Fresh Claims of 3G-Capable iPod Touch in Development

[karma13612]

So, you'd rather carry two devices along with you at all times, keeping track of them & worry about having both charged?

If you need a cellphone & have an iPod touch, the natural progression is combine them. It's the same reason why people are buying iPods less & less as their smartphones serve as music players.

I'm not saying 3G iPod touches are dumb (they're great for certain people) but it seems asinine to go from an iPhone to a 3G iPod touch & feature phone.

I have a net10 pay as you go samsung phone. I rarely use it, but it has kept me connected to the world since i gaveup my landline 2 years ago. I use an ipad 1 for work to listen to music until the new iPod touch comes out. Then the iPad stays at bedside as my surfing/music before bed/alarm clock device. The iPod will travel in my purse and will be loaded with music. It will be used for quick email checking and downloading new music and apps.

The iPad was my first apple device and since it is totally slick, I am hooked.

I am in the lucrative iPhone demographic but don't have the budget or use for a voice plan. I have 3000rollover minutes on my Net 10 and will never use them all!!No contract and I can get recharge phone cards with 6 months service.

So, yea, I'm psyched about a new iPod Touch.

Karma (57 years young)

 

[karma13612]

Surely the majority of people carry a mobile phone right? So why would you want a iPhone without voice and txt capabilities? That just means carrying about two devices which to me seems crazy.... I can't see a big market for this, but I have been proved wrong before

Your assumption is that someone would have a highpriced cell phone with an expensive plan, and then add the iPod touch .

Some people have strayed from the expensive voice plans/with contracts and just use pay as you go phones. For those consumers (including me), the iPod touch is a welcome lightweight single cost (if you already have a carrier) device. Hubbie and I use a verizon Mifi for internet and it will work perfectly well on the iPod touch, im sure. At work, I'm relying on a "guest"internet connection and won't be doing any confidential transactions.

I cannot WAIT for the iPod Touch 5G to arrive.

 

[Invincibilizer]

3G ipod touch won't happen.

It will take away from iPhone sales which has a bigger profit margin than ipod touches. Apple wants people to buy an iphone and buy an ipod touch to use as storage.

Why would Apple put 3G on the ipod touch that would knock their flagship product the iPhone.


3G on ipod touch, this rumor should be dead on arrival.
Economically it wouldn't make sense for phone carriers or Apple so
WHY WOULD AN IPOD TOUCH HAVE 3G? It would't.

I will quote this reply when the ipod touch is out to show how absurd this rumor is.

 

[Jett0516]

No carrier will provide 3G for it unless you sign a 2 year contract.

 

[840quadra]

No carrier will provide 3G for it unless you sign a 2 year contract.

Relaly?

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/rate_plans_store?mco=MjE0OTIzMjA

No-commitment data plans from AT&T or Verizon

In the U.S., you can choose from data plans with no long-term contract.

I don't see why they couldn't extend this from the iPad down to the iPod Touch. Especially if they are near as popular as the current iPod Touch. That is a lot of potential customers to simply reject.

 

[MacAddict1978]

This is a dumb rumour, why would apple sell what would effectively be an iphone with voice/sms service disabled!?

ROFLMAO at myself. So didn't catch your emoticon showing the sarcasm the first read. LOL.

I will just remove my sassy reply now... lol

 

[Thedeathbear]

Can't I take an iPad 3G sim and edit then APN and use it on an iPhone or have they disabled APN editing?

EDIT:I remember tether me allowed APN editing and I got the 3G to work. If I just ported my number to google voice, Could i just use that or would AT&T find out I'm using an iPad sim on an iPhone and deactivate it?

 

[Eidorian]

No carrier will provide 3G for it unless you sign a 2 year contract.

I am new at this but am I doing it right?

 

[MacAddict1978]

3G ipod touch won't happen.

It will take away from iPhone sales which has a bigger profit margin than ipod touches. Apple wants people to buy an iphone and buy an ipod touch to use as storage.

