Now you can iPhone with Verizon (sorta... Touch with MiFi)

[Toe]

Instead of buying an iPhone, you can buy an iPod Touch and a new Verizon MiFi.

It won't be cheap, but in the end, you will have an iPod Touch which has wifi anywhere on the Verizon network. For actual telephony, you'd have to use Skype on your Touch, I guess.

Given the huge cost, the extra baggage of the MiFi, and the imperfectness of using Skype on a Touch, it hardly seems worth it. Then again, given the awful coverage of AT&T, it just may be a worthwhile option for some...

 

[jarjarblinks]

According to your usage methods, people will find themselves skewed towards hotspots more often than they physically need to. Assuming someone really adopts this method, the inconveniences caused will far outweigh any potential cost savings.

I just don't see it being very practical.

 

[Small White Car]

I just don't see it being very practical.

No, it would totally work with these 2 changes:

1) If Skype could receive calls (which 3.0 will hopefully bring us)
2) You can get some kind of external battery for the MiFi to extend its life (or own 2 of them, I guess)

With those conditions met, the user would have an iPod that acts like an iPhone for the price to Verizon ($40 month) and for Skype ($3 a month).

That's a HUGE savings over paying AT&T. The only downsides are the extra MiFi device you have to carry, plus you have to use the earbuds to talk on the phone. Are those downside worth paying an extra $40 or $50 a month to AT&T for?

(And you can always have wi-fi for 4 friends to share whenever you're around! You would be very popular!)

 

[deannnnn]

No, it would totally work with these 2 changes:

1) If Skype could receive calls (which 3.0 will hopefully bring us)
2) You can get some kind of external battery for the MiFi to extend its life (or own 2 of them, I guess)

With those conditions met, the user would have an iPod that acts like an iPhone for the price to Verizon ($40 month) and for Skype ($3 a month).

That's a HUGE savings over paying AT&T. The only downsides are the extra MiFi device you have to carry, plus you have to use the earbuds to talk on the phone. Are those downside worth paying an extra $40 or $50 a month to AT&T for?

(And you can always have wi-fi for 4 friends to share whenever you're around! You would be very popular!)

I'd pay $40 a month to actually be able to use the phone as a phone... aka, no earbuds.

I don't have a problem with AT&T's coverage... it's just all these iPhone users have just murdered their network. I usually get my calls, but I'd say I either can't connect to data at all, or end up waiting for 5 minutes to load my current location on Google Maps. That's just in NYC though I guess. It works better in Florida.

 

[Consultant]

$40 a month for 250MB, with 10 cents per MB overage fee,
or $60 a month for 5GB.

Edit: that's for the Verizon device. iPhone is $70 on at&t with unlimited data and included minutes.

 

[Small White Car]

$40 a month for 250MB, with 10 cents per MB overage fee,
or $60 a month for 5GB.

Where did you get $60 from? The cheapest AT&T plan is $69 + $30, so $99 per month for an iPhone.

So it's $44 vs. $99.

Yes, paying an EXTRA $55 per month just so you don't have to wear earbuds and you get more data is a legitimate choice. It's what I'll continue to do myself! So I certainly understand that.

But there are certainly many people out there who will decide that's not worth it and go for the iPod + MiFi option. That's $55 a MONTH you're saving.

 

[Toe]

Where did you get $60 from?

It's $60 from Verizon for 5GB of data.

 

[jmccullough108]

Where did you get $60 from?

Good job reading the actual article posted.

 

[fox777]

The cheapest AT&T plan is $69 + $30, so $99 per month for an iPhone.

Where the hell you get this from..?? The cheapest ATT plan is $40 and then 30 for data plan so $70 total..And this whole idea of using touch, earbuds and all the stuff is most retarded idea ever..I am almost positive no one will ever use all this ****

 

[AiralynRose]

well you couldnt receive calls very well if you have to have the app open at all times. this just doesnt seem practical. if this would work for you,then you'd probably be fine with just using whatever free hotspots you could find.

 

[9822679]

Buried for Inaccurate Title

An iPod touch =/= iPhone (let's wait to see what 3.0 brings us first)

Honestly, why not make your title "possible iPhone replacement" or something like that ?

 

[Toe]

Buried for Inaccurate Title

An iPod touch =/= iPhone

Honestly, why not make your title "possible iPhone replacement" or something like that ?

Title is carefully worded: "you can iPhone sorta." And FWIW, the same solution would work with an iPhone.

The point is, iPhones are fantastic and AT&T is horrible (IMHO). The fantastic part of the iPhone is that it is a portable pocket-computer (ie, same as the Touch) plus it has internet access anywhere there is mobile phone coverage (quite unlike the Touch). So "you can iPhone with Verizon" means you can get all the benefits of the super-portable, internet-everywhere computer with Verizon (and a bunch of cash).

 

[9822679]

Title is carefully worded: "you can iPhone sorta." And FWIW, the same solution would work with an iPhone.

The point is, iPhones are fantastic and AT&T is horrible (IMHO). The fantastic part of the iPhone is that it is a portable pocket-computer (ie, same as the Touch) plus it has internet access anywhere there is mobile phone coverage (quite unlike the Touch). So "you can iPhone with Verizon" means you can get all the benefits of the super-portable, internet-everywhere computer with Verizon (and a bunch of cash).

2mp camera, better speakers, free OS upgrades, I don't need to use a headset to use my phone, GPS, etc etc

It's not an iPhone just because you can use skype

 

[bigmouth]

plus you have to use the earbuds to talk on the phone.

Interesting...and you could avoid that problem by substituting a used iphone for the ipod touch.

 

[Toe]

2mp camera, better speakers, free OS upgrades, I don't need to use a headset to use my phone, GPS, etc etc

It's not an iPhone just because you can use skype

Sure, but it depends on what "iPhone" means to you. To me, the phone function is almost completely superfluous. Primarily it is a hyper-portable, use-anywhere computer. In that case, the thing that distinguishes it from the iPod Touch is the "anywhere" since the Touch requires WiFi.

Bringing WiFi-anywhere to the Touch makes it almost equivalent to the iPhone for people like me.

 

[Small White Car]

Good job reading the actual article posted.

I obviously thought he was comparing Verizon to AT&T. Clearly, I was wrong and he was comparing Verizon to Verizon.

I misunderstood his post, not the article. If you're going to critisize me, at least critisize me for the mistake I made, not a made-up mistake.

You should have said "Good job reading the guy's post, dumb dumb." That would have been a lot more accurate.

 

[9822679]

Sure, but it depends on what "iPhone" means to you. To me, the phone function is almost completely superfluous. Primarily it is a hyper-portable, use-anywhere computer. In that case, the thing that distinguishes it from the iPod Touch is the "anywhere" since the Touch requires WiFi.

Bringing WiFi-anywhere to the Touch makes it almost equivalent to the iPhone for people like me.

Wow your argument is terrible. What it "means to me"? Now we're bringing in emotions, instead of facts ?


So basically your title should be

Now you can Use your iPod touch Like a phone with Verizon MiFi

that makes more sense

 

[Toe]

So if iPhone OS 4.0 can run Skype in the background, then an iPod Touch with a MiFi (or any other 3G-to-wifi transponder) would be quite workable as a mobile phone.

...right?