iPhone 4 versus iPod Touch

[Jenko]

Hi, having never owned an iPhone or iPod touch before, I was curious to get some feedback from experienced owners of either or both devices.

So I suppose my question would be, with the advent of face time microphone and speakers would it be possible to use the iPod Touch as a phone instead of paying the extra for the iPhone.

I am curious to hear anyones advice and input on this as I am in the market for a new mobile phone and would love to own the iPhone 4 but I have not raised the funds quite yet. Having recently purchased my first apple product (MBP 15" i7) I thought the iPod or iPhone would be the perfect companion. I would be using my phone primarily for personal use as we are moving house soon and are thinking about stopping our landline, it does not seem to be worth paying for both mobile and landline. Anyway thanks for any input.
Regards
Jenko

 

[scaredpoet]

So I suppose my question would be, with the advent of face time microphone and speakers would it be possible to use the iPod Touch as a phone instead of paying the extra for the iPhone.

Although facetime is an open standard, it should be noted that only the iPhone 4 and this new generation of iPod touch are the only devices that actively support the protocol currently. And no matter how awesome these devices may be, the reality is not everyone is going to get one.

Now, you CAN still use the iPod touch with a VoIP solution, such as Line2 or the Skype mobile app. This will allow you to make and receive calls just like any normal phone, provided you're logged into Skype.

The obvious drawback to this is, your phone calls would be restricted to wherever you have access to WiFi. This might be fine for you at home and probably at work and a few other places, but it's all the spots in-between that cause people to choose the iPhone over the iPod Touch.

I would be using my phone primarily for personal use as we are moving house soon and are thinking about stopping our landline, it does not seem to be worth paying for both mobile and landline.

Bear in mind that at your new place, it could take a couple days and possibly even a week or more to get new broadband internet service up and running, and that's something you'll need to get Facetime or VoIP working. Having a cell phone can be really important when you're moving.

 

[Jenko]

Thanks for the advice. One other thing do you consider contract's for the iPHONE to be better value than sim free. Here in Ireland all mobile companies have recently changed their contracts to only allow 500mb of free data usage a month, previously they allowed up to 2gb.

 

[scaredpoet]

Sorry to hear about the reduction in the monthly data limits. AT&T is limiting new users to 2GB/month here in the US, though those of us "veterans" who have been around prior to the iPhone 4 launch have been allowed to keep our unlimited plans. I have Wifi at home and at work, and yet I would still regularly run the risk of going over a 500MB cap each month.

The contract question depends on whether you think you intend to keep cell phone service for the life of the contract. For many of us, cell phones have pretty much become a necessity, so the answer is yes. In that case, why not take advantage of a subsidy?

On the other hand your needs may be more different and you could do without at times. In which case it might make more sense not to go with a contract.

Each person is different, and so you need to analyze your situation and see which option you're likely to benefit most from.

 

[Jenko]

OK thats great advice thanks for your quick answers, I have a lot to think about.

I will be heading out over the next week to the various mobile companies in Ireland (Vodafone, 02, Meteor and Three) to ask their advice and see what would be the best deal for me.

Currently I would probably spend about €30 to €40 euro on calls a month with sim free.
Contracts range from €35 euro upwards with the iPhone 4 costing a subsidised €299 16gb or €399 32gb. It also depends on the amount of free minutes with each contract they start from around 150 mins for €40 euro.

Anyway thanks and good luck
Jenko

 

[maflynn]

I'd also consider how both feel in your hand and having a phone that does it all, versus having a phone plus an iPod touch, does that make things a bit ungainly to carry around in pockets and such.

 

[OMGitsShan]

If you are spending that much on calls a month - you may as well just get a contract iPhone. A contract iPhone would be subsidised to around the price level of the new Ipod Touch anyways. So why spend 200+ Euros on just an iPod Touch when for a little more you can go all the way and get an iPhone?

Plus remember if you aren't going to have a landline - you need some sort of normal mobile phone and while yeah you can do Skype with the iPod Touch, it isn't really a perfect solution based on it being wiFi only.

Even the 16GB iPhone on the cheapest monthly contract should be within your budget and allow you to have the benefit or a normal phone. It is also much better to have your phone and ipod in one device than having to carry around 2 things.

It is only worth getting the full SIM unlocked phone at full retail price if:

1. You're a Pay As You Go person and you top up so rarely and such small amounts too. Where the full cost of the phone plus the total amount you plan to spend on topping up within the year is cheaper than any contract offer for the iPhone.

2. You travel abroad a lot and like to use local SIMs so its cheaper - hence you need the unlocked version.

3. You have a great deal on your current SIM plan (minutes/text/data) and signing up for a contract phone would mean a newer (and usually crappier) contract plan. So with this, buying the phone outright and using your current SIM is the best way.

I just say you look for the best iPhone deal and take it. Also while you might go around to the shops - you may find some of the online deals better. So don't just look at stores - but online too.

 

[Jenko]

If you are spending that much on calls a month - you may as well just get a contract iPhone. A contract iPhone would be subsidised to around the price level of the new Ipod Touch anyways. So why spend 200+ Euros on just an iPod Touch when for a little more you can go all the way and get an iPhone?

Plus remember if you aren't going to have a landline - you need some sort of normal mobile phone and while yeah you can do Skype with the iPod Touch, it isn't really a perfect solution based on it being wiFi only.

Even the 16GB iPhone on the cheapest monthly contract should be within your budget and allow you to have the benefit or a normal phone. It is also much better to have your phone and ipod in one device than having to carry around 2 things.

It is only worth getting the full SIM unlocked phone at full retail price if:

1. You're a Pay As You Go person and you top up so rarely and such small amounts too. Where the full cost of the phone plus the total amount you plan to spend on topping up within the year is cheaper than any contract offer for the iPhone.

2. You travel abroad a lot and like to use local SIMs so its cheaper - hence you need the unlocked version.

3. You have a great deal on your current SIM plan (minutes/text/data) and signing up for a contract phone would mean a newer (and usually crappier) contract plan. So with this, buying the phone outright and using your current SIM is the best way.

I just say you look for the best iPhone deal and take it. Also while you might go around to the shops - you may find some of the online deals better. So don't just look at stores - but online too.

Thanks for the advice really appreciate it.

We are also having to cut back financially at the moment which is another reason why when we move house soon we are trying to eliminate extra costs such as a landline phone.
We will just keep our mobiles and broadband (need the internet for work opportunities) hence the reason why we are considering setting up a cheap contract with skype for international calls to other mobile and landline numbers.
Again thanks to all for your input and my next move is to get info from all the mobile servers here in Ireland and make an informed decision then.

Regards Jenko