Hi ladies,
I have seen a few odd questions on this site about iPods over the last year or so. Our kids both now have iPod touches and I am curious about the various apps that you can download. It is my understanding (hubby hears from the younger "kids" at work--twenty-somethings) that you can load apps to allow texting features, for free. Now I have looked at a few of them, but it gets very confusing as some of them say that content can include profanity, etc. Well obviously! I mean.. it depends on what is texted using the app, right? But these free ones seem to come with advertisements, which is how they are free. Are the advertisements vulgar/adult language? Is that what the disclosure is trying to say?
Do any of you know which apps are worth getting (even if it is $5.99 annually) to add a text feature to the iPod touch? It is way cheaper than buying a phone and supplying service... but is it a hassle to use? Does it function reliably? I just can't tell from the reviews shown in the app store.
Thanks in advance for any tips or info you can share!
Added: this isn't for me to use. I have a phone. This is for the kids' use only.
My son has an IPOD and he has a downloaded app for texting. There are ads, but if you say you don't want ads, they will eliminate them for $6 for the year! I think that is a pretty good deal. But I haven't done much research.
Good Luck :)
I asked a question about this (texting from my ipod touch) about a month ago, I don't have the link handy but go check it out.
I use Textfree, even though I have a phone, to avoid the monthly fee (I am cheap!) My daughters each have Textfree on their Touches. As noted by others, you do have to have Wi-Fi for the texts to go through. We have Wi-Fi, and I really do not want my girls texting too much anyway (even though all their friends do!)
There is a small ad at the bottom of the screen that changes, but I never noticed anything inappropriate, and neither have my girls (they are the type who would ask, and one of my girls uses it as much as she can!)
You get assigned a telephone number, and you do get limited voice time as well (I think it is 10 free minutes). If you do not use your number for 10 or 15 days, you get a text saying that you will lose your number if you do not keep your account active.
Overall, it is a handy way to text if you need to. Since I do not pay for a text plan with my phone, each regular text is 25 cents. I try to avoid those texts.
Hope this helps.
We use TextNow. It is free and we can also make phone calls from the itouch using this app.
my son has skype on his ipod touch he can text and actually call our house from his ipod
My nephew uses textfree. He texts me a lot and it works great. Never saw anything inappropriate at all. My kids use facetime with their IPod touches to talk to their Dad who has the IPhone 4 and Skype to talk to friends. Just remember you can only use it when they have a Wifi connection. Still a GREAT feature!
My husband just got back from deployment and he turned his phone off and we used textnow while he was overseas. We went through several and it was the most reliable. the advertisements are at the bottom and I've never noticed anything vulgar. We also texted a lot through skype.
I cannot speak to the apps specifically, but wanted to chime in on whether it would be more of a hassle to use an app than a phone. My son uses a texting app and it works well. But remember, it will only work with a wireless internet connection. You will not have constant service like you do with a cell phone. While it may be cheaper to use a texting app on an ipod than a cell phone, I wouldn't rely on the ipod as a means of communicating during an emergency. The message would not be sent (or received) by the ipod until an internet connection is available.
Someone told me about textfree. That is what they used. I downloaded it but never really used it. I stink at being frugel. I have the phone and pay for the service. :)
