Yes, there's an omni-directional microphone on the back, next to the camera. But even with a built-in microphone, the touch still doesn't have a speaker just above the top of the display, where you would expect to find one on an iPhone--the speaker is found on the bottom of the iPod touch, to the left of the dock connector port (as you face the iPod's display). As a result, you won't be able to hold and speak into a new iPod touch like a traditional phone. But as with the previous iPod touch model, you can plug in a pair of headphones with a built-in mic and place phone over Wi-Fi calls with an app such as . And because the iPod touch now has both a built-in microphone and speaker, it's possible that you'll be able to use a VOIP app to make "speakerphone" calls that don't require a headset.

Given that the iPod touch now includes a built-in microphone and speaker it would make sense for its headphones to include a microphone. Regrettably, not only do the included earbuds not offer a microphone, they also lack the play controls found on some Apple headphones. If you have Apple headphones that do include play controls and a microphone, they work with the new iPod touch.