Even as we speak I am bidding on eBay for a new iTouch. If I already have one, why do I need another? There is a reason apart from techno-lust.

My life is travel. As a journalist and publisher I get to travel a lot. Far, far more than most people. At one time in my career more than airline crew.

What I need is a device with which to stay constantly in touch.

Ordinary mobile phones do not hack it.

Swapping SIM cards for Australia, Thailand, China, the UK and much of Europe can lead a young lad into a frenzy. And, important, I really do no want to receive most calls. For they are always from PRs who want to push some product or other and this is not my idea of a meaningful conversation.

For many years I have used Skype. On the desk computer is a Skype hand set plugged into the USB. It must be six years old.

When my daughter phones from Thailand or another daughter phones from the United States or my son phones from Manchester it is always a Skype call and goes through that machine.

The same when I am traveling. I have the iTouch set up for Skype phone calls so that I can avoid the ruinous charges for phone calls made by hotels and mobile companies who are based outside the country from which you are calling.

One reader asked for further and better details. For a mic — the speaking part of the phone — I use is a Touch Mic which is at http://tinyurl.com/7fypyv

You can see it working in a very poor video on:
http://tinyurl.com/7ju7tk

Or go into You Tube and just search under iPhone microphone.

This is a serious working piece of kit and it lets me make phone calls from anywhere in the world in which I have a wireless connection. Which, in truth, is pretty much everywhere although some airlines have the gall to make a charge in their lounges.

Note that the iPod touch and iPhone are the exact same thing except the iPhone has the phoning capability and the internet works everywhere. For the ipod touch it only works in WiFi areas. And the iTouch is a lot cheaper. Possibly half the price. And slimmer and sexier.

If you go into the iPod site — http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/ — you will find that it is selling in-ear headphones which also contain a microphone. There it says:

The control capsule located on the cable of the right earpiece includes a microphone and three buttons. With this convenient remote, you can adjust the volume, control music or video playback — including play/pause and next/previous — and record voice memos.

This microphone has not yet been tested with my iTouch and I am getting another one so that I can use it almost as a dedicated mobile phone.

Finally, you can get a step by step guide on http://tinyurl.com/3pn4q3

I already have Gmail on my iTouch. I sorted it out with http://tinyurl.com/9pw7uy.

So what do I need two iTouch machines? Back-up.

I simply cannot afford to go totally out of communication. People can email be using Gmail. It comes up on my iTouch and, if it is important, I call back using Skype.

The iTouch is now an integral part of my business life. For the amount of money involved I most seriously need two.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 10:57 pm under Uncategorized.  Print This Post

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