Earlier today, I uploaded a video in favor of the new iPod update. I included my own reasons for purchasing this, as well as reasons sent in by a community member.

Tonight, I received the following email, and wanted to pass it along, as well. Here are some reasons you may choose not to purchase this update.

Hey there Chris! My name is Leo and I too am a Tech enthusiast. As I watched your iPod Software Update video, I thought of a few reasons why Apple wronged the community by charging for these apps. Now, I understand that this is a business and Apple, like any other company out there, is in this to make money. But here are the top 5 reasons why I will not get the software upgrade.

• Other companies are giving such things for free. I can’t really think of others at the moment, but I specifically recall Microsoft allowing users to upgrade their old Zune software to the new. Granted you did not get any new “apps”, but you got added functionality. That’s all these apps are, added functions.
• Over half of the new apps were already available for the iPhone when it came out. Why are we paying $20 for essentially 2 new apps? If I am not mistaken, mail, Google maps and stocks were already included on the iPhone. If they had been developed then, why do we have to pay for them now a whole 6 months later? And why were they not included from the beginning? Well that’s an easy question to answer… money.
• There are options out there. There are web apps that do what these new apps are doing. They are not as convenient to access, (you have to click 3 times instead of 1) and they are not as customizable… but they are free. And don’t get me started with jail breaking (I for one have not done it)… Yet.
• For what it does, it’s actually expensive. I for one have absolutely no problem paying for software (no matter how expensive it is), if there is a tangible gain. I honestly don’t feel these apps are worth $20. Now let’s forget that only half of them are new. Are they really worth it? The only app I could see having a true value is Google maps, but it’s not going to be that effective on the iTouch. I am sure it will work well on the iPhone, but the iTouch does not have the ability to use multiple sources to pin point your location. Plus… if we are not connected by Wi-Fi, we can’t even use 4 of the apps.
• You don’t really need it. When I first heard the announcement from Apple, I was actually quite upset. I just purchased my iTouch (4 days before the announcement), and was quite furious that the new iTouches would have it, but I couldn’t. After my initial anger subsided, I started thinking rationally about this whole thing. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that I was not really missing much. I mean the iPod touch is an iPod. It is an mp3 player. Yes it has the ability to do extra stuff, but I got it to listen to music. It’s not to surf the web, not to check my mail, and not to check the weather. Do I like the extra functions? Heck yes I do, and they were actually part of the reason I paid $400 for a 16GB iTouch instead of $250 for an 80GB iPod. I am sure there will come a day when I purchase a software upgrade pack from Apple, but today is just not the day. I don’t see the value in the content, so for now I will choose to keep my money.

Ah there is just one more thing. I understand why Apple is charging for these apps. I actually no longer have a problem with that. I am a little confused, however, as to why Apple did not include some of the new iPhone features on the iPod touch for free. I am talking about web clips, and the ability to customize the home page. These are not new applications, but rather an expansion on the features already available on your iPod Touch. These two really should have been free.

It all boils down to whether or not you feel these applications are something that will be useful to you as a user. If they are not, then why spend the money?