I have been a heavy user of phone minutes on and off for many years now.  At my peak I believe once I hit 5,000 minutes in one month.  That may not be a lot for some but boy was it a lot for me.  Anyways I have always been very cautious about giving out my personal mobile number let alone my home phone number, but in the beginning I didn’t have a choice, I traveled a lot and didn’t want to pay the $50 or so a month for a business line.  Then over the years I’ve tried different services but none of them fit me perfectly.  None of them radiated the feeling of a full blown company, it always came across like I was a one man operation and that was not the way it was or what I wanted.

I came across Phone.com late last year when I met their CEO Ari Rabban (he usually twitters on the company twitter account) at a wine dinner Andy Abramson hosted.  Ari told me about their virtual phone service and I was instantly interested.  Was this the treasure in my search for telephone gold?  So I went home that night and took a look at Phone.com.  It was great, for the price of 1 lunch I was able to get business class phone service for a month.  Problem was, I travel and rely solely on my mobile phone.  I mentioned this to Ari and he said “just hang on for a couple months” so I did.  Then about 2 months ago I was invited into a beta group to test Phone.com’s new Android app and walla, my problems were solved.  I finally had a business class phone system in my pocket and everywhere I went.  I had an automated system with customizable greetings, extensions and the ability to set office hours, so my phone won’t ring in the middle of the night (some people just don’t understand time zones).  The best part was, I can have all of it on my Android phone.

Well the day is here and I’m finally able to talk about it publicly (I was under embargo until today). The new Android app is everything I have been wanting.  It gives me the ability to make calls from my cell phone which is nothing new, but it shows my work number in the caller ID not my mobile phones’ number.  This is one of the biggest selling points for me.  I like having ubiquity and not multiple numbers.  Along with that same point, I now have a work number that I can receive SMS (text messages) on, I have been testing it and it is flat out fast.  What’s nice is I can send SMS from the Phone.com website (as well as my phone of course), keeping me from having to type out messages on my phone.

Some additional points to note about the Phone.com Android app:

• Extremely simple set up
• Shares address book with phones built in address book
• Ability to send SMS from the phone showing your Phone.com number
• Very competitive international calling rates (some countries are even free)
• Cheaper minute plans then the mobile phone providers offer
• Unified inbox for voicemail, sms, and fax where you can read/respond to all of them
• Listen to and read (they convert VM to text) voicemail on the phone
• Office number is always with me
• Doesn’t seem to drain my battery
• Set up and initiate conference calls from your phone (this is amazing)

Keep in mind there is a Phone.com iPhone app as well that runs over VOIP, I will try to get my hands on an iPhone to review it.

In closing, I have been using this service for a few months now and really enjoy it.  I would personally recommend the Android  app from Phone.com to anybody looking to save money on their phone service.  From small to medium businesses to someone who may just want a second number but not another phone, this is your answer.  I give it my stamp of approval.

Follow Phone.com
Twitter: @PhoneDotCom
Facebook: PhoneDotCom

This Thanksgiving (a US holiday) Truphone is offering free calls to US mobile and land line numbers for 12 hours.

Truphone is sharing the holiday spirit by giving anyone with Truphone the ability to call anywhere in the United States during the day.

What does this mean for you, you ask?  It means that you should download Truphone onto your mobile phone if you don’t already have it and to wild and call everyone on next Thursday, November 26.  Take advantage of Truphone’s kindness and go crazy.

Here’s a link to the page on the Truphone site explaining the promotion.  It also has a drop down to help you calculate what time the promo is running in your area and the ability save the times to your calendar.

Enjoy on Truphone’s dime!

What does it mean if Skype buys Gizmo Project? This is a huge deal for the VOIP industry.  It is a big deal for something that keeps going thorough my mind “The next Billion” (meaning the next billion people to get mobile phones and get on the mobile web).  The first thing that came to mind when I heard about this potential acquisition is interoperability with Truphone.

If Skype buys Gizmo Pr0ject this means they would start using the SIP standard as far as I understand.  Using SIP means that Skype would suddenly be interoperable with services like Google Chat (including video and voice chat), Truphone, and many of the other VOIP services.

