How To Make VoIP Calls from Your iPod or MP3 Player

Want to call your friends using your iPod Touch? Yes, it's possible that you won't need the iPhone to contact other people when you have Voice Over Internet Protocol or VOIP. The most convenient to use with the iPod touch are Skype and TruPhone.

Why should you go for an iPod Touch VOIP rather than an iPhone?

• The iPod Touch is cheaper than the iPhone.
• It usually doesn't include a locked-in account contract for two years.
• You can IM your friends for free.
• Calling others through VOIP is incredibly cheap. It can even be free!

Before we start, do take note of the following.

• Your calls will only be free if the receiver also has Truphone app installed in their phone and at the same time they are in a WIFI zone.
• You can still make international calls either through landline or mobile phones at a very cheap per minute or fixed rate.
• You will definitely need a microphone adaptor for this to work as the iPod Touch doesn't come with one.

Here are the things you'll need:

• A 2nd Gen iPod Touch
• Truphone Touch downloaded to your player
• Access to free WIFI
• An in-ear premium headset

As of the moment, the Truphone Touch application is the one most suitable for the task of allowing you to call your loved ones through VoIP.

Here are the steps to go VoIP on your iPod Touch:

1. Connect your iPod Touch to your PC.
2. Go to Truphone (http://truphone.com/) and download the application (http://www.truphone.com/ipod/) to your iPod Touch.
3. Once installed, choose the TruPhone icon to run the program.
4. Choose New Customer.
5. Key in your preferred TruPhone username. It must be from 6 to 20 characters and must have at least one letter and may contain numbers and the following symbols: * and _.
6. Enter your email address and home country.
7. Check the box for the emergency calling notification.
8. Read the Truphone terms and conditions, and then tick the checkbox once done.
9. Choose Complete Signup.
10. Check your email for account details.
11. You will then be redirected to the Getting Started screen where you will input the information from your email.
12. Put in all your Truphone and Googletalk contacts to your TruFriend Contacts.
13. Plug your microphone headset.
14. Check for WIFI connection on your iPod Touch.
15. Choose your friend to contact in the TruFriend Contacts list.

There are a couple of plans available for power users, which let you call landlines and mobile phones for very low rates. TruPhone even offers a flat rate for unlimited calling to most states.

If you want to use your iPhone outside of WiFi coverage, it would be a little tricky, but you can use your cellular phone as a WiFi router, and share your 3G, HSDPA or GPRS connection to nearby devices. This would require you to install a separate application such as Joiku Spot, though.

With this, you can hold off buying that expensive iPhone and settle for your iPod Touch as your communication tool instead, especially when you're frequently in areas with WiFi connectivity.