This is a guest article written by Emma Best from laptopical.com – a guide for those wanting to stay up-to-date on the latest Apple Macbook releases and Toshiba Notebook news. They also have a twitter account, so follow them here
The Apple iPod Touch is a thin, sleek touchscreen portable music player in the most simple of terms. It is basically an iPhone, minus the calls and camera, and offers users the ability to run a wide array of apps, play games, and connects to the Internet.
Such a sophisticated device begs to be hacked and used to it's fullest potential. Below are five hacks for a first generation iPod Touch. Note that these hacks may not work for a second generation iPod Touch, so do your research before attempting them.
Jailbreak it
Jailbreaking an Apple iPod Touch is the most popular hack, and is basically unlocking the player. By jailbreaking the iPod Touch, you will be able to access the entire file system, install unofficial apps and use the phone on a different wireless network.
To Jailbreak your iPod Touch, you will need to download and install a program called QuickPwn. To unlock your iPod Touch with this method, refer to this detailed tutorial video:
View its video here
Pretend it's an iPhone:
The iPhone and iPod Touch are very similar devices, except for one big difference - the iPhone can make phone calls, whereas the iPod Touch can't...unless you install TruPhone on it.
Truphone is an app available from the Apple Store and can be downloaded and installed directly on the iPod Touch. Once installed, attach a microphone to the iPod Touch, call a number using the Truphone app, and listen with your headphones. It can be configured to run with Skype, MSN, and other popular options.
Turn it into a Handheld GPS Unit
Whether you're heading across the city, the country, or the world, a GPS unit is always a handy gadget to carry with you. With iGPS 360, you can turn your jailbroke iPod Touch into a handheld GPS unit with fast start time and the ability to save and recall previous data.
To turn your iPod Touch into a GPS device, follow these directions:
- Purchase the iGPS 360 device.
- Install a GPS software app to your iPod, such as the xGPS app from xWave.
- Charge the iPod Touch over night with the iGPS 360 attached and repeat the process once a week to avoid losing your data.
Play Retro Console Games
Remember your favorite console games from the 80's and 90's? Using emulator apps, it is now possible to play those games on your iPod Touch. While there are several emulators available for the iPod Touch, the most popular is by MAME4iPhone, which works perfectly fine on the iPod Touch. To play console games on your iPod Touch, follow the next steps:
- Download the app. It's available from https://zodttd.com/repo . Go to this address on your iPod Touch and download the app.
- Find and download game ROMs. Be sure to download only legal ROMs, and ones compatible with your emulator.
- Run the app and open the ROM to begin playing.
Use Your Smartphone as a Wifi Hotspot
So your iPod Touch has a larger screen than your smartphone and makes surfing the web far more enjoyable. The problem? You're not around a wifi connection. The solution? Joiku!
Joiku can be installed onto a smartphone with a data connection and turned into a wifi hotspot that your iPod Touch can connect to. It couldn't be easy to do:
- Download Joiku onto your smartphone.
- Follow setup for an SSID and then create a password.
- Browse for a hotspot on the iPod Touch, enter the password for the network, and connect