iPod touch owners get cheap Wi-Fi

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 28 Sep 2007 at 15:44

The Cloud is offering a new service called Cloud Unlimited Music, which offers unlimited Wi-Fi access for only £3.99 a month - but only if you own an iPod touch.

All other devices will still be charged at the usual rate of £6.99 per month. Despite the discounted price, the offer is completely independent of Apple - no subsidy is being offered by the iPod's manufacturer. The deal also includes full internet access, unlike the recent Starbucks deal, which saw users restricted to the iTunes music store.

"We believe this is a significant step forward in making music, podcasts and video available when, and wherever, people really want it," says Owen Geddes, Group Director of Business Development at The Cloud.

iPhone users will soon be able to make the most of our Wi-Fi network when the iPhone is introduced in November, and we want to make sure people who have the Wi-Fi enabled iPod touch are able to benefit from our network of over 7,500 hotspots, too."

The move certainly makes the touch a more attractive proposition if you live near a Cloud hotspot, and slightly reduces the gap in features between the music player and the iPhone, with its unlimited data plan.

The service will launch on 1 October and doesn't involve a contract, so users can pay on a month-by-month basis. MAC authentication will be used to ensure that users with other devices cannot take advantage of the cheaper rate. A Cloud representative said that the deal is a permanent offer that will not be withdrawn after a few months.

The Cloud has undertaken device-specific deals before. Since late 2005, Nintendo DS owners have been able to make use of Wi-Fi access from The Cloud and BT's Openzone, but were limited to multiplayer games and could not access the internet.