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iPod touch iPod touch with wifi calling

Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
this is just speculation on my part but I can see how this might be interesting to keep the touch alive....and save parents lots of money to boot.....kinda a prephone which parents have been embracing since the touch was first released.... apple issued phone numbers by passing the carriers altogether :)
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
anyone like this idea? I imagine there would be a segment of the population that lives in large cities where wifi is around just about everywhere that could get by without a real iPhone......if google voice is allowed to issue numbers I dont see why apple can't too.......come to think of it I wonder why google never did this....it would have been pretty simple....old tech with new spin

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I had a friend in the military that used the touch exclusively to call the states with skype or something....would have been better without having to use earpieces etc but it worked well for him..... so again although its old tech it could be marketed at this point as revolutionary lol..... tmobile is kinda doing that marketing with wifi calling as we speak
 
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Outrun1986

macrumors 6502
Jun 27, 2010
299
3
I went a lot of places yesterday and there literately wasn't one place without wifi, except for while driving of course. The only problem is is that I need a phone for emergency use, especially if my car breaks down which can and will happen. Not sure how I would deal with that situation these days since everyone is expected to have a cell phone. I currently have the cheapest plan on page plus for that, costs me $30 per year.
 
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SusanK

macrumors 68000
Oct 9, 2012
1,676
2,655
WiFi is everywhere in my area. Businesses don't reference it. It's a given. I don't remember the last time I turned on WiFi and found nothing. Been years.
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
Outrun1986 said:
I went a lot of places yesterday and there literately wasn't one place without wifi, except for while driving of course. The only problem is is that I need a phone for emergency use, especially if my car breaks down which can and will happen. Not sure how I would deal with that situation these days since everyone is expected to have a cell phone. I currently have the cheapest plan on page plus for that, costs me $30 per year.
Click to expand...

I certainly could not do without a phone..... just think alot of people could....and if apple really decided to create a new market I think they could if marketed correctly.

I think I must be missing something though..... yes they could cannibalize some phone sales but I think they could design it to still maximize profits on the devices to a point it would not matter much..... I think that its a no brainer to be a hit with the under 12 crowd

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something like the 5c without the phone part and wifi calling enabled would be an instant hit for parents looking to fill that gap..... i.e. 7 years old to 11 or so.... pretty much after that you want your child to be in contact no matter where they are
 
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SusanK

macrumors 68000
Oct 9, 2012
1,676
2,655
dontwalkhand said:
Sure it's everywhee but the problem I have in my area is that they're all LOCKED!
Click to expand...

Too bad. I'm in an area with free WiFi everywhere. Merchants offer it as a matter or course. It's nice. I hope your area is like that soon.
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
dontwalkhand said:
Sure it's everywhee but the problem I have in my area is that they're all LOCKED!
Click to expand...

I practice open wifi.... anyone that comes close to my house can access..... I do understand peoples concerns but in my opinion it would be nice if everyone did that....
 
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magicMac

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2010
985
413
UK
I like the idea. WiFi calling (UMA) does still require a SIM card though, it is just a different method (WiFi instead of Cell Towers) of the phone connecting back to the mobile networks call registration and presence system.

Having said that, embedded SIM cards (surprised apple didn't use these for the iPhone 6) could finally bridge the iPod Touch and iPhone.
 
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MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
I use my iPod touch 5G for wifi calling all the time. In fact, I got rid of my smartphone a few years ago, and haven't looked back. I combine it with my iPad mini which has an unlimited data plan from AT&T that I'm grandfathered in on. Works great. I only pay $29 a month, and I'm covered.

I will never stop my unlimited data plan. This months data usage was 60 GB! I only use it on my daily 2hr round trip commute to work!

I hope they release a 5.5" iPod touch with cellular. Probably won't happen, but if they did, I'd switch my iPad mini nano sim into it...and whala! Instant iphone.
:)
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
MacDarcy said:
I use my iPod touch 5G for wifi calling all the time. In fact, I got rid of my smartphone a few years ago, and haven't looked back. I combine it with my iPad mini which has an unlimited data plan from AT&T that I'm grandfathered in on. Works great. I only pay $29 a month, and I'm covered.

I will never stop my unlimited data plan. This months data usage was 60 GB! I only use it on my daily 2hr round trip commute to work!

I hope they release a 5.5" iPod touch with cellular. Probably won't happen, but if they did, I'd switch my iPad mini nano sim into it...and whala! Instant iphone.
:)
Click to expand...

And that probably scares the carriers to death..... I would not be surprised if it has come up in many meetings between Tim and the ceos of the major carriers.....however when the time is right I think apple would do it....I am sure iMessage pissed off the carriers too.... notice it did not take long after imessage was introduced before the carriers started bundleing text as a feature instead of stand alone product.
Its not for everyone but Apple could make this a huge market if they chose to....and again so could Google...... it almost has to be backroom deals that have prevented it so far

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magicMac said:
I like the idea. WiFi calling (UMA) does still require a SIM card though, it is just a different method (WiFi instead of Cell Towers) of the phone connecting back to the mobile networks call registration and presence system.

