Wireless turns iPod into a phone
A freeware application for the iPod Touch can turn the music player into a virtual mobile phone. — Truphone uses wi-fi technology in an iPod Touch to allow users to make calls to other iPod Touch owners and Google Talk's messaging service users.
Context & Ripple Effects
The iPod Touch had already demonstrated its ability to carry VoIP calls in a 2007 iPod Touch VoIP experiment, and a September report confirmed the hardware could support VoIP. Truphone turns that capability into a freely available service tied to Wi-Fi and Google Talk users.
The move follows Fring's Wi-Fi calling support for iPhone users, showing that internet-call services are treating Apple’s handheld devices as software-defined communications endpoints rather than fixed-function music players.
First-order effects
- iPod Touch owners can use Truphone to place Wi-Fi calls to other iPod Touch users and to Google Talk users, expanding the device’s use beyond media playback.
- Google Talk gains another handheld endpoint for its users, while Truphone gains distribution through a large installed base of Wi-Fi-capable iPods.
Second-order effects
- Fring and Truphone compete more directly to make Wi-Fi calling a standard feature of Apple handhelds, with supported messaging and voice networks becoming a differentiator.
- Apple’s device positioning is pressured toward a broader communications role as third-party software supplies functions that do not require a conventional mobile handset.
Third-order effects
- If Wi-Fi calling applications continue to spread, the distinction between a media player and a phone shifts from hardware identity toward available connectivity and software services.
- Internet messaging networks gain leverage as communications layers across devices, while dedicated voice hardware becomes less central to how users choose a portable device.
The trend: Portable consumer devices are converging around Wi-Fi and software, allowing communications services to extend beyond purpose-built phones.