Skype on iPod Touch

[lyceum]

I use to say that I would only get an iPod if Skype worked on it.

I found out last Friday that Skype was coming to the iPod touch, so I sold my PDA tablet over the weekend and bought an iPod touch yesterday. The Skype app was out this morning, I tested it and it works great. You have to get a speaker attachment, I picked up one that you just plug your headphones into, it was around $5. I am very pleased. The video doesn't work, but there is no camera, so who cares? Now everyone can have an iPhone without the expensive AT&T plan.

So, if you have an iPod touch and were wondering about Skype on it - there you go.

[LowSky]

Skype over wifi... on a ipod touch... whats the point really. why not get a real phone, one of the pay as you go kind, for like $50, then buy minutes as needed. that way you have signal everywhere.

[Excedio]

Skype over wifi... on a ipod touch... whats the point really. why not get a real phone, one of the pay as you go kind, for like $50, then buy minutes as needed. that way you have signal everywhere.

Probably because the iPod Touch is not a phone. It's an iPod. And he probably has a phone.

[OffHand]

It does not work over 3G though....

[lyceum]

Skype over wifi... on a ipod touch... whats the point really. why not get a real phone, one of the pay as you go kind, for like $50, then buy minutes as needed. that way you have signal everywhere.


Probably because the iPod Touch is not a phone. It's an iPod. And he probably has a phone.

Yeah, I have a cel phone, but use Skype for my home phone. It runs on Ubuntu, and I can chat or make calls, even video calls. Now I use my iPhone rather than my PC or old PDA. It is great for home use, or anywhere with wifi. If I could not afford a monthly bill, just using it in wifi hot spots would be better than no phone at all. After all, the only limits to FOSS are internet access and your imagination, so you can guess I am always near a wifi hot spot any way ;)

[lyceum]

It does not work over 3G though....

I doubt it will without a price. That would really market the touch against the iPhone (which I think is a waste of money).

[JackieChan]

I'm actually tempted to get an iPod touch now...

Should I?

[gletob]

I'm actually tempted to get an iPod touch now...

Should I?

It's a big decision.

1. I used to buy music whenever but now I write the songs I want to buy down because you have to go in to windows to transfer them.
2. Expect to be wiping that smudgy little screen a lot
3. You will probably want to get a dock/radio of some kind for charging and playing music.
4. You should really get a nice case (I would have this one if that stupid best buy gave you money back for a gift reciept http://www.switcheasy.com/products/RebelTouch/RebelTouch.php)
5. It eats the crap out of the battery
6. If your using it as you phone you might want to be close to your wifi ap. The wireless works ok but is sometimes slow and usually tacks on around 40-50 Ms to your normal latency

I'm working on getting an xp vm in virtualbox to see if I can use itunes in there.

[lyceum]

I'm actually tempted to get an iPod touch now...

Should I?

I think it is worth it. Mine came with a clear film to cover it to keep finger prints off. It was ruined in under 5 seconds (you must be in a dust free environment to install it). $15 later I tried again with a gloss-free one and it looks beautiful. I got a snap on case, looks great. I also got a $30 gift card to Target for buying it there. That make the 16 gig really worth it.

pro:
There are a tone of free apps,

con:
most of them worthless.

pro:
it has a calendar and address book so it becomes more than an MP3 player, it is your PDA too

con:
It will not sink with Thunderbird at this time.

You also have to give the iStore s credit card number to get the free stuff, even if you do not buy.

As for music, I get all mine free from Jamendo. It is legal, but all creative commons artists. With the Last.fm plug in, I do not need to buy music, unless there is a song I cannot live without if I am in a non-wifi area. But that is just me.

I also have to say that the way it works, by touch, makes it very simple to use. It is very cool. If you have the money I say go for it.

[wrtpeeps]

I'm actually tempted to get an iPod touch now...

Should I?

Best mp3 player I have ever had. Get one, you won't regret it.

The apps are fantastic. Good games included blocked (costs 70p or something), Bejeweled 2 (£3 I think this was) and cuberunner (free).

[wrtpeeps]

Skype over wifi... on a ipod touch... whats the point really. why not get a real phone, one of the pay as you go kind, for like $50, then buy minutes as needed. that way you have signal everywhere.

And the adding minutes cost you a fortune...

People go for contract phones because if you're a medium to heavy user, you can get better value for money.

I pay £20 a month to O2 UK and I get 600 mins, 1200 texts and unlimited internet for that.

If I was on a top up phone and used the above it would cost me £120 in text messages alone, not to mention the 600mins or the internet.

[lyceum]

Best mp3 player I have ever had. Get one, you won't regret it.

The apps are fantastic. Good games included blocked (costs 70p or something), Bejeweled 2 (£3 I think this was) and cuberunner (free).

I would disagree with you there. I still prefer my Creative Zen over the touch for an MP3 player. Get the touch if you want something more. I really don't see the touch as an MP3 player. It is a PDA/game station/book reader/more/and now a phone that plays MP3s. It is by far the bast PDA I have ever owned though.

:D

[cocopuffz]

well I can confirm that I've got Itunes working with my ipod touch in Virtualbox running XP. Aslong as you follow the steps to setting up USB it works flawlessly.

