# The SBHonline Community Daily > Digerati Discussions! >  >  Skype on iPod Touch

## JoshA

Has anyone tried this app? I know Skype works well on laptops from the Caribbean. How about on iOS4 from Europe? I'm planning on using it for our trip to France and Italy next week. It's a cheap way to stay in touch if you have WiFi.

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## MIke R

yeah I tried it..works well

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## JEK

Audio only.

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## JoshA

Yeah, I know it's only audio but I'm thinking it's a replacement for a phone. Too bad Google Voice doesn't have an app yet. Doubt Cupertino would allow that.

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## andynap

I used it on my Touch from SBH and SXM and the party on the other end thought we were calling from home. I just used it tonight- perfect.

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## JEK

> Yeah, I know it's only audio but I'm thinking it's a replacement for a phone. Too bad Google Voice doesn't have an app yet. Doubt Cupertino would allow that.



  Doesn't work like a phone when someone is trying to find you.

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## JoshA

> Originally Posted by JoshA
> 
> Yeah, I know it's only audio but I'm thinking it's a replacement for a phone. Too bad Google Voice doesn't have an app yet. Doubt Cupertino would allow that.
> 
> 
> 
>   Doesn't work like a phone when someone is trying to find you.



That's why a Google Voice app would be great! Even  without the app, you can get a message to your GV number transcribed to your email and call back on Skype. I plan on trying several variations on that theme.

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## JEK

I can't imagine traveling to anywhere without a real cellular phone.

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## LindaP

My iphone 4 works clear as a bell on skype to our son in Chile.....better even than on my mac.

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## JoshA

> I can't imagine traveling to anywhere without a real cellular phone.



I'll have one of those for emergencies but will try to use Skype when possible. 

I can certainly imagine traveling without a cellular phone. Think back to those years before such a thing existed. Remember the humongous phone Michael Douglas carried in "Wall Street" when they were new? What about St. Barts when phones of any sort were rare?

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## JEK

I had that same phone and it now sits on my museum shelf. I much prefer being connected and calling and being called.

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## Petri

> I had that same phone and it now sits on my museum shelf. I much prefer being connected and calling and being called.



You actually call with your phone?!  :Big Grin: 

Quickly checking I made calls worth of 37 minutes and 20 seconds in July, 15 calls and 6 of them where less than a minute.  Total cost 2.01 euros.  We are not charged or accounted for receiving calls so I don't know about them.

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## JoshA

Yep. Young folks use their cell phone mostly not for voice calling but for text, music, games, social networking, etc.

Google voice and its connection to your other phones, gmail, video chat, etc. make it likely that phone numbers will disappear as time goes by, IMHO. Your email or other ID will serve to connect you whether by voice, video, or text. Who needs to remember all those silly numbers?

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## JohnC

I have used Skype on my Itouch. You have to get headphones that have a mike attaced. (Apple sells them). Works well. Clear reception. 
Can use where no cell reception or out of plan. Only requires WiFi access.

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## JEK

> Yeah, I know it's only audio but I'm thinking it's a replacement for a phone. Too bad Google Voice doesn't have an app yet. Doubt Cupertino would allow that.



  Google Voice-enabled apps coming back to App Store - report

By Josh Ong
Published: 01:00 AM EST


The developer of a Google Voice-enabled iPhone app has received confirmation from Apple that the app will "most likely" be re-approved for the App Store.

Sean Kovacs, the developer behind the GV Mobile app, posted the news on Twitter Thursday. The resubmission process may take as long as a week, said Kovacs.

Apple announced Thursday that it had was making "important changes" to its iOS Developer Program license. In response to criticism about the openness and lack of transparency of the App Store, Apple also released the company's App Store Review Guidelines.

Kovacs posted a Twitter message Thursday speculating that GV Mobile complied with the changes to the license. "Since GV Mobile complies with all 110+ guidelines newly posted by Apple, it should get approved?"

Several hours later, Kovacs received "confirmation back from Apple that it will most likely get back in" once he resubmits the app.

Google Voice has been the cause of no small amount of controversy for Apple and the App Store. In July of last year, Apple removed third-party Google Voice-enabled apps, including GV Mobile, from the App Store. Kovacs was later contacted by an Apple representative, but was given few details about the takedown. He responded by moving the app to Cydia, an alternative app store for jailbroken devices.

The app removals by Apple prompted an investigation by the FCC. A 'he said, she said' debate ensued, with Google claiming that Apple had rejected its Google Voice app, and Apple claiming that the app was still "under review." 

In a filing with the FCC, Apple said it had not consulted with AT&T in reviewing the Google Voice app. Apple took issue with Google Voice because it "replaced the iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail" and uploaded the user's contacts to Google servers.

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## JoshA

> You have to get headphones that have a mike attaced. (Apple sells them)



Do you have the Apple in-ear high fidelity earphones with dual drivers and mic? The included earphones are junk and my noise-cancelling earphones are overkill. I'm a bit wary of the in-ear type because they may not fit and, if so, the quality goes down, especially bass. Doesn't matter much for Skype but does matter for the original iPod purpose - music.

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## JoshA

> Google Voice-enabled apps coming back to App Store - report



This would be great news. It means the iPod touch would really be a phone using WiFi. Telcos will become network providers.

