Device to convert iPod Touch to iPhone begins global pre-order

Apple Peel 520, a piece of equipment that can transform the iPod touch into an iPhone, is available now for pre-order through Peel520.net for 119 U.S. dollars (about 800 yuan), but it will cost 520 yuan (about 78 U.S. dollars) when the device is officially launched by U.S. distributor Go Solar USA.

It is a protective case made for the iPod touch containing a dock connector, 800 milliamp-hour battery, and SIM card, which allows for voice calls. For text messaging and to allow the device to work properly, users will have to jailbreak into the iPod software, which refers to unlocking it to work with non-Apple applications, and download the necessary apps ("Yosion" and "YsSMS"). The 800 milliamp-hour battery, when fully charged will offer nearly five hours of talk time and 120 hours of standby use.

Yosion Technology, Apple Peel 520's designer, once announced that the case would be on sale this August, but because of further design improvements and negotiations with its production plant, the release was delayed until the end of September.

Analysts believe that the technology of the Apple Peel 520 is not complicated and has been imitated by other manufacturers, so Yosion Technology must start to sell as soon as possible.

However, foreign media claims that Apple had applied for a U.S. patent for the main functions of the Apple Peel 520 earlier and it has been made public. And on the patent document, the case "accessory transceiver" can transform the iPod Touch into an iPhone through physical connection or wireless.

By Zhao Chenyan, People's Daily Online