Why would Apple put 3G on the ipod touch that would knock their flagship product the iPhone.


3G on ipod touch, this rumor should be dead on arrival.
Economically it wouldn't make sense for phone carriers or Apple so
WHY WOULD AN IPOD TOUCH HAVE 3G? It would't.

I will quote this reply when the ipod touch is out to show how absurd this rumor is.

Okay, think about what you just said. Take a moment for the face slap if you see what you just said.

Um, the iPod Touch HAS ALWAYS BEEN since DAY 1 an iPhone without voice/sms capabilities. Throwing 3G just means you're not tied to a hot spot. Apple is about getting you into the IOS echo system where they make the money.

Next you're going to say they shouldn't make an iPad model with 3G because it will compete with the iPhone, since it's just a big over sized iPhone without voice/sms capabilites.

My god... next you'll try to tell us they're so worried about all this, that they wouldn't come out with something called iMessage to enable SMS on IOS devices that aren't iPhones....

Okay, rant done. But really, wtf? It's a 3G chip. Has nothing to do with phones. Does not compete or change the game or relationship between the 2 products whatsoever.

Gee, next they'll put cameras in the iPod touch and it will be even more like the iPhone without voice and sms... oh wait.... didn't they do that? Didn't the nano once shoot video? GOD HELP US ALL

Maybe people don't realize... not ever parent is stupid enough to give 9-15 year olds cell phones, but will buy them an mp3 player.

 

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

This seems like a good idea at first and then doesn't make sense after I think about it. A 3G iPod Touch and a old flip phone seems like a good idea, but then again just combine the two for an iPhone.

I'd rather an iPod Touch and a old flip phone.

 

[ericmooreart]

this would be awesome if true. I currently tether my ipod and ipad to my android phone. (25 dollar a month unlimited web)

 

[twotwo11]

This is a dumb rumour, why would apple sell what would effectively be an iphone with voice/sms service disabled!?

iMessage?

 

[Invincibilizer]

Okay, think about what you just said. Take a moment for the face slap if you see what you just said.

Um, the iPod Touch HAS ALWAYS BEEN since DAY 1 an iPhone without voice/sms capabilities. Throwing 3G just means you're not tied to a hot spot. Apple is about getting you into the IOS echo system where they make the money.

Next you're going to say they shouldn't make an iPad model with 3G because it will compete with the iPhone, since it's just a big over sized iPhone without voice/sms capabilites.

My god... next you'll try to tell us they're so worried about all this, that they wouldn't come out with something called iMessage to enable SMS on IOS devices that aren't iPhones....

Okay, rant done. But really, wtf? It's a 3G chip. Has nothing to do with phones. Does not compete or change the game or relationship between the 2 products whatsoever.

Gee, next they'll put cameras in the iPod touch and it will be even more like the iPhone without voice and sms... oh wait.... didn't they do that? Didn't the nano once shoot video? GOD HELP US ALL

Maybe people don't realize... not ever parent is stupid enough to give 9-15 year olds cell phones, but will buy them an mp3 player.

I would like to reserve that faceslap for you when the ipod touch comes out without 3G.

1-No one uses the iPad as a phone, Apple knew that when releasing the product.
2- Features like iMessage help promote the iOS as the better OS to android and rim, thus it doesn't matter if iMessage is on the iPhone or iPod touch.
3-3G allows for voip calling, sms without a texting plan and surfing the internet, basically eliminating the iPhone since the touch does the same thing minus couple hundred dollars. Why would Apple do that? tell me?
4-cameras in the ipod touch were meant to compete with flip ultra cameras
WHY DO YOU THINK IT HAS LESS THAN 1 megapixel why the iPHONE 4 HAS 5 megapixels and TONS MORE CAMERA FEATURE(HDR)




All of your points are hogwash, put yourself in Apple's shoe and you will know why 3G will not be released with the ipod touch.

 

[iMaconApple]

Always wanted one of this.. give me unlimited data I'll be happy
I don't really need the phone part much anymore..I use VoIP/messaging apps/mail..ect most the time..my mins just rolls every month..

