Rumors have swirled about Apple readying a new version of the iPod Touch with a camera and microphone, which, combined with a Skype account, would pretty much obviate the need for a home phone line once and for all.
1. Pretty sure that need was obviated years ago, when cell phone coverage became ubiquitous.
2. I really doubt this will make much of a dent in the home phone market, as VOIP handsets have been available for years.
3. I agree that the iPhone network plans are overpriced, but I really don't want the hassle of carrying two devices, hunting for open wifi, plus the cost of buying them both, a skype number, etc.
We gave up cell phones and this is exactly the solution we opted for. We got a Touch ($250) and a Skype number/subscription ($60) and saved over $1000 from our cell contract. Two drawbacks:
1) Skype doesn't push calls through the other iPod apps so you have to have Skype loaded and the device unlocked to receive a call. In reality, you just make outbound calls.
2) If you have a need for a non-stop wireless signal (and we don't - not now), this won't work but....The Verizon Mifi ($60/month plus $100 upfront) gives you your own personal wireless connection through their 3G network. The bonus is you can connect up to five wireless devices at a time. The only real downside is a maximum of 5 Gb/month in bandwidth. True, that's an extra device to carry/charge, but the flexibility seems worth it to me if we ever to need constant connectivity.
Basically, we get almost all of the iPhone's functionality for a lot less. Next year our total cost will be $60 (for the Skype services). I think this option can work for anyone who spends most of their time within range of a wireless network. In case our old car ever breaks down, we do have an emergency paygo cell. If we find we'll be out and about more often, we'll get the Verizon Mifi.
What's interesting is Verizon actually pushed us down this path. We weren't getting decent coverage in our home (and no provider would in our town), so they offered us their Network Extender which routes cell calls through VoIP...for another $200. You read that right. They unload capacity from their towers and through the internet and still manage to charge $200.
This is my dream handheld app. I'm finally moving to the city, so wi-fi will be constantly available, and I can't afford the iPhone's network plan.
The perverse Apple fan in me, of course, doesn't even care about this upcoming technology as much as he cares about how awesome the keynote announcement will be.
Not sure what city you're moving to, but I live in San Francisco and I've been very disappointed in how often I can't find an open hotspot. Perhaps it's just me?
I was just out there visiting and I was surprised by the same. Berkeley was less of an issue. It does seem like there are a lot of closed wireless networks in San Fran that you can buy a subscription to. That might be another option if you don't need so much connectivity to require the Verizon Mifi.
There's probably some potential for Apple to grab a decent chunk of the low-end/mid-range camera market. Convergence is a bigger selling point than pure quality these days for portable electronics. In the future when the iPhone is $50 with contract on any carrier the Touch will have to become a more unique device to justify its existence. If Apple were to make it larger (about the size of a paper back) and give it a legitimate camera it would be a very interesting device.
Meh. If I'm going to carry a Touch for its amazing new camera capabilities (plus my iPhone), why bother with the iPod + Apps features? Why not just get a camera? And if it's for the convergence, why not just get an iPhone?
combined with a Skype account, would pretty much obviate the need for a home phone line once and for all.
as the iPhone OS still does not support background applications, this is barely true - unless you want to keep skype running all the time which would render you unable to do unimportant stuff as, say, change the track you are listening on.
Push notifications aren't perfectly real-time, you can often have a delay of up to a few minutes, which is too long for a connect signal.
However, as it's pretty much free to call on Skype, a notification that someone has tried to call you, and do you want to call them back, would be completely feasible with the current technology. I can only imagine that Skype are gearing up to do exactly this in their iPhone app...
1. Pretty sure that need was obviated years ago, when cell phone coverage became ubiquitous.
2. I really doubt this will make much of a dent in the home phone market, as VOIP handsets have been available for years.
3. I agree that the iPhone network plans are overpriced, but I really don't want the hassle of carrying two devices, hunting for open wifi, plus the cost of buying them both, a skype number, etc.