IPodTouch and AudioBooks files

I can't speak to the specific things you wish to download. I've never tried to download those things, myself. But I do own and love my iPod Touch. Memory; Subtract about 1.5 GB from the total on the box because that is the operating system and some extras you have no control over. So an 8GB device really has just 6.5GB available for your stuff. Music; roughly 200 songs = 1GB Hollywood Movie; 1 100-minute movie = .5GB Photos taken with the built-in camera; 700 photos = .2GB Video files from the built-in camera; 12 minutes = 1GB
Apps; roughly 25 = 1GB All other data including calendars and text are negligible in size The upshot is that movies are the only things that take up a lot of space. Even then, you can have 20 hollywood movies on there and take an hour of video with the camera and that still only takes up 15GB. You would have to have a lot of music on there to need more than 32GB (or 30.5GB, really) of space. Now, a more important question is this; Are you absolutely sure you don't want an iPad? the 32GB Touch is going to cost $300. For $500 (or $420 for refurbished one from APPLE) you can get a device that is MUCH nicer to work with as a multi-media tool, and you would happily use it as such the other 340 or so days each year when you were not traveling. Also, the new one is coming out in March and is supposedly going to be a giant leap forward in screen clarity & computing power.

I can't answer your question about how many files the I Pod touch will hold but I have several of RS podcasts on my I-Pod. Yes, I-Pads are great but the I-Pod is small and easy to carry. It is my favorite gadget ever. I took it on a 3 week trip to Morocco and also to Italy and Paris.
It is simply great!

get the 32G. i have a 32G, and i have it LOADED full of almost 2,000 songs, plenty of pictures, LOTS of apps, and about 9 hours of video, as well as all of Rick's audio tours. trust me, you'll be totally fine with the 32G. and you'll love the iPod touch! it's wonderful to use.

Great answers about the IPodTouch and the IPad. I now have a better understanding of what it will hold....without having to open every single program Rick is producing! Thank you. All are in agreement about the use of the Pod for travel. I agree the iPad might be nicer and easier to read from, but I am a clutz, having dropped (destroyed :( an expensive camera once. So, pending hearing from others I'll probably go Touch. Let me know if there are disadvantages, or if new models are expected before May....Apple won't disclose that info...yet.
Robert

Robert, I usually tend to have the philosophy that "more memory is always better", however I agree with the previous reply - 32 GB should be more than adequate for the uses you're considering. The full length Guidebooks (ie: Spain 2012) are about 20 MB, so you shouldn't have any problem fitting many books into a 32 GB iPod Touch. The smaller Guidebooks (ie: Switzerland) are about 7 MB and the Snapshot Guides (ie: Italian Lakes District) are about 1.2 MB. Video files usually take the most memory, so if you're not planning to load many of those, that should leave lots of room for books and music. One comment regarding Maps - they're a bit "awkward" to use on the small screen of an iPod Touch, but I've found that with a little practice, they're not too bad (lots of scrolling required though). Which version of the Guidebooks were you thinking of getting. I took several of the Kindle RS Guides on my trip last year, and they worked reasonably well. The Kindle Reader is free, but of course you'd have to buy the books from Amazon (the process is very easy if you have an account with them). The RS E-books are also available in the Apple Bookstore, however they're slightly more expensive than the Kindle versions. Depending on when you'll be departing, you may want to wait a bit to purchase the E-books as not all of the 2012 editions are available yet. The iPod Touch should be provided with a "world charger", but don't forget to pack a few Euro Plug Adapters. Cheers!

I have lots of Audiobooks on my 32gb Touch. They can range in size from 50 MB to 500 MB depending on the length and quality of recording. The printed material doesn't take up much room. And don't forget you'll want to download lots of apps that will help wilth travel many of which are free. I now only travel with a Touch and folding keyboard. No more computer. I can do everything I need to do on a daily basis on the Touch even running my website. You may also want to leave some room for photos as the Touch has a camera. Since you're not leaving until May, I'd wait to buy one. Usually around March/April Apple makes some kind of announcement. Whether or not they introduce a new Ipod Touch is anyone's guess as they are super secretive.

Robert; About maps; As much as I find Rick Steves little drawn town maps quaint, I prefer real maps. Your iPod touch will come with a great Google Maps app which is really all you need for any map - whether large scale or incredibly up close and detailed - whether street-map form or satellite photo form. It's also excellent with directions. Just type in origin and destination, and you will get a step-by-step instruction on how to get there - down to the smallest detail and the actual wording of the highway signs. This all works even when you are away from wifi if you plan ahead and do the searches when you have a connection. Just take a "screen shot" (power button+home button) of every view you want to keep and it saves it as a photo. These hardly take up any memory at all (just like photos, generally). We did a 5-week trip to Central Europe in 2010 that included two weeks with a rental car and we didn't have a paper map or a navigation system. But I had a couple hundred screen shots on my iPod and it worked perfectly.

On my second itouch 64 and have ipad 2 x 32. Rate limiting step will be films. I download tv series ( yes, onto my itouch ....).
S

I forgot to mention that you can use your I-Pod as a phone and keep in touch with family/friends who are
Apple users via Face Time.

Hi Robert I dunno about the most modern i-machines but for comparison I have my entire, fairly extensive, music library on my 30 Gb video Ipod from the generation before touch. In addition I have almost the entire podcast library of all the Rick Steves radio shows and the Christmas specials, and most of the video podcasts. I also have about 25 other podcasts that are updated frequently. I have about 9 Gb free. Hope that helps.

I have an iPod classic, 80G: Total capacity - 74G 6800 songs (about 400 hours) - 27G 850 hours of audio books - 11G
130 hours of audio podcasts - 4G 32G sounds like more than enough. I find it easier to manage with printed maps - just that much bigger and easier to read. Can you load books on it? I thought only audio files.

As for the GPS function - it is designed for cars, not for walking. It can take you a mile out of your way because it will show the car route - no footpaths, and no going the "wrong" way on a one-way street, etc.

The Ipod Touch doesn't have a GPS function. There is a "locate" function on Google maps with uses a WiFi connection to determine your location via IP addresses. But not "true" GPS via overhead satellites. The touch finally has some competition via the recently released Samsung Galaxy 5.0 Android MP3 Player. Although I haven't personally tried it yet, on paper it's got better specs than the Itouch: Better battery life, accepts micro SD memory cards, better quality camera, and true satellite based GPS which doesn't require a wifi connection.