In Truphone’s case this is a big deal because they would suddenly have an added available user base of many many million potential users.  Truphone is the only widely known mobile VOIP (only, leaving out IM clients) client and they are very popular in some circles but unfortunately totally unknown in most.  The interoperability with Skype would give them in my opinion the potential for instant fame.  They would be the most known interoperable mobile VOIP client and suddenly be thrust into the spotlight.
As far as the “Next Billion” goes, I tend to see for example people in India using VOIP over Skype more often for a variety of reasons, including the ability to put mobile VOIP on Nokia phones more easily then Skype. The fact that Skype is the most used internet telephone in world suddenly being able to communicate with  mVOIP would give people in India the chance to communicate, with hundreds of millions of additional people the world over.  They would be able to do more business, talk to family and just interact with more people the world over.
Essentially besides Michael Robertson the creator of Gizmo Project and the GP board/investors, I think Truphone has the potential to come out gaining the most out of this acquisition.  It might work nicely for Nokia too being the easiest devices to put your SIP details into and start making calls.

I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see how all this play out, We may not know if Skype is going to buy Gizmo Project potentially until mid December because Skype is still trying to fight the lawsuits and come up with their own work around.  I don’t really foresee Skype wanting to part with the rumored $50 million for GP but they just may be backed into a corner.  If it does go thorough though it would be a huge win for Michael, so good luck to you and GP.

Logo credit to blog.tmcnet.com

I got to spend some time with Karl Good of Truphone over the past 2 days at the ITExpo and have been reminded how much I like the best mobile VOIP service available today.  Karl gave me an ultra secret briefing, please don’t ask me what we chatted about, I won’t tell you.  No amount of sodium pentothal will crack me, I’m not going to share with you how many great things are coming from Truphone.  Things are changing and Truphone is staying on top of it all and doing some amazing things along the way.

I’ve been a Truphone user from what feels like the beginning.  It’s probably been about 3 years or so.  I was one of the early testers and have been enjoying and evangelizing the service to as many people as will listen ever since.

For anyone that doesn’t know about Truphone, it’s a mobile phone service provider at heart.  They started as a mobile VOIP service offering, the best in class then and now.  They have evolved from supporting Symbian S60 wifi phones only to now being on Blackberry, Android, the iPhone/Touch and of course still S60.  They own an international roaming sim card company (Sim4Travel) and have expanded their service offering to include multiple calling options/plans to save money when dialing internationally or if you are abroad.  They are also the 1 and only VOIP company I know of that supports sending and receiving sms.

I have so many stories I can tell you about how Truphone has saved me time, money and hard ache.  I’ll share just one quick experience.  I was staying with family in their guest room in the basement.  I didn’t get any reception down there but had to make some plans.  So instead of having to be upstairs with all the noise of the kids and TV I stayed in my comfy room and used their wifi to take care of my calls.  This is just one example, there are so many more but why don’t you make your own experiences with Truphone, give the service a try.  I can almost guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Truphone the leader in mobile VOIP is expanding it’s line up to include 11 more Nokia handsets.
They include:
N96
N78
N85 (also VoIP enabled)
N79 (also VoIP enabled)
5630 (also VoIP enabled)
5800
5320
6210
6220
6650
E63

I’m a huge fan and extensive user of Truphone and think the world of the company and what they have done for mobile VOIP.  They have fought the big mobile telcos and won.  Even more impressive they have provided low price calling/sms for the masses.  Don’t hesitate to download Truphone on a Nokia, Blackberry, Android, or iPhone/Touch, you won’t be dissappointed.

Truphone one of my favorite mobile VOIP providers has announced 2 new flat rate plans.  I have been waiting for this kind of thing for over a year and maybe 2 years now.  They have a plan called TruUnlimited for Landlines at $14.40/month and it includes unlimited calls to landlines in 38 countries and unlimited to mobiles in USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong.

Their second plan is called TruUnlimited for Mobiles will run you $35/month and it includes unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles in 64 countries.

