Mobile Messaging 2.0 » Touch the Phoneless iPhone!: a hosted discussion on mobile messaging, devices, and user practices and trends

Touch the Phoneless iPhone!

by Imran Ali

September 5, 2007 at 5:39 pm · Filed under SMS, Software, touch screens, iPhone, Instant Messaging

A few hours ago, Apple updated its iPod line for the hoiday season, with new nano and classic models. Most significantly, the range saw the addition of the iPod touch; essentially an iPhone, without the phone!

However, the iPod touch is significant for mobile messaging; though the iPhone includes a cute iChat-esque text messaging application, it lacks a native iChat (or other instant messaging) client.

Despite the inclusion of wifi browsing capability in the iPod touch, it also lacks iChat and IM, even though it would make for a great IM device in the home and at wireless hotspots (such as Apple’s newly announced partnership with Starbucks!).

Perhaps Apple will address this in future iterations of the iPhone and the iPod touch, letting innovation in its flagship models filter down to more affordable models. In the meantime, we’ll have to be content with third parties, such as meebo and random user hacks…

Oh and maxing out at 16Gb?! C’mon, put a hard disc in there already!

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3 Comments »

John wrote @ September 13th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

Is Apple retarded or something? All I’ve ever wanted was a Apple-based PIM. No iChat on the iPhone? No iChat on the iPod Touch??! Hello??! By this point, I’m expecting the iPod Touch to have a camera built-in AND iChat A/V.

Here, let’s make this simple:

Email
iChat
Address Book
Calendar
Web Browsing
MS Word document editing

Imran Ali wrote @ September 15th, 2007 at 5:23 pm

I agree - it seems insane that iChat is not part of either iPhone or Touch. A portable wifi videochat device would be an aweome development

GabyM wrote @ September 15th, 2007 at 8:21 pm

I think Apple is going to launch out an i-Touch with iChat and Mail in December..Once EVERYONE has gotten the first generation of the all new iTouch.

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