Mobile WiFi + iPod Touch = Better/Cheaper Than iPhone
An iPod Touch plus a mobile WiFi router is better and cheaper than an iPhone, says Wired.com’s Charlie Sorrell.
Sorrell just got the MiFi — a mobile, battery-powered WiFi hotspot that can share a high-speed cell connection with several devices via WiFi. It’s sold in the U.S. by Verizon for $100. (Requires a two-year contract and a monthly plan costing $40 or $60 — 250MB or 5GB of data, respectively.)
The MiFi is fast and reliable, he says, and can be used with an iPod Touch to make Skype calls and play music streaming from Spotify’s fantastic music library.
“The real point is that if you have a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot in your pocket, it is going to be cheaper than an iPhone contract pretty much anywhere, and can not only enable your iPod Touch to have an always on connection, but let you make Skype calls and stream music without having to worry about the usual iPhone size limits, as you’re on Wi-Fi. You can also share the connection with five machines in total, including a netbook, for true on the go video calls and (gasp) Spotify.”
Setup was a little tricky and he’s not been using the setup long, but Sorrel thinks the combo could be all he needs. He’ll be testing his new setup in coming weeks and promises to report back.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: 
