“I try to keep a stiff upper lip about not having an iPhone. Just couldn’t afford it,” Andrew Vanacore reports for The Associated Press. “I could, however, afford the iPod touch – and got it as a gift, as it happened. It has most of the same goodies: a web browser, email, YouTube.”
“Plus, the other day I used it to call China,” Vanacore reports. “Yup, a call around the world – on a device that doesn’t have a phone. A handful of applications on Apple’s iTunes store will let you do this, as long as you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot.”
“The best part of these applications – which require the second-generation iPod touch that came out last year is that they are free to download, and calls to other people using the same app won’t cost you anything,” Vanacore reports. “Two of the services I’ve tried, Truphone and Fring, will also let you make free calls to Google Talk users and type instant messages to friends online.”
“The calls on these services sound pretty good, a little tinny but clearer than my regular cell phone connection. IPod touch users will need Apple’s US$29 ear buds that have a tiny microphone on the back of the volume control along the cord,” Vanacore reports. “The most serious drawback is the most obvious: While the iPhone uses AT&T’s wireless network to provide Internet access anywhere, on the iPod touch you’ll need to stick to Wi-Fi hot spots.”
Vanacore reports, “That means these apps probably won’t replace your cellphone. But they can moderate your iPhone envy.”
Full article here.
