Howto: Run Skype From Your iPod

Apple’s iPod might not have WiFi or voice capabilities just yet, but Apple are probably working away on this in some lab deep in their Cupertino HQ. The iPod phone that has been long rumored is on the horizon, but if you can’t wait or don’t have the cash to fork out on a new iPod phone you might be interested in how to run Skype from your iPod.

This tutorial will take you through the steps of installing Skype on an iPod, allowing you to make calls from it when connected to your PC. You will need:

1. An iPod
2. iPod dock or connector cable
3. PC running Windows XP with iTunes installed
4. Skype

Now onto the howto itself.

1. You’re going to need a stable version of Skype. Get it here.
2. Rename the file as .zip and unzip the folders contents.
3. Now open iTunes preferences and enable your iPod to run in disk mode and turn off automatical sync.
4. Create a new folder called ’skype’ on your iPod.
5. Copy the Skype.exe file from your unzipped folder into the new ’skype’ folder on your iPod.
6. Also copy the entire ‘data’ folder from your unzipped folder into the ’skype’ folder on your iPod.
7. Open Notepad, then copy and paste in the following 2 lines
   @echo off
start Skype.exe /datapath:"data" /removable
8. Save the file as ‘StartSkype.bat’ into the ’skype’ folder on your iPod.
9. Now create a shortcut to the ‘StartSkype.bat’ file and place it on your desktop or in your Start menu.
10. Double click the shortcut to run Skype off your iPod.

Notes.

• If you attach your iPod to another computer, you will have to navigate to the ’skype’ directory on your iPod and doubleclick the ‘StartSkype.bat’ file to run the app.
• This howto is for Windows PCs only, it will not work on Mac OS X or Linux.
• Inspiration from Makezine.