Use iPod touch + Skype as cell phone substitute?

I don't like phone companies, so I'm thinking to get rid of my cell
phone and get an ... ipod touch!

With the new Skype app (and a mic headset) I should be able to make
and receive calls on an ipod touch whenever I'm in a Wi-Fi spot, which
is at home and at work for me, so most of the time. Okay, for all
other times (and for when my ipod will be turned off or sleeping) I
could get a cheap prepaid cell phone.

I don't want an *iphone* because it would bind me to a phone company,
and I really dislike that. I hate being bound in 1- or 2-year
contracts that, I think, will just be extended if I don't cancel, and
paying high monthly fees (currently $55 incl. tax and fees for my
Verizon phone).

How viable is the ipod touch + Skype alternative? Can you always run
the Skype app in the background, or would it always have to be open
and block my main ipod window? Can I receive a call while I listen to
music? Surf the web?

An ipod touch costs $300 for the 16GB version. Getting a Skype phone
number so people can call me from their phones costs $60 per year.
Getting a Skype voicemail costs $20 per year. Unlimited calls to cell
phones and landlines in the U.S. via Skype costs $2.95 per month. In
addition, calling most other countries is about 2 cents per minute.

That's $115.40 per year for Skype, which is under $10 per month, plus
the upfront costs for the ipod touch. Plus, maybe $10 per 90 days for
a prepaid cell phone?

Do you think it's worth it? Or too much hassle?

Markus

In article
<14345c74-9807-4562-8f93-e5e71ed6a7f5 RemoveThis @l13g2000vba.googlegroups.com>,
Markus Dehmann <markus.dehmann RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't want an *iphone* because it would bind me to a phone company,
> and I really dislike that. I hate being bound in 1- or 2-year
> contracts that, I think, will just be extended if I don't cancel, and
> paying high monthly fees (currently $55 incl. tax and fees for my
> Verizon phone).

Fair enough, but in the interest of completeness I'll just mention that
the Apple store is reportedly now selling 3g iPhones without contract.
They're more expensive because of that, but on the other hand you don't
get locked in to a long-term deal.

> How viable is the ipod touch + Skype alternative? Can you always run
> the Skype app in the background, or would it always have to be open
> and block my main ipod window? Can I receive a call while I listen to
> music? Surf the web?

As it stands right now, the iPod would prevent Skype from running in the
background, so you could not receive calls unless Skype was the
foreground app. (This assumes you can receive calls when it's in the
foreground, which I expect is true but have not verified). This is a
limitation imposed by the iPod and not something Skype can change.

Based on Apple's announced features for iPhone OS 3.0, it should be
possible for Skype to add this as a 3.0-only feature once that OS is
released. Whether Skype chooses to do so is something only they can
answer, but I know of no technical hurdle that would apply. iPhone OS
3.0 would be available for the iPod touch and would probably be a $10-20
upgrade.

--
Tom "Tom" Harrington
Independent Mac OS X developer since 2002
http://www.atomicbird.com/