Here is the Press Release from Truphone and at the bottom are notes on the included countries.

 LONDON (March 30, 2009) – Low cost calling just got lower with TruUnlimited, the most robust, flat rate worry-free calling plan announced today by Truphone. Now, users around the world can call more places, more often — all for one low fixed price with the two new unlimited plans for both landline and mobiles.

Using TruUnlimited, customers now have the freedom to make calls around the world, at any time of the day, and any day of the week without having to worry about mounting call charges. Additionally, the customer is always in control. TruUnlimited plans do not require entering into long-term contracts and can be cancelled at any time.

“Many of our customers have asked us to help simplify their lives by providing the peace of mind that comes with the ability to make unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles and not have to worry about checking balances or fearing bill shock when they receive their statement,” said Geraldine Wilson, CEO Truphone.

Introducing “TruUnlimited for Landlines”…
For people who need to regularly communicate with colleagues, friends and family around the world, the new TruUnlimited for Landlines monthly calling plan gives customers unlimited calls to those landlines in 38 countries for just $4.40 per month. As a bonus, the TruUnlimited for Landlines plan also permits calls to mobile phones in some top destinations such as the USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong at no extra charge.

…and Presenting “TruUnlimited for Mobiles”
For customers regularly calling mobile phones more frequently, in addition to landlines in many different countries, the TruUnlimited for Mobiles plan provides subscribers with even more savings with unlimited calls to landlines as well as mobile phones placed to 64 countries for just $35.00 per month.

What You Need To Take Advantage of Truphone’s TruUnlimited’s Low Rates
TruUnlimited is available immediately to existing Truphone customers and for new subscribers via the easy installation of the Truphone application software available as a free download for iPhone, iPod touch, Nokia Symbian N & E series capable devices, and for Truphone Anywhere on the Google Android G1 and RIM Blackberry Messenger Smartphones.

Truphone Standard Rate Plans
The new TruUnlimited plans are not replacements for other popular Truphone programs. Customers that do not need a Truphone Unlimited plan can still make great savings using the company’s Truphone Standard rate plan (details available at www.truphone.com).

- XXX -

Notes to editors
Countries included in the TruUnlimited Landlines tariff are landline numbers in: Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Colombia; Cyprus; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (South); Malaysia; Netherlands; Panama; Poland; Portugal; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; UK; Venezuela

In addition to landline numbers, mobile numbers in the following countries are also included with the TruUnlimited Landlines tariff: Canada; China; Guam; Hong Kong; Macau; Mariana Islands; Singapore; Thailand; USA

Countries included in the TruUnlimited Mobiles tariff are landline and mobile numbers in: American Samoa; Antigua & Barbuda; Argentina; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bangladesh; Belgium; Brazil; British Virgin Islands; Canada; Cayman Islands; China; Colombia; Cyprus; Cyprus (North); Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Guam; Guatemala; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Iran; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (South); Kuwait; Macau; Malaysia; Mariana Islands; Mayotte; Mexico; Mongolia; Monserrat; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; Niger; Nigeria; Pakistan; Panama; Paraguay; Poland; Portugal; Russia; Rwanda; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Switzerland; Tajikistan; Taiwan; Thailand; Trinidad & Tobago; Turkmenistan; Uganda; UK; Ukraine; USA; Venezuela; Uzbekistan

Great work Truphone, keep it up!

My friends over at Nimbuzz announced some exciting news yesterday.  They have finally updated their app and it now includes VOIP.
They are focused on bridging the 3G VoIP gap on the iPhone – anywhere.

Here are some highlight of the new app.

>With free Wi-Fi calls to instant messaging buddies already available, we added a full dial-pad, and the ability to make VoIP calls to landlines and mobile phones with Skype Out, and via our 10 VoIP partners including Gizmo5, Vyke, sipgate and A1.
You can even see the available Skype Out credit you have directly on the dial pad!

>If Wifi is unavailable you can make VoIP calls to Nimbuzz buddies using Nimbuzz Dial-Up VoIP in over 50 countries. Dial-Up VoIP? What this means is that Nimbuzz dials a local access number that connects to anywhere in the world via Nimbuzz VoIP servers. So you can call your Nimbuzz buddies anywhere for the same cost of a domestic call.