This is why AT&T and others to follow taking unlimited data off they want to make money by data usage..I hope AT&T/others make good price deals on data..I'm glad I kept my unlimited data 2gb is a joke AT&T to me..

 

[rdberry]

I think a 3G iPod Touch is entirely plausible for multiple reasons.
1) There are people who either have no desire/use for an iPhone and/or don't want to pay the high monthly fee for it. I recently cut my voice plan back to the bare minimum yet my monthly bill is still $95+ which some people see as too high for a monthly commitment.

2) Tweens and teenagers don't really use a phone for talking anymore. They use it to text and Facebook. Recently my girlfriend's younger sister was looking for a new phone and her choice was made based on what allowed her to use Facebook the easiest. Obviously the iPhone won out but given the option she probably would have gone with an iPod Touch 3G. I'm sure there are a lot of kids/parents who won't purchase an iPhone because of the monthly data fee but wouldn't see a problem with a $25/month optional data plan on a iPod.

3)People like me who have an iPhone with one carrier (AT&T in my case) but are frequently in an area where Verizon has significantly better service. I need to have constant access to email to keep in touch with clients but I refuse to carry an iPhone from each carrier or two smartphones. If a 3G iPod were released with Verizon 3G as an option I would buy it instead of the updated iPhone without pause as it would give me everything I needed.

Here's to hoping that Apple sees the above 3 groups as reason enough to bring a 3G iPod to market.

 

[bla80]

just registered for this:

i don't think apple would bring a 3g ipod touch because it would be just for the US. in every other country you can buy an iphone and a sim card with any plan you want or just as pay and go.
no provider cares with which device you use your simcard. so you can just have minutes, just data, everything you want...
seems to me as you are really lacking reasonable phone plans.
i pay about 14$ a month for 1000min, 1000sms, 3gb only the iphone has cost me 600$ but a 3g ipod touch wouldnt be much cheaper.

 

[gpat]

just registered for this:

i don't think apple would bring a 3g ipod touch because it would be just for the US. in every other country you can buy an iphone and a sim card with any plan you want or just as pay and go.
no provider cares with which device you use your simcard. so you can just have minutes, just data, everything you want...
seems to me as you are really lacking reasonable phone plans.
i pay about 14$ a month for 1000min, 1000sms, 3gb only the iphone has cost me 600$ but a 3g ipod touch wouldnt be much cheaper.

You can be certain that the 3G iPod Touch would be much cheaper. I think it would be around $300.

----------

Okay, rant done. But really, wtf? It's a 3G chip. Has nothing to do with phones. Does not compete or change the game or relationship between the 2 products whatsoever.

A 3G chip can make anything a phone. I have a Huawei USB dongle I should use for connecting to the Internet, and with the right software I can use it with a phone SIM to make calls and send SMS with a phone plan, like a phone, from my PC. The iPad can as well, with PhoneItiPad. Once the 3G chip is there, the rest is a carrier/software limitation.

 

[Confuzzzed]

Maybe people don't realize... not ever parent is stupid enough to give 9-15 year olds cell phones, but will buy them an mp3 player.

There you have it! Someone that lives in the real world and gets it!! There's a whole lot more market niches out there for Apple to capture if it provides the right device. And they will provide an iPod Touch with all the gizmos to get it up to speed with competing devices. Another niche is the 17-24 year olds in Europe that prefer to use Blackberry primarily for Blackberry messenger. It's free to use, it's closed loop, it's 3G and you can get the device on VERY cheap price plans! iPod Touch 3G would allow Apple to compete in that demographic and give Facetime over 3G to boot so that it can smash the competition out of the park. And entice these kids to iOS ecosystem with all the superiorities over Android and RIM operating systems.

