Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"The latest iPhone and iPod touch are nearly identical devices, ignoring the pesky reality that the latter isn't a phone. We can fix that. Here's how to turn your iPod touch into a viable (and cheaper) iPhone alternative out of the box."

Looking for a way to reduce your mobile phone bills? Without jailbreaking, it is easy to turn your iPod Touch (and a headset) into a VoIP phone, assuming that you have a WiFi connection when needed. Skype (free if using skype-to-skype) and Line2 (formerly available mainly to jailbreakers, free app, $10/month cost) are good options, as is Fring. All provide good connections with a good WiFi signal. And, of course, SIP apps work as well.

Downsides? Skyping works well within Skype (skype-to-skype), but if you want (or need) a real phone number, it's not free. Line2 is a solid app, but needs to be running in the background, otherwise calls go to voice mail. A $10 monthly fee includes unlimited calling in the US and Canada, and is quite reasonably when compared to carrier post-paid costs.

No WiFi or in a car? You'll need a cellular data plan (and hardware) like Verizon's MiFi or Sprint's Overdrive: a small box that provides an instant hot-spot for about $60 per month for 5GB of data. Coverage is good, but this is a good alternative only if you make a lot of mobile calls (and of course use the cellular data).

Real World results? In a test while cruising the LA freeway system using a MiFi box, VoIP call quality was better than native iPhone calls, lag was more noticeable, dropped calls were about the same, but dropped much less gracefully than native iPhone calls. Overall, pretty equivalent. A downside here: yet another gadget to carry around, and the MiFi battery doesn't have a very long life. Don't forget the power cord.

The article also mentions Siphon SIP/VoIP for jailbroken iPod Touches. Similar to Fring, but better iOS integration.

I can see this technology being invaluable for international travel, to avoid those $120 phone calls.

"Even if you hold your laptop up to your face like a flip phone, talking into your computer is lame. You want to use Google Voice like a real phone-with buttons and stuff. We'll tell you how."

Pretty in-depth article about setting up a home phone to take advantage of Google Voice, with some hardware options so you can finally rid yourself of that landline. I'm done with my landline service so this was perfect timing for me. I'm slow to the VOIP bandwagon, but I'm trying to hitch a ride now.

"AT&T on Tuesday said it has made the necessary changes to enable voice over IP iPhone apps to run on its wireless network."

Prior to this, apps for VoIP had to use Wi-Fi. Apple showed its glee by releasing a statement: "We are very happy that AT&T is now supporting VoIP applications," Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris said. "We will be amending our developer agreements to get VoIP apps on the App Store and in customers' hands as soon as possible."

Ok glee might be too strong, but they are supporting this new development. So now the developers of the apps will have to reconfigure and go through the lovely approval process all over again. 

"Truphone, a mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application for iPhone and iPod touch has issued a service update following the release of the iPhone 3.1 Software Update."

According to Truphone, "We are writing to inform you that should you install OS 3.1, you may encounter service problems with the current version of the Truphone application (version 3.0.2)." They do have a new version in the approval process with Apple so hopefully it won't be too long and users will get the fix.

"Vonage, the international VoIP provider, has just released its Vonage Companion software for OS X. Vonage Companion is available to users who subscribe the the Vonage Pro plan and it basically allows users to use their laptops or desktops to make or receive phone calls. Think of it as Skype but for your Vonage account."

I don't have Vonage, but this sounds like a pretty slick interface. As long as you have a Vonage Pro account, you can record calls, set up conference calls, block calls, transfer calls, etc. This makes it possible for you to make and receive calls from the road using your existing Vonage account, from your laptop. The program works with OS X 10.4.11 Tiger and OS X 10.5 Leopard, and is free for Vonage Pro customers. You can check out the PDF Manual at Vonage if you want to learn more, or download it here.