Using iPod Touch to play music over AirTunes

Along with everyone else, I’m pretty excited about the new iPod Touch.

I use my phone to listen to music when I’m wondering around town, but I’m excited about the Touch as a kind of mini, ultra portable PC. I figure I could use it for all the little things I do on the web around home without having to open up my laptop. Things like checking the weather, looking up a google map before running out the door, reading a facebook message…

The other big use I can see for the Touch is playing music over my AirTunes network. We have some bookshelf speakers plugged into an AirTunes router in the living room and that is the main way we listen to music at home. I love the flexibility we have to play whatever we like, but I hate having to open up my laptop to do it – I always get unintentionally lost in email for hours. Wouldn’t it be great if I could dial up iTunes on the Touch and play something over AirTunes?

Now, my research thus far has not turned up any conclusive prof this is actually possible, I’m just jumping to conclusions based on the fact the Touch has iTunes and a wifi connection. I’ll do some more digging and update this post as soon as I can get to the bottom of this.

8 Comments

• 
  Tony September 6, 2007 at 12:22 am

  Pema, have a web server running on your AirTunes server, then you can connect to it via wifi and send remote requests from iPod Touch. Have Paul build you something when he’s not busy ;)
• 
  Pema September 6, 2007 at 8:43 am

  Very nice idea Tony. Thanks!

  We did this for the stereo in the office at Dose magazine. I could dial into it using my blackberry and select a track to play as I was walking in – my theme music ;).
• 
  Adam September 16, 2007 at 10:43 pm

  How do you set up what tony wrote about?
• 
  Steve October 1, 2007 at 2:47 pm

  Wait,

  The airport express router assigns incoming music streams to port 3689. So couldn’t you just push an mp3 file to your router like this; tftp://10.10.0.1:3689 or something?
• 
  Pema October 1, 2007 at 2:59 pm

  Thanks Steve. I’ll try that tonight.
• 
  DaveK October 8, 2007 at 4:14 pm

  Here’s a nice app that fronts a web page in front of iTunes to control Airtunes.

  http://www.alloysoft.com/

  (I am not the developer, just trying the demo)
• 
  Pema October 8, 2007 at 8:03 pm

  Thanks Dave. Looks like a great little app.
• 
  Jim May 30, 2010 at 2:07 pm

  AirFoil from rogue Amoeba