Having said that, embedded SIM cards (surprised apple didn't use these for the iPhone 6) could finally bridge the iPod Touch and iPhone.
Click to expand...

the embedded sim would be a good way for apple to go with a permeantly assigned number attached to the device..... apple could probably get away with even charging 5 to 10 a month for it but I think that would be a mistake.... best served free and make the money off hardware and iCloud
 
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Outrun1986

macrumors 6502
Jun 27, 2010
299
3
Wifi use depends on where you live. I don't patronize businesses that don't offer free wifi. Like I said it's about 90% of the time. Walmart doesn't have wifi, but I don't shop there so it's not a problem. People use wifi for many reasons, but yes there are some places that don't have it. I am on the US/Canadian border so it's important to have wifi as using cell data in another country is prohibitively expensive. One example is my friend from Canada was at a restaurant that didn't provide wifi, he couldn't message me to tell me he was there because we use Facebook messenger and his data doesn't work in the US I guess. He had to walk outside the restaurant, find wifi then message me. If he didn't find that wifi the restaurant would have lost a customer as I wouldn't have otherwise visited. I will not be supporting this place in the future, and we will look for another place with wifi and there are plenty of those here.
 
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MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
When I lived in Taiwan teaching English, the entire island was covered in free wifi. Wherever you went, you could sign on. Even in the mountains! It was great. If Taiwan can cover their entire island with free wifi...so could major cities in America. I currently live in NYC...and their are many wifi hotspots, but manhattan isn't covered in free wifi. It should be. I just heard on the news tonight that they are going to cover the subways with free wifi. Its a start. ;-)
 
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617aircav

Suspended
Jul 2, 2012
3,975
818
Mercury7 said:
anyone like this idea? I imagine there would be a segment of the population that lives in large cities where wifi is around just about everywhere that could get by without a real iPhone......if google voice is allowed to issue numbers I dont see why apple can't too.......come to think of it I wonder why google never did this....it would have been pretty simple....old tech with new spin

----------

I had a friend in the military that used the touch exclusively to call the states with skype or something....would have been better without having to use earpieces etc but it worked well for him..... so again although its old tech it could be marketed at this point as revolutionary lol..... tmobile is kinda doing that marketing with wifi calling as we speak
Click to expand...


Wifi calling already exist on the touch. So many apps that do this already. Google never did this because it won't work. Tmobile wifi calling requires a calling plan and is designed for when you have weak signal and wifi can help. It does not replace your calling plan.
 
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MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
617aircav said:
Wifi calling already exist on the touch. So many apps that do this already. Google never did this because it won't work. Tmobile wifi calling requires a calling plan and is designed for when you have weak signal and wifi can help. It does not replace your calling plan.
Click to expand...

It replaced my calling plan. I call over wifi on my iPod touch using my google # with google voice & google hangouts.
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
I think there may be some backend work that apple could do on their server farms that would make wifi calling mainstream without carrier involvement.... not an engineer just do not have reason to believe they could not do it....question is if there is incentive to do so...... there probably is more incentive for one of their competitors to do it..... ie google
 
dontwalkhand

dontwalkhand

macrumors 603
Jul 5, 2007
6,377
2,866
Phoenix, AZ
Outrun1986 said:
Wifi use depends on where you live. I don't patronize businesses that don't offer free wifi. Like I said it's about 90% of the time. Walmart doesn't have wifi, but I don't shop there so it's not a problem. People use wifi for many reasons, but yes there are some places that don't have it. I am on the US/Canadian border so it's important to have wifi as using cell data in another country is prohibitively expensive. One example is my friend from Canada was at a restaurant that didn't provide wifi, he couldn't message me to tell me he was there because we use Facebook messenger and his data doesn't work in the US I guess. He had to walk outside the restaurant, find wifi then message me. If he didn't find that wifi the restaurant would have lost a customer as I wouldn't have otherwise visited. I will not be supporting this place in the future, and we will look for another place with wifi and there are plenty of those here.
Click to expand...
Walmart does. Just SSID hidden and locked ;)
 
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anaqvi786

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2013
170
18
At iOS planet
You know, with companies like T-Mobile having a free 200MB plan and other companies like FreedomPop that gives free 500MBs of data every month, we really don't even need to pay for service. And with VoIP apps like Google Voice, FreedomPop's (which doesnt take data on its own network), Viber, WhatsApp, or even Talkatone there isn't much of a need to pay for phone service. Plus parents who are on a budget can just buy an iPod and not have to be locked into a service contract.
 
6

617aircav

Suspended
Jul 2, 2012
3,975
818
anaqvi786 said:
You know, with companies like T-Mobile having a free 200MB plan and other companies like FreedomPop that gives free 500MBs of data every month, we really don't even need to pay for service. And with VoIP apps like Google Voice, FreedomPop's (which doesnt take data on its own network), Viber, WhatsApp, or even Talkatone there isn't much of a need to pay for phone service. Plus parents who are on a budget can just buy an iPod and not have to be locked into a service contract.
Click to expand...


That may work for few people but for most it's not good enough. VoIP calls are not as clear as regular calls and depending on signal strength may be useless in a lot of places. If you don't make calls at all, either personal or business it may work for you.
 
Mercury7

Mercury7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2007
738
556
I think for most people wifi only calling would not be enough..... However that does not mean it would not be huge.... A wifi phone would be purchased by almost every member of the military serving overseas as a back up device and I also believe every kid that does not have a phone on their parents plan would beg for one.

The industry would perceive this as a threat though .... It really is not unless you could convince everyone to unlock their wifi

Wish I knew something that pointed to this becoming a reality but it really is pure speculation/wishful thinking
 
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