iPod Touch 4th Gen - $199 + Free Shipping!

DigiDad is excited this Black Friday about getting a 4th Gen iPod Touch so that he can stop hogging our single iPhone 4 when surfing the web at home and so that he can do FaceTime when he is traveling.  We were tempted by Wal-Mart's Black Friday special of $225 + $50 gift card, but our local Wal-Mart reported they were selling only 50 and it would require waiting in line "the night before" to get it.  This morning, we were pleased to see Amazon having a very similar offer, $199 + $25 Amazon gift card (update, as of Friday afternoon, the gift card offer has been removed, but Amazon is still selling the iPod for $199, a terrific price) - with most states not charging tax for Amazon purchases, this is a better deal yet!  For those interested in more storage space (this 4th Generation iPod touch records 720p High Definition video), Amazon has the 32GB model for $279.99 + $20 gift card and they have the 64GB model for $370 + $20 gift card.

The iPod Touch runs the same version of the iOS as the iPhone, has the same 1Ghz processor, retina display, accelerometer, and front and rear cameras.  It runs virtually all of the same apps, making it like an iPhone without a phone - of course you need a WiFi hot spot to surf the web.  I recently saw a news article about a Nielson survey of kids age 6-12 and the iPad was the number one most wanted item, with the iPod Touch coming in third, both edging out Nintendo and Sony handhelds - with the iPod Touch having nearly the same screen resolution (crammed into a 4" instead of 10" screen), and running at well less than half the cost - it is a great option for budget conscientious parents.