Apple iPod Touch: No iPhone Needed

July 26, 2011 — -- Apple's most recent iPhone commercial focuses on everything the company thinks you'll miss out on if you don't have one of its handsets. But the company makes what is one of the best substitutes for the iPhone for many tasks.

That product is the iPod touch, which was the best-selling portable media player during the first half of 2011, according to NPD's Retail Tracking Service. Essentially an iPhone without a cellular phone in it, the iPod touch can do almost everything an iPhone can do, including substituting for a host of other gadgets -- at least in a pinch:

Using its front-facing camera, the iPod touch also supports Apple's FaceTime video chat program, as well as Tango and other similar software applications, so it's now possible to create a point-to-point videoconferencing setup using Wi-Fi for about $500.