It is clear that the iPod Touch could have all of the hardware-independent applications the iPhone has. But Apple has deemed to cripple the Touch to, it seems, moderate cannibalization of iPhone sales.
You do get a Contacts button that the iPhone doesn't have but you don't get notes, weather, google maps, stocks or email. That's BS!
Pre-iPhone, I always felt constrained with the lack of input on my iPods. I knew they could have offered much more. Minimalism has its limits. We want more from these little devices because they can take the place of notebooks, notepads, address books, calendars and sometimes computer notebooks when we are traveling light.
Not everyone wants or needs an AT&T cell contract. Apple hasn't made deals yet outside the US and they are going to sell the Touch right away in all 22 countries they operate in.
I'm wondering if Apple can get away with this transparent crippling without creating a big backlash that makes the iPhone price drop fiasco look tame.
I see their approach very handy for them. They start with maximal crippling then perhaps turn features back on one or more at a time when and if cannibalization seems under control.
Great way to do things if you've never read the Cluetrain Manifesto or just written a letter about trust and trying to live up to your customers high expectations. Put me on record as predicting an uproar once people buy these things and find out they are crippled. Not the iPhone without the phone.