iPod touch - Apple's laptop replacement?

RegHardware reports: [edited]

So was nine months of relentless iPhone hype and froth just a distraction? Not quite, but you could be forgiven for thinking so. I believe Apple's most important product of 2007 was actually announced this week.

The iPod touch is going to be a sensation. Not only does it bring Apple's capacitive multi-touch interface, to its key music products, it does so at a very low entry point: $299 (or £199)

But the interface is simply a means to an end. Because the Touch has Wi-Fi, so you get the most attractive web browsing device at a very low cost as well.

And as a bonus Apple stealthily enters a new market altogether: the connected PDA.

This 'Second Box' business is one that almost everyone has neglected, because they've followed the conventional wisdom that Everything Must Be Converged. But what if that isn't true?

Unlike the iPhone, which is locked down at the carrier's request, third-party applications will not be restricted on the iPod touch. All it's lacking is Bluetooth and removable storage.

In short, the iPod touch brings much of the value proposition of the iPhone to people who are perfectly happy with the phone they've got - or who are locked into a long contract with a network operator.
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