iPod touch Voip

[TSE]

I am getting a new iPod Touch soon, and I heard something where you can install VOIP and use it as a phone by installing Skype. I have a couple questions:

1. With Voip, does it give me my own phone number on the touch where people can call me, even while just listening to music or while my touch is on but sitting at a desk or something?

2. How much do minutes cost?

3. I assume the mic and headphones from the new ipod earbuds work with the phone?

 

[Tallest Skil]

I don't believe that VOIP works with the iPod touch. I also do not assume that the headphones and microphone work, either.

 

[TEG]

The headphones and microphone do work, but we don't yet have an app to try them with (the support is indicated on Apple's Website).

With VOIP, you can either port an existing number or get a new number. However, because of how apps are allowed to run, you will only receive calls when the app is running.

Rarely do they have minutes, just service, and all your calls are no extra charge.

There is no VOIP currently on the iPod touch, and you must be connected to a Wi-Fi network to get it to work. It would be easier to just use an iPhone.

TEG

 

[azure247]

The cool thing about Skype is you can call anywhere free if the person on the other line uses Skype. The portability of Skype on ipod touch would be great to use around the house so you are not stuck at the computer screen.

 

[840quadra]

The headphones and microphone do work, but we don't yet have an app to try them with (the support is indicated on Apple's Website).

That is incorrect. this is an X-Post in response to a similar statement in a separate thread on this forum

Two applications support it (the iPod Touch Mic)

Palringo Limited (however there are some security concerns about this application, see comments on the iTunes Music store)

MovingApps.com Spectrum

There is no VOIP currently on the iPod touch, and you must be connected to a Wi-Fi network to get it to work. It would be easier to just use an iPhone.

TEG

That is a matter of opinion (and I do respect yours for the record). In my area there are lots of free WIFI hotspots, and Skype (or other VOIP tools) are often used by myself, and others I work with. The key is timing the call, but being off the grid (as far as Cell Minutes or SMS messages) is really nice at times.

The cool thing about Skype is you can call anywhere free if the person on the other line uses Skype. The portability of Skype on ipod touch would be great to use around the house so you are not stuck at the computer screen.

Agreed!

Having the ability to call into Skype and participate in podcasts with a pocketable device would be a great perk.

 

[Lesser Evets]

http://www.shapeservices.com/s4iphone/

 

[VerdeVivir]

I recently purchased an iTouch 2G with the intention of using it as a PDA to help me better organize my fledgling SAT tutoring business. I've been a subscriber to .Mac and now MobileMe for the last four years and having a portable device that seamlessly syncs with iCal and my Contacts from my old PowerBook G4 and new(ish) iMac is definitely a plus. It's why I bought it.

However, I also travel quite extensively during the summer months (I'm a high school English teacher) and I often find myself in places like Cambodia or Uruguay. No matter where I've been over the last few years, free Wi-Fi has been in just about every guesthouse, hostel, bar, breakfast place, and resort. I even had free Wi-Fi in the middle of the jungle in Laos. However, I've always left my laptop at home to avoid worries and shave weight off my pack. Needless to say, I'm psyched on the Touch.

I see the iPod Touch as a breakthrough device for those who travel internationally. With free Wi-Fi so ubiquitous, and with the iTouch now boasting a mic input via the headphone jack, I'm hoping that I've found a cheap, reliable, and convenient way of calling home from wherever I am in the world.

I know that the apps aren't here yet for Skype or any other VOIP provider, but if these become available within the next few months, I see the iTouch changing budget backpacking travel. No more lines for the computers to e-mail home. No more price gouging by the local international "phone guy." I'm imagining myself sitting a bar in Ho Chi Minh City, checking my e-mail, posting some comments on Facebook, and calling up my brother in New York.

I know that this comment isn't really offering any new info on the availability of apps like Skype, but I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the implications of a built-in mic. I definitely see it as a backpacker "must have" if VOIP becomes an easy and reliable option.

 

[MySaturdaySelf]

hmm.. i am more and more confused now.. i tried the IM+ skype link but i don't really know how it works..

any solution package for newbies? including software, mic, etc..

 

[goosnarrggh]

I am getting a new iPod Touch soon, and I heard something where you can install VOIP and use it as a phone by installing Skype. I have a couple questions:

1. With Voip, does it give me my own phone number on the touch where people can call me, even while just listening to music or while my touch is on but sitting at a desk or something?

Just to be clear, VoIP doesn't automatically imply a telephone number. In broad strokes, VoIP can refer to any service which allows live streaming voice conversations over the Internet. Some VoIP service providers such as Skype may go further and optionally provide a connection to the public telephone network as well.

2. How much do minutes cost?

Skype-to-Skype conversations that are purely Internet-based (ie not originating or terminating at a telephone terminal) are always free (excluding bandwidth charges by your ISP) -- Skype doesn't charge any subscription fee to sign up for the service, nor does it charge any per-use fee. (If you go through a 3rd-party proxy to connect to the Skype network, they may charge fees, but the fees are not coming from Skype itself.)

You can optionally link your Skype account to the SkypeOut service, an outgoing public telephone service, in which case you may choose to pay a flat monthly fee to place up to 10000 minutes of calls to telephones per month, or for occasional users you may prefer to choose a prepaid option with by-the-minute billing.

Additionally, you may link your Skype account to the SkypeIn service, in which case you are assigned an incoming public telephone number that others may use to reach you over the public telephone network - they'll be billed the same as they would be to call any other number within the assigned dialing prefix. You are not charged any per-minute rate for incoming calls (excluding your ISP's bandwidth charges) -- you just pay the subscription fee to hook up the number on a quarterly or yearly basis. Outgoing calls are handled through the terms of the SkypeOut service.

As previously mentioned, for any potential iPod touch application, incoming calls will only be accessable while the Skype application is actually running because the App Store doesn't currently permit 3rd-party applications which attempt to run in the background. Eventually, Apple's push notification service (still in development) may provide a workaround to this limitation.

3. I assume the mic and headphones from the new ipod earbuds work with the phone?

The new mic/headphone combo will work with any software written to run on the 2nd generation iPod touch.