PS. Lets not forget the ice cream sandwich is coming in October as well so Apple will look to forge ahead across its range before the competition gets its act together

 

[APlotdevice]

just registered for this:

i don't think apple would bring a 3g ipod touch because it would be just for the US. in every other country you can buy an iphone and a sim card with any plan you want or just as pay and go.
no provider cares with which device you use your simcard. so you can just have minutes, just data, everything you want...
seems to me as you are really lacking reasonable phone plans.
i pay about 14$ a month for 1000min, 1000sms, 3gb only the iphone has cost me 600$ but a 3g ipod touch wouldnt be much cheaper.

I think it could still be a lot cheaper, since the differences between the current iPhone and iPod touch extend beyond cellular capabilities. The iPod touch display, while the same resolution, doesn't use IPS technology, its rear camera is only 0.7MP and lacks a flash, there is no vibration motor, no magnetometer (compass sensor) either, and it has half the RAM.

 

[bla80]

I think it could still be a lot cheaper, since the differences between the current iPhone and iPod touch extend beyond cellular capabilities. The iPod touch display, while the same resolution, doesn't use IPS technology, its rear camera is only 0.7MP and lacks a flash, there is no vibration motor, no magnetometer (compass sensor) either, and it has half the RAM.

couldn't that be an iphone 4s compared to an iphone 5?

in europe every 12 year old has a cell phone because we have plenty of pre-paid offers (think in US you call it pay&go) you can use in every unlocked cell phone you want. and often parents want to be able to call their children.

maybe in the US there is a market for it but in europe there is not. there is almost no price difference here if you just have data or data+voice. and many have a normal cell phone or cheap smartphone + ipod touch

 

[intelliot]

What's the difference between a 3G iPod touch and an iPhone? That the iPhone will have 4G? =P

 

[Confuzzzed]

What's the difference between a 3G iPod touch and an iPhone? That the iPhone will have 4G? =P

it's a good theory but I doubt it! More like an upgrade on camera (8MP and HD), RAM and possibly screen size. Still plenty good on differentiation over a putative iPod Touch 3G and/or iPhone 4S lite

 

[theluggage]

I can only assume people are getting mixed up with the supposed low cost iPhone 4. I don't know how they'd market it, but putting a cellular radio in the iPod touch makes it identical to an iPhone.

Not if it can't make voice calls.

As people keep pointing out: this is about calling plans. For many "light" voice users, having the cheapest possible PAYG voice phone, plus an iDevice on a data-only plan makes more sense than having to pay for a big voice call allowance in order to get a decent data allowance.

...Amazon manage to offer a 3G option for the Kindle for just £40 over the WiFi-only option, so its not an expensive addition. They also manage to throw in free 3G data (but then, apart from a very limited web browser, there's not a lot you can use it for, other than buying books, on a Kindle - so I doubt Apple could match that).

The other attraction of a 3G iPod Touch is that I, for one, like to keep my phone and entertainment separate: I don't want to end up tramping through the rain looking for the last phone box in the country because I used all my battery browsing the web on the train!

 

[Mouseinhat]

I'd buy this in an instant, i dont make many calls at all any more. I carry a cheap talk and text basic phone everywhere I go, as there's plenty of places I go where using a smart phone is impractical or risky,and I need to stay in touch. So to me, an iPod touch 3 g would be a perfect addition.
IMHO, it's the phone Market that's in trouble, so many people I work with just don't make calls on a day to day basis any more, interesting times ahead.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think what we'll get is essentially a "4.5G iPod touch" with these changes:

1) No more 8 GB model. It will now only be 32 GB ($299), 64 GB ($349) and 128 GB ($399). This could mean the end of the iPod classic.

2) We may get a better quality back camera--maybe as much as 2 megapixel resolution.

3) There will be a minor change in iOS 5.0 on the iPod touch--when playing back an audio file, when you pause the player if the screen is active it will bring up a virtual emulation of the classic iPod click wheel interface (the option will be enabled via the Settings screen for iOS 5.0).

4) It will still retain the A4 CPU/GPU and 256 MB of RAM, since the iPod touch needs far less computing capability than iPhone or iPad. However, the A4 chip will run faster than the current iPod touch.