Last week we, bought an 8gb iPod Touch ($229 from Fry’s) for my Irish father-in-law’s upcoming 80th birthday. We loaded it with a bunch of his favorite old music, family photos and videos from the trips we’ve been on together. And we’re bringing it to our son’s wedding next month to add wedding photos, and a special video of everyone singing happy birthday and giving him birthday wishes.

Some skeptics in the family tried to tell us he’d never use it since he’s never used a computer in his life or shown the slightest bit of interest in technology. But he really loved the talking photo album we got for him one year, and got a big kick out of the picture accompanied by an audio clip of him singing. We toyed with the idea of getting him a digital picture frame instead, and sending new SD cards from time to time to see new pictures. But that would require him finding a place in his tiny, cramped living room near an available outlet to display it, and also getting a European power converter. Furthermore, I’d bought one of those a couple of years ago for my granny, and every time I’ve ever been to see her, it’s been unplugged and on top of the dresser, since it requires horizontal display space which is in short supply.

I figured that this touch screen would be the ideal way for someone who’s never dealt with technology to interact with a device. What’s easier than sliding your finger across a screen to move one picture out of the way and see the next one? With no buttons or commands to worry about, and a big black “exit” button at the bottom of the device to hit if you get confused, I think it’s going to be the perfect piece of technology for him. The only links he really needs are right there on the bottom of the screen when you turn it on: music, videos, and photos. I’m going to hide all the icons he’ll likely never use on another screen, just to cut down the visual clutter.

The other neat thing about the iPod Touch is that it has wifi built in. If my brother in law inputs their wireless key in the Touch, then my father in law will also have the ability to read our emails and see the photos we share online. I’ve set up a free gmail account for him and plugged it into the iPod so it’s all ready to go. He may never use wifi, or check email, or ever type anything back, but if he gets adventurous, it’s all there.

AND, you can download a free program from the iTunes store called Fring which allows you to use your Touch as a phone! (You need to buy a pair of headphones with a microphone to do that). I’m setting that up for him as well with a buddy list with our names, so that when we’re logged onto Skype, AIM or MSN Messenger, he can click it to talk to us for free!

My granny is almost 90, wheelchair-bound after several strokes, and only has the use of 1 arthritic finger. Yet she’s managed to figure out how to use a mouse, to read email, send a 1-fingered instant message, and to play my uncle in bridge on the internet. (It cracks me up to see my granny’s name popping up as online on MSN Messenger.) I’m going to see how she takes to the iPod Touch when I see her this evening. It should be significantly easier for her to use, since it doesn’t require nearly as much hand-eye coordination as a computer.

If technology enables you to be closer to your family and relive your favorite holiday moments, how can it not be worth trying out?