Are there any good options for making Internet phone calls, or just sending and receiving texts, on an iPod touch? Google Voice works very well, but it requires a forwarding number, and I'd like to get rid of my real phone completely.
What about outside of Wi-Fi areas? Your Touch will be useless there. If I've got a connection I stick with Facebook or IM for communicating, otherwise I still rely on my phone. I suppose the phone calls could be done using Skype.
I have wifi at home and at work though, which are the two main places where I have to send texts. Skype charges for text messaging.
Tough call. I essentially get free texts through Facebook. Myself and all of my friends have text alerts set up, so I send a Facebook message to them and it's forwarded to their phone, they reply and it forwards to my phone. Requires each person to set it up though, and their phone company has to support it.
You should still probably carry some kind of phone for emergency purposes... When your car breaks down or you have some other issue, you likely won't have WiFi on the side of the highway. Is losing that peace of mind worth saving a few bucks a month?
Nice. It's too bad the people I work with aren't hip and modern enough to consider that kind of setup... Ugh... I just tried iCall and it wouldn't work because "the iPod touch doesn't have a microphone." TextNow is a .99 program that's currently available for free. It gives you a number, and lets you send and receive texts with that number. I'm not sure how reliable it is though. I'll continue to test it. Edit: Yay for good timing. Text Free Unlimited is also available for free. Very good point. I'm not a driver though. Most of my traveling is done via public transportation, airplane, and taxi. But still, I should probably at least invest in a super cheap "pay as you go" phone in case of some kind of an emergency.
What is wrong with Skype? Works perfectly here. You can buy a skype phone-number for your country with a flatrate (10.000mins per month) of pay by call. Texting /SMS works also perfectly. And you can call any mobile or landline numbers or receive calls from them. The only trouble I had was with calling paid service numbers from overseas. Microphone: You can buy a iPod microphone, like from Monster or Apple. Works perfectly. Mine is from japanese manufacturer audio-technica. Works since 2 years now. You can also check out the classic FRING, which also serves as a Hub for other social network service like skype, twitter, facebook etc. Text Now-App just annoys you AND your friends with lots of Advertisement. Not worth it. Text Free seems much more reasonable but still you have ads but can skip them for a reasonable fee.
Skype can only call other Skype phones. And most of the older gentlemen I work with just recently learned how to do texting on their cells. I've settled on Textfree Unlimited and Google Voice, with Google Voice being my primary texting service. I made Google Voice my primary because I'm able to use it with my iPod touch, desktop, and laptop with on-the-go Internet. I bought a cheap pay-as-you-go phone for the "forwarding" number it requires. Completely free phone calls and texting. Textfree Unlimited is a great backup. It's easier to setup, doesn't require a forwarding number, has a nicer interface, and great push notifications. It's really too bad I can't use it on a laptop though. But, like Google Voice, it gives you a real phone number that you can use. And HayWire is another great option.
NO, that´s wrong, completely. I bought a Skype number 3 years ago and make call to land lines and mobiles and oversea all the time. It just cost a bit to buy the skype number. You can receive and call any mobile or land line in the world or at least 93% oft it. May be it´s not so cheap when you just phone around one country but for cross country and overseas it´s dead cheap.
You don't have to buy a Skype number unless you want to receive calls from phones. You just put $10 bucks into your Skype account and pay for phone calls by the minute (around 2 cents in the US). To keep it active you have to use it once every 3 months.
Yeah, you're right. I meant the free subscription can only call other Skype accounts. With Google Voice you can send and receive calls with a real phone number for free. Skype is great, but it's not for me (right now).