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## JoshA

> Originally Posted by JEK
> 
> Google Voice-enabled apps coming back to App Store - report
> 
> 
> 
> This would be great news. It means the iPod touch would really be a phone using WiFi. Telcos will become network providers.



 Some other possible changes to apps:


Apple's New Developer Terms: What's In, What's Out
Apple has changed the guidelines for its App Store now allowing some programs and services previously banned into the App Store. Here is what's out and in.
Ian Paul
Friday, September 10, 2010 05:30 AM PDT

Apple's New Developer Terms: What's In, What's Out
Apple says it doesn't want more fart apps, but the iOS maker's relaxing of developer rules could let previously blacklisted apps and services back onto the iPhone. Chief among the items that could be resurrected are apps such as GV Mobile, advertising platforms that compete with Apple's iAds, and cross-development platform tools such as those made by Adobe and Oracle. Here's a look at what might be headed back to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch under Apple's new iOS Developer License.

Google Voice: In (maybe)

It feels like a long-shot, but Google Voice, the search giant's telephony service, just might be making its way back into the App Store. Sean Kovacs, developer of GV Mobile, a Google Voice-based iPhone app, said via Twitter that he believed his app complied with all "110+ guidelines newly posted by Apple." Kovacs then said Apple invited him to resubmit his app, and that GV Mobile would "most likely get back in."

That's hardly a guarantee considering Apple's murky past with iPhone application approval. As TechCrunch points out GV Mobile could still be rejected based on App Store Review Guideline 8.3, which says apps that are "confusingly similar to an existing Apple product" could be rejected.

In July 2009, Apple rejected the Google Voice application for the iPhone. This caused the FCC to look into Apple's actions, Apple then denied the Google Voice app was rejected, and Google eventually settled for a Web-based version of Google Voice for iPhone.

At the time, Apple said the Google Voice app was problematic because it replaced the "iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with [Google Voice's] user interface."

Adobe Creative Suite 5: In

Apple's new rules allow developers to create iPhone applications using cross-development platform tools. In April, Apple banned developers from using tools such as Adobe Creative Suite 5 that lets you create an application in Flash, and then port it to iPhone's native language, Objective-C. Adobe said that Apple's course reversal was "great news for developers" and that Adobe will now resume development of its CS5-iPhone feature. However, this move does not change Apple's policy of not supporting Flash-based content on the iPhone. Content based on Oracle's Java and Adobe's Flash are still not available on the iPhone.

AdMob: In

It looks like Google's recently acquired mobile advertising firm, AdMob, will be able to keep selling ads for the iPhone. Apple's new terms allow developers greater flexibility for choosing an ad provider including Google's Adwords and AdMob. "This is great news for everyone in the mobile community," said Omar Hamoui, Google's Vice President of Product Management. "We're pleased that Apple has clarified its terms and we're 100% committed to developing the best possible advertising solutions and formats for the iPhone."

Shortly after Google purchased mobile advertising firm, AdMob, Apple introduced terms into its developer agreement that appeared to specifically ban AdMob advertising on the iPhone. The terms also coincided with the release of Apple's iAds advertising platform.

At the time, Apple said only independent advertisers whose primary business was serving ads would be allowed on the iPhone. "For example," Apple's former terms stated. "An advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of...mobile operating systems...would not qualify as independent." Those terms effectively shut out Google from the iPhone since the company distributes the Android mobile OS. In July, Hamoui said the iPhone accounted for about 30 percent of AdMob's business.

(New) Fart Apps: Out

"We don't need any more Fart apps," states Apple's new App Store Approval Guidelines. " If your app doesn't do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted."

Apple also warned developers its new guidelines were "keeping an eye out for the kids" reinforcing Apple's reluctance to accept racy or sexually explicit apps. The new guidelines also continue Apple's new war on amateurish content. "If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour," the terms state. When Apple introduced the new Apple TV in early September, CEO Steve Jobs said Apple users wanted professional content on their TV's and not "amateur hour" content.

The App Store currently houses nearly 800 burp and fart applications for the iPhone including Juicy Fart, Fart Machine Pro, Monster Fart, and Fart Piano.

Porn Apps: Still Out

Apple's new guidelines will still keep out many of the "overtly sexual" apps the company purged in early February such as Dirty Fingers: Screen Wash and Wobble iBoobs. Apps containing pornographic material or user-generated content that is frequently pornographic (such as Chat Roulette) are out, according to the new terms.

In case you're wondering how Apple defines 'pornographic,' Apple says its decision will be guided by the Webster's Dictionary definition. Apple considers anything that has "explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings" as pornographic.

Satire: In (but no amateur hour)

Apple's new guidelines prohibit apps from containing personal attacks, but "professional and political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary," according to the new terms. Note that Apple is once again keeping the amateurs out with the exemption applying only to professional satirists.

Apple has had a rocky relationship with political satirists, which came to a head after Pulitzer Prize Winner and Web-based satirist Mark Fiore had his iPhone application rejected. Apple asked Fiore to resubmit his app after he won the Pulitzer, and the Fiore's NewsToons app is now available for 99 cents in the App Store.

Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul).


1998-2010, PCWorld Communications, Inc.

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