>Turn iPod touch into an iPhone! Make calls over Wi-Fi via Skype Out or via VoIP provider.

>Upgraded interface with much improved usability and the awesome landscape-mode chat.

I’m really happy to see this as they were one of the winners in our TopMobile20 competition.

By Jeb Brilliant
Chief Editor
I had a really nice conversation with Jeff Rice today.  He’s the CEO at DeFi Mobile (disclosure, they provide me with VOIP).  I had some pointed questions I wanted to ask but we started off with what they are up to right now (the good stuff).  First though I should tell you that DeFi is a Mobile VOIP provider, working over wifi networks with a list of thousands it auto connects to and only costs $40/month for unlimited calls.

Now to let the cat out of the bag, DeFi has their app being reviewed by the iPhone people so they can get it into the iPhone App Store.  This is big for people living in the States.  There are many times more iPhones here then Nokia N and E Series devices, so they hope this means that the general public here in the US will start to download DeFi on to their iPhones and get a taste of Mobile VOIP.  And DeFi will be offering all new accounts a 101 free minutes anytime and to anywhere in the world.  So you can call landlines and mobiles.  You will also be able to always call for free other DeFi users, other VOIP providers, iNum #rs, Google Chat folks, and hopefully soon Skype folks.  So that’s what’s going on at the moment with DeFi.

To get started with DeFi once their iPhone app is available you will just have to download it and give them your mobile # and email address and poof your in business.  This is a great opportunity for couples to talk to each other for hours at a time or companies with globally located employees to talk, all for free.  This is just a stepping stone for folks to then pay the $40/month and get flat rate unlimited calls to anybody on any network, anywhere in the world.  Maybe even disrupt the big telcos by lowering your minute plans with them.

One very interesting and important innovation by DeFi is that they are going to be giving out iNum numbers in the future.  This iNum is a very new concept giving people a # geared toward being used around the world and not being chained to a geographic location.

On a side note, Jeff is currently using a Nokia E51, E71 and iPhone.

Thank you to Jeff Rice for his time and Tim Warner for making this happen.

I was just at a Burger King in Tel Aviv, more specifically in Ramot Tzhala and was I happily surprised to see that they offered free WiFi.  It was a treat I didn’t expect to find.  I didn’t test the speeds but I was able to make a VOIP phone call via DeFi Mobile on an N95-4.  Good job Burger King and I hope this trend spreads.

I have been testing DeFi a Mobile VOIP for a few weeks now on the Nokia N 95-4 . Let me tell you, DeFi has it pegged. I am not an economist and I don’t have a masters in business but I think if they can get DeFi in front of the right people they will have it made. DeFi charges $40 per month for unlimited calling (3,000 min/month fair use policy) on any of the dozen plus Nokia Symbian smart phones that support wifi (mostly the E and N series). It is pretty simple, just go online, register with them, they will send you an sms with the download link. At that point you go to the website in the link and download the app. Within 5 minutes you should be making phone calls around the world.

I have been able to plan an event in China, call Israel to chat with friends, and spend hours talking to my sister, her husband and son in Argentina. All of this is for just $40/month. This may be steep if you only make a few calls internationally a month but keep in mind you can make calls to the US also. The unlimited calls include land line and mobile numbers to. So if you use a lot of minutes calling the US this might be a good deal for you also.

I see DeFi competing directly with other major Mobile VOIP MNOs but also with some of our local operators. For example Metro PCS here in the US offers unlimited calls for $35/month, but your restricted to their small footprint. You can use DeFi anywhere you have access to wifi, anywhere in the world. I also suspect you can use it over 3G. This means you have a roaming free handset, which I forgot to mention also provides a phone number for you.

My only complaint and this may be more a hardware/software restriction is that I can’t have DeFi on the same phone I have Truphone and run both at the same time.

All in all I would suggest DeFi to anybody.Visit www.DeFiMobile.com to get started.
Note after the fact: The DeFi customer service is superb.