[cocopuffz]

The only reason I got the touch was because with it, you can download podcasts and music wherever, whenever you want. Before that, I loved my creative Zen but had to download my music, podcasts and movies first... then synch. Since I work alot on the road at different locations I can bypass my laptop and download my media while I work in a tiny backroom.

itunes still sucks though. That's the worst part of the experience. Luckily you don't need it on a daily basis, just for synching and backup.

[lyceum]

The only reason I got the touch was because with it, you can download podcasts and music wherever, whenever you want. Before that, I loved my creative Zen but had to download my music, podcasts and movies first... then synch. Since I work alot on the road at different locations I can bypass my laptop and download my media while I work in a tiny backroom.

itunes still sucks though. That's the worst part of the experience. Luckily you don't need it on a daily basis, just for synching and backup.

I agree, iTunes does suck. I also wish it was as easy to remove songs I don't want on it as it is to get rid of apps I don't want. I was expecting the MP3 player to work like my Zen, but sadly it is not as good.

[pwnst*r]

Now everyone can have an iPhone without the expensive AT&T plan.



lol, not quite.

[pwnst*r]

I would disagree with you there. I still prefer my Creative Zen over the touch for an MP3 player. Get the touch if you want something more. I really don't see the touch as an MP3 player. It is a PDA/game station/book reader/more/and now a phone that plays MP3s. It is by far the bast PDA I have ever owned though.

:D

how can you NOT see the touch as a DAP? that makes no sense at all.

[.Maleficus.]

It's a big decision.

1. I used to buy music whenever but now I write the songs I want to buy down because you have to go in to windows to transfer them.
2. Expect to be wiping that smudgy little screen a lot
3. You will probably want to get a dock/radio of some kind for charging and playing music.
4. You should really get a nice case (I would have this one if that stupid best buy gave you money back for a gift reciept http://www.switcheasy.com/products/RebelTouch/RebelTouch.php)
5. It eats the crap out of the battery
6. If your using it as you phone you might want to be close to your wifi ap. The wireless works ok but is sometimes slow and usually tacks on around 40-50 Ms to your normal latency

I'm working on getting an xp vm in virtualbox to see if I can use itunes in there.
http://www.switcheasy.com/products/RebelSerpent/RebelSerpent.php?color=black

DO WANT. Thank you very much for that link.

[lyceum]

how can you NOT see the touch as a DAP? that makes no sense at all.

What is a DAP?

[wrtpeeps]

Digital Audio Player.

[lyceum]

Digital Audio Player.

The MP3 player on it sucks. If I just want an MP3 player I will use my Zen. It is nice that the MP3 player is on it, but it is just really crappy compared to the Zen.

[pwnst*r]

The MP3 player on it sucks. If I just want an MP3 player I will use my Zen. It is nice that the MP3 player is on it, but it is just really crappy compared to the Zen.

please explain how it "sucks".

[wrtpeeps]

please explain how it "sucks".

Because big bad evil apple make it. They want to take over the world didn't you hear? Nothing they make could possibly be good after all. :rolleyes:

[lyceum]

please explain how it "sucks".

For starters, my Zen can play more video types, or at least it re-codes them to be Zen capable. None of my videos play on my Touch, or at least I do not know how to re-code them. Zen's program just does it for me. iTunes tells my they won't play on my Touch.

The Zen has the ability to add an SD card, so I can take my kids movies or music with me for them (they are all 4 and under) without messing up my stuff (selfish, I know). With the iPod I take up my hard drive space and the time to make a play list...

With the Zen I can delete songs/videos/pics I do not want from the card or the hard drive without connecting to the computer. If I want to upload songs/videos/pics from the card I can do so. If I am at a friend and forget my USB cable I can use a SD card to add stuff to my Zen.

To do anything, other than play music or videos, in the Touch I have to plug in to iTunes. That is annoying. I do not buy songs from the iStore, as i can get the same music from www.mp3sparks.com for a fraction of the price ($2.99 for an album compared to $0.99 per song), or even better Creative Commons music from Jamendo.com.

I also find the Zen more intuitive. I picked it up, and knew how it worked because it worked the way I have always thought an MP3 player should. That is a me thing though.

Neither play oggs, I do not like that, but I already re-coded my library for the Zen so that is not a big deal for the Touch.

I think the bottom line for me is that I can do more of what I want to do on the Zen with my music than I can with the iPod. The Zen also came with better headphones, tho both are lower quality.

I also want to point out again that I love my iPod Touch, I just do not see it as an MP3 player with extra stuff, I see it as a PDA/etc... with a generic MP3 player. If not for the Skype app, I never would have bought one. Maybe they should call it SkyPod now ;)

[lyceum]

Because big bad evil apple make it. They want to take over the world didn't you hear? Nothing they make could possibly be good after all. :rolleyes:

I think you are thinking of MS and the Zune :lolflag:

I do like Apple, I have a MacBook Pro, and it is cool. It is not as good as Ubuntu (IMHO), but it looks better out of the box. As a Designer I am still trying to figure out why Macs are suppose to be better for artists. But that is another topic...