It’s certainly possible: with hackers having cracked the iPhone — which runs the same OS X as the forthcoming iPod touch — the only missing part of the equation is a microphone.
If hackers can get the iPhone’s mic headset working with the iPod touch, along with a software hack that allows a VoIP app to be installed on the device, the iPod Touch could end up being a delightfully cheap, all-singing all-dancing mobile VoIP device.
Of course this does require the separate purchase of an iPhone headset but it’s a small price to pay for free calls. Something tells us that Apple’s stance on homebrew might not be so neutral if this does come to pass.
Having said that, there may also be the scope for making VoIP calls on the new iPod touch without any hacking at all. Assuming the iPhone’s headset works with the iPod Touch (the wired one obviously) then getting some VoIP calls on the go could be as simple as loading up the Safari browser and heading over to s4iPhone.com; hey presto, a legal SIM free Apple handset that can browse the internet, hold all your music and make free calls, all for a measly £200.
It’s all speculation at the moment but if true, it might just be that Apple finds the iPhone suffers a decrease in popularity after the arrival of the iPod touch.
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About Fraser MacInnes
I’m not so sure that Apple will care about someone hacking together a VoIP solution for the iPod Touch… in terms of sales, I’m sure they’d rather iPhone non-purchasers buy an iPod Touch instead of some other mobile WiFi-enabled device.
It’s not as though Apple particularly gives the impression of wanting to be a traditional mobile phone handset manufacturer, in any case. The recently announced iTunes WiFi Music Store leaves AT&T out in the cold, for example. I think they’d rather just make ultra-desirable mobile devices of all kinds, some of which are phones, some of which aren’t.
It’s the mobile phone networks that should really be worried, perhaps!
To use Skype on iPod touch you need to set up a callback number, it should be a real phone number, a landline or mobile. For voice communication SkypeOut is needed.