When I talked the other day about the iPod touch turning into something quite different than just a media player, I mentioned that Apple had already thrown in a few PDA-like features, including contacts and a calendar. Unfortunately, those features are turning out to be a bit less that what they seem. The Internet is all a-flutter today with news that the iPod touch may have some of its features artificially crippled. In particular, and iLounge screenshot and Apple Support discussion have revealed that the iPod touch Calendar won't allow users to add events.
The screenshot in question shows the Calendar on the iPod touch, with no "+" button or other way to add events in sight, prompting people to question exactly what was going on. Any mention of adding calendar events was removed from Apple's US site, but the text apparently stayed at the Canadian site and several European sites for a bit longer, allowing people to spot the curious omission. It's possible that it's all one big mistake, but the photographic proof as well as the speed at which Apple scrubbed the other sites points strongly towards some feature limitations for the iPod touch above and beyond the obvious missing applications.
This discrepancy has already spurred a discussion of what other features Apple might be cutting down from their iPhone equivalents, and also raises a few questions about just where the line is drawn between iPod and iPhone. As for me, I'm a bit surprised that Apple would do this type of a la carte limitation, particularly when the company seems to be aware that different markets exist for each product. I hope this is either a mistake or that Apple adds the feature back in. Even if it doesn't, I'm sure it will be on the top of the list for hackers to work on when the iPod touch comes out.
