iPod touch

SPOTLIGHT: iPod Touch gets Truphone VoIP

Doug Mohney — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:54:21 -0500

Truphone can now be found on the iPod Touch - the iPhone without the 3G wireless connectivity on it. iPod Touch users can tap into the WiFi connection to download Truphone's free software from Apple's App Store, then start dialing away with VoIP to make free voice calls to other iPod Touch users, Truphone customers, and Google Talk IM clients. Free calls to Skype and MSN users will be added later. Users can also set up a paid account and make calls to landline or cell phones, or send SMS text messages.

A headset is required, and Truphone warns that its service shouldn't be considered a replacement for ordinary phone service, because you can't make E911 calls with it.

For more:
- Read about it here at Tom's Guide.

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SPOTLIGHT: iPod Touch finally VoIP-able

Pete Wylie — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:04:45 -0400

Clever hardware buffs have found a pathway to enable VoIP calls on the newly released iPod Touch and Classic. Apple enabled the headphone jack to accept external microphones, with the intention of letting clients record voice memos on the devices. But with the right application, users could manipulate the external microphone capability to enable VoIP calls over WiFi through clients like Jajah and Skype.

Apple has yet to clarlify on its stance on VoIP calls over WiFi; the company expressly forbids VoIP calls using either the EDGE of 3G networks.

For more:
- see the blog post on macrumors.com

SPOTLIGHT: Microsoft messenger for Mac muffed

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:53 -0400

Microsoft Messenger for Mac Muffed
Microsoft Messenger 7 for the Macintosh is getting a mixed review from TGDaily. There are various tweaks and improvements to make it behave more like its PC counterpart, plus some new enterprise features, but Microsoft left some holes in the implementation of audio calls and video conferencing. You can get audio calls, multi-party conference calls and video conferences, but only users who run the application in an enterprise environment and conjunction with Microsoft Communicator and Exchange Server; no joy for home users. Microsoft says VoIP and video calls to Windows Live Messenger will be enabled through updates "further down the road."

Enterprise users will be happy with improved integration with Office Communicator 2007, but Mac users will continue to rely on tools such as iChat and Skype to conduct audio and video conferencing. Then again, there's never been any love lost between Apple and Redmond.

For more:
- TGDaily's critique of MS Mac Messenger 7

SPOTLIGHT: Extending SIP to Skype, VoIP to iPod Touch

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

Surprises can be wonderful, especially when it comes to taking an existing platform--such as Skype or the iPod Touch--and opening it up to an entirely new set of possibilities.

Voxeo and Vapps have a way to connect Skype into their SIP-based platforms, leveraging the capabilities of Skype to use its wideband G.722.2 codec for higher quality voice calls. It's a little awkward, since connecting into Vapps under G.722.2 apparently requires dialing a rather large (over 99 digits) number within Skype. Read Phoneboy's Skype to SIP Possible, In Use scoop

One might doubt Apple was surprised to find someone had figured out how to turn an iPod Touch into a VoIP phone. Cheers to the lads in the Land Down Under (Well, Lifehacker) for providing step-by-step instructions in how to hack an iPod Touch into a Phone.

iPod Touch VoIP likely

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

When Apple rolled out its first WiFi-enabled iPod Touch (pic) earlier this month, it had a marked lack of phone functionality. This would only make sense to Apple, which started selling iPhones not three months ago for around $600 a pop, and more recently, $400. It didn't make as much sense to the user community, however, because the $300 stoked-up iPod touch music player was also a wireless transceiver.

The key to VoIP enabling the touch involves jacking a mic/headphone set similar to the one compatible with the iPhone, because both run on the same browser, the Apple Gazette reports. A cabled-up iPod touch may not be as sleek looking as a regular iPhone, but it would still be $100 cheaper than the real thing.

It would also allow users to select from any number of VoIP services, compared to the short leash that iPhone users are on with AT&T (even though hackers have broken it a time or two, and a Skype app is in beta.) A new GUI version of iUnlock called AnySim was released over the weekend as well, according to Gizmodo. The advent of iVoIP is probably not far behind, but only for users willing to deconstruct their pricey Apple handhelds. In the meantime, the Nokia N800 tablet is already there. It's just not an Apple.

For More:
- The downloadsquad compares the iPod touch with the VoIP-enabled Nokia N800 Internet tablet
- Gizmodo shows AnySim

Related Article:
Skype for iPhone hits (and so do the bills) Report