[PCWorld]

Post your comments for iPod Touch is Not Quite an 'iPhone Without the Phone' here

[Jimster480]

This is true, but its not so bad. You can do alot with a iPod touch. WiFi is basically everywhere these days, but if it was running Android it would be even better. if someone would release a Android (iTouch) device then it would be a pretty big hit (atleast I think so). I have a iPod touch and i used it for years until I got my HTC EVO. Now the EVO basically replaced it for everything that it would do, since its faster and better at just about everything (although has a crappier selection of games).

[rem736]

unbelievable! there's always something to complain about. any time you are able to do something with a gadget that it is not designed to do in the first place is always a plus.

[ivorycruncher]

You know, the only real valid reason to adapt an iPod Touch to be a phone right now is so that you don't have to be tied to AT&T's network. Using WiFi only is theoretically possible, but completely impractical, because if you have no WiFi, you not only have data, but no voice calls either. That seems far too unreliable to me, and would only serve as a secondary, non-critical calling device.

If you want to use it as a primary phone, your best option is to buy a WiFi hotspot device from Verizon, Sprint, or wherever, in which case you will STILL be under a service contract, just not one with AT&T. So yes, it can be a phone without really being a phone, but I doubt many will bother doing it for daily use. It's more of a "because we can" effort.

[aobrien812]

This really just sounds like another ploy by Apple to separate people from their money. I already have a 64G Touch and I just got an Android phone. They both do what they do very nicely and I think I've about reached the saturation point for the time being on getting new toys!

[teajay74]

You also need to factor in the fact that most or many Bluetooth headsets that function with iPhone won't function with iPod touch - apparently. I have a 3rd gen iTouch and it won't sync at all with my BlueAnt headset but my iPhone 4 does perfectly. Seems to be a serious issue and I doubt it's different on this new iTouch either.

[RichardGilboy]

The ipod touch actually has a 5mp sensor, it may be fully unlockable with the next jailbreak for the device.

[drogers]

"This brings me to the first flaw in the iPod Touch as an iPhone replacement. Speakers are nice, but without an actual earpiece -- the other, quieter speaker that points directly into your ear -- iPod Touch calls are everybody's business. Your only workaround is to sync a Bluetooth headset for private phone calls."

Wouldn't a simple workaround just be to plug in a pair of earphones for audio and talk into the microphone on the iPod Touch? I can do that on the Palm Pre. Is the new iPod Touch capable of that?

[caribiner23]

A little data point for Jared Newman:

I've been using my current-generation iPod Touch as an iPhone replacement for several months. I use the headset that came with the Touch and a Virgin Mobile MiFi (when I can't find a hotspot) and it works very nicely for private phone calls.

What Mr Newman really meant to say is "there's no built in earpiece or mouthpiece on the iPod Touch." The "workaround" he mentions is more complicated and expensive than necessary.

[cooldrywit]

Another advantage to going the iTouch + Mobile Hotspot route is that you can consolidate and lower your monthly expenses. You can buy a Sprint Overdrive for $99 and then get the 4G data plan for $59.99 a month. If you live in a Spint 4G coverage area then there is no bandwidth limit! This means goodbye unlimited ATT iPhone and bill (about $135 a month). This also means goodbye internet/cable/phone bill (mine is around $125 a month). So you don't have the exact same camera. GPS, or speaker but you can save $200 a month and always have your internet connection with you...sign me up!

[drogers]

cooldrywit - you have an excellent point -- for the time being.

When I signed up for a Sprint 3G data plan back in early 2008, it was "unlimited." A few months later, they put a 5 GB data limit on it. I protested, but they did not let me cancel the contract, even though the terms of the contract had clearly changed on me and I didn't agree to it. (Perhaps I should have threatened to bring a lawyer involved.) Needless to say, I'm skeptical when Sprint claims "unlimited." Is it "unlimited" for the life of the contract? Or can they change it on a whim? What do you have in writing? If I had known that Sprint could change how much data I could use on the contract for the 3G device I bought back in '08, I would not have signed up.

(I realize that currently 4G is unlimited and 3G is not, but what happens down the road? How much do you really trust Sprint? And, dare I say it, just how trustworthy *is* Sprint?)

[jondrew]

What? Mr Jobs lead us down a path? Good points in this article. The most glaring omission of the new iPod touch that I did not pick up on was the quality of the camera. I knew it did not have GPS (which is why I bought a 3G iPad instead of the wifi only model). I don't see what the deal is to skype or whatever with a blue tooth. I don't see that as an issue. You mentioned the Virgin Mobile MiFi. I just got one and after a rough start over the holiday weekend it seems to be working admirably. May be my replacement internet access for my iPhone/iPad (just drop to the minimum data plan on the phone). The alternative would be a jailbreak and make the phone a hotspot.

[StanO360]

drogers, on 07 September 2010 - 12:46 AM, said:

cooldrywit - you have an excellent point -- for the time being.

When I signed up for a Sprint 3G data plan back in early 2008, it was "unlimited." A few months later, they put a 5 GB data limit on it. I protested, but they did not let me cancel the contract, even though the terms of the contract had clearly changed on me and I didn't agree to it. (Perhaps I should have threatened to bring a lawyer involved.) Needless to say, I'm skeptical when Sprint claims "unlimited." Is it "unlimited" for the life of the contract? Or can they change it on a whim? What do you have in writing? If I had known that Sprint could change how much data I could use on the contract for the 3G device I bought back in '08, I would not have signed up.

(I realize that currently 4G is unlimited and 3G is not, but what happens down the road? How much do you really trust Sprint? And, dare I say it, just how trustworthy *is* Sprint?)

With 4G all of the players will have about 8-10x the 3G available bandwidth and that will ramp up over the next few years. Personally, I see more of a turn towards cheaper data plans and people using wireless in lieu of landlines (clearly that is what WiMax is).

[Connor1776]

Quote

This is true, but its not so bad. You can do alot with a iPod touch. WiFi is basically everywhere these days, but if it was running Android it would be even better. if someone would release a Android (iTouch) device then it would be a pretty big hit (atleast I think so). I have a iPod touch and i used it for years until I got my HTC EVO. Now the EVO basically replaced it for everything that it would do, since its faster and better at just about everything (although has a crappier selection of games).

Funniest thing I've heard today "You can do a lot with a iPod touch. WiFi is basically everywhere these days, but if it was running Android it would be even better."