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Using Voice over IP on an iPod Touch

06.22.2011 · Posted in Telecommunications Articles

In all respects, the iPod Touch is an iPhone except for the absence of wireless capability. But it can still connect to the Internet over wifi and in fact, this is the only way an iPod Touch can do so. Most people familiar with mobile VoIP know that wifi is currently one of the best ways to make and receive calls due to the limitations of wireless data on current cell phone networks. We might reach a stage where 4G can solve those problems but we’re not quite there yet. Luckily, wifi is pretty ubiquitous inside all office building and at home so there’s no reason why we can’t use the iPod Touch as a VoIP device.rnrnBut we’re faced with a peculiar design decision by Apple. There’s no external microphone for the touch – meaning there’s no way for the iPod to receive your voice signals if you just talk into it. However, if you buy a pair of Apple headphones which have a microphone built in, you can use that microphone to send signals to the iPod Touch. We don’t know whether this was because Apple wanted to force people to buy headphones, whether they thought it would encourage people to purchase the iPod Touch instead of the iPhone or because of certain design limitations. All we know that it kind of cripples the device because people like me don’t use the it for music at all. So I’m always caught short without a microphone capability.rnrnBut for those who do carry around a pair of Apple headphones with a microphone, it’s easy to use it as a VoIP device provided you can get access to the Internet. Some readers will recall a time when even the iPhone could only make Skype calls through wifi. That restriction has been lifted now, but it remains true of the iPod Touch.rnrnSo to make voice calls, we need two things – a working wifi connection and a microphone/headphone set. But you can also use the iPod Touch for other IP communication applications which don’t involve voice. Such as text messaging. The other day I found myself locked out of the house with nothing but my iPod Touch and my wifi connection coming from inside. I was able to use Google Voice to text my wife and get help. It would have been even better if Apple had simply fitted a real microphone onto it, but oh well. One must be grateful for what one has I suppose.

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