“The cost of talking on the go is coming down, thanks to an increasing number of options for using Internet calling services on cellphones as an alternative to traditional cellular service plans,” Jim Finkle reports for Reuters.
Finkle reports, “Some high-profile devices are equipped with the technology, including Apple’s iPhone.”
MacDailyNews Take: But, alas, not RIM’s new BlackBerry Storm. See: RIM’s new BlackBerry Storm offers mechanical click screen, lacks Wi-Fi – October 08, 2008.
Finkle continues, “Jeb Brilliant, an event planner from Long Beach, California, reduced his monthly AT&T plan to 700 minutes from a more expensive unlimited access plan after he became comfortable using mobile VoIP.”
“He uses Truphone, which charges 6 cents a minute to call landlines in most countries and 30 cents a minute to call mobile numbers. It also sells bundles of minutes that are discounted over its à la carte rates,” Finkle reports.
Finkle reports, “Brilliant has tried other mobile VoIP services and said that the technology could sometimes prove more reliable than cellphone service. When a family friend recently went into labor, he found himself making phone calls via a Wi-Fi network at the hospital. ‘You can get it in places where there is no cellphone reception,’ he said.”
Full article here.
Skype is free in the US and Canada with the unlimited plan for $5 a month.
Skype’s plan for Canada and the US is $2.95 a month. I am seriously thinking about getting an iPhone and this Skype plan.
“You can get it in places where there is no cellphone reception.”
That’s brilliant!
Skype to Skype is free. Skype to landlines and cell phones isn’t free. The unlimited US plan is $3/month (cellphones and landlines). International calling rate plans are more complicated.
Where is an official skype app??? They exist for windoze mobile. I have not been able to get skype out to work thru fring yet and I have this above mentioned N’American plan. Huh.
would this type of technology allow the making of calls on an iPod touch (2nd gen.) when using WiFi? i plan on buying one soon, and have a headphone w/ a mic built in (iPhone approved).
@ KevinOpp
Yes.
See http://www.fring.com
Fring has opened up Skype on the iPhone, although it could still use a little work.
Having used Skype on Mac for years, and now with Fring on the iPhone, and also tried TruPhone – I can say that while there are times when it can save money or be very convenient – the quality isn’t great.
Reliability – dropped calls are not uncommon, and “handshaking” can still be dodgy, especially on international calls.
Sound – quality is sometimes perfectly fine, sometimes really awful, depending on your connection I guess.
Delay – the biggest handicap for VOIP is really the delay in voice relay. I usually encounter up to a 1-second delay between talking and the other party receiving. This isn’t a killer, but it does mean a lot of you stepping on each other’s conversation in a back-and-forth.
I hope that the technology gets better, but honestly given the increase in (maybe more accurately explosion of) internet bandwidth usage, I wonder if won’t get worse before it gets better.
Jajah is the best. 3c per min + 25 for mobile and it works with Edge, 3G or WiFi.
“…I usually encounter up to a 1-second delay between talking and the other party receiving”
This has been my experience when using traditional, wired POTS landlines for the past twenty years, when calling overseas. So, for international callers, VoIP is no different than ordinary land line (and that probably includes audio quality as well).
thanks folks—although i read Mac and Gizmodo-type sites religously, i always tend to ignore the tech that doesn’t pertain to me “yet”. now that you bring up Fring, i realize how many times i’ve read about it but passed on the article. we can’t use the iPhone since we live so remotely that there’s no cell service at all for at least 1 hour in all directions, but oddly enough there’s enough WiFi spots that i could likely make a call with the iPod Touch on WiFi than i could using the iPhone and cellular service.
I used fring today for the first time and as much as I love my iPhone for now it sucks big time because there is no background task which is painful on a phone like iPhone where you can multi task. Actually with Fring version 1 you can’t. Also I was on a call with skype and I received a call that completely cut my conversation. So let’s say it is still a work in progress…
@ mac
just give me one more nudge if you will. so i get fring, but to make a call over WiFi to a land based line or another cellphone that just has regular cellular service, i will also need to go through Skype and whatever plan they have that allows me to call said phonelines? like a per minute plan?
I’ve not been able to get Fring to work but I have been able to use TruPhone on the Iphone in the Poconos where there is absolutly no cell service from anyone for miles. I know Truphone is more expensive than Skype but at least for me TruPhone works.
Yes, KevinOpps. That is correct.
I have gotten fringe to work on the iphone but the quality is not good. I did get rid of the home phone a year ago and love Skype. 50 bucks a year for incoming and out going. I’m a REALTOR and work out of the house. I make a lot of calls!!!
The other nice thing is if you travel and have a portable you can use Skype where ever you have WIFI.
I bought my very first iPod (32G Touch) last week when Fring was announced. Setup a Skype account via my Macbook Pro and now use the touch to place calls, send/receive email, and send/recieve IM’s via AIM and ICQ when I’m in Wi-Fi range which is most everywhere I go. Higher voice quality would be nice as would push email, but I’m content to put up with both until the technologies mature. It’s great NOT to be paying $ to ATT
@ Bitjockey
and you are using the Fring app to connect on the iPod Touch? and using a “iPhone approved” headset and mic?
I appreciate you letting me know since that will be bascially what i’m looking to do.
@KevinOpp
I had to purchase the standard iPhone headset/mic separately as the Touch headset does not include a mic. I wanted to get the new ‘high end headset’ announced at the same time as the new touch, but the Apple sales tech said it will not be available until late October.
@ Bitjockey
thanks—i have the Shure SE530’s which are the best thing that i’ve ever had on or around my ears, bar none. shure has an amazing range of inline attachments, and luckily they came out with a mic that is labeled as “iPhone friendly” and they said would work with the touch. that was critical for me since i certainly wasn’t going to downgrade my earphones—-they’re like God speaking to you. three drivers in each earbud!
btw, $499 on Amazon, bought brand new on eBay for $230. must’ve “fallen off the back of a truck”.
Mobile VoIP Is very popular now a days and many new and old VoIP providers come more active. I think this revolution will help a lot to the end user. Now because of Mobile VoIP we can save our money, here I wanna discuss a Mobile VoIP apps called Vopium ( http://www.vopium.com ) yesterday I was checking its quality I found that this one is really good Apps for User like me. Clear voice and no Extra efforts. I hope this will help you a lot
@ Amir Kiani
on the 1st page of Vopium registration, it asks for the phone number of the handset that i will be calling from. obviously that doesn’t apply to an iPod Touch. do you know how to get around this?