType [type of character such as Alpha, Special, or Numeric]'. Add these files to your iTunes library and then sync them to your iPod. That naming convention organizes all of the podType "songs" at the end of your library, but the important thing is the name of the "song" - each of these podType files has a single character for the song title.

The idea here is to use the On-the-go playlist feature on your iPod and use the characters provided by the podType "songs" to take notes or record any short piece of information that you may need. If you recall, adding a song to the on-the-go playlist in your iPod is as simple as scrolling to it and then pressing and holding the middle button for 2 seconds. The song title will flash to let you know it's been added. To read back what you've recorded just navigate through the playlists to the on-the-go playlist.

You may not want to write your first novel with podType, but for recording phone numbers, addresses, or anything else short, podType works surprisingly well. It really is fast and easy to use. The most difficult part is reading it back, since the iPod will only display each character vertically, in a listing. So you may have to scroll to read your note back.

podType hardly takes up any space on your iPod, and it can come in handy. It's free, the execution is done nicely (with the leading Ω character, all of the directories stay out of the way on the bottom of your lists), and it adds even more functionality to the iPod.

Posted on March 31, 2005 10:40 AM | Category: Software

Comments

Posted by: BJ on April 23, 2005 11:49 AM

Posted by: Barbara on August 16, 2006 09:07 PM