Is the iTouch too small?

So I bought an iTouch for the library a couple of months ago, and have been playing with it since. I came to the conclusion that it was too small for practical reference work, but before writing it off I shared it with a group of our librarians. I got mixed results from the group. Two staffers in particular fell in love at first touch, and so they are playing with it in a practical reference environment right now.

Initial reports back are that it works well for them. So I might order a couple more, and see if it catches on. I'm more and more convinced that we will not find a one-size fits all mobile reference device, so we might end up with 2-3 solutions in our environment. The trend is towards smaller, and smaller is not always better for this type of work.

We are also looking at loading the gadgets with soft phone software. In a nutshell, soft phone solutions will turn any device into a phone. Mixed with blue tooth headsets, you get one device instead of two, without the hefty phone service plan. Works well with Tablet PCs, not sure about the iTouch compatibility yet. Will learn more later this week. Hmmm... something to ponder.