Source: www.voip-news.com
easyMobile is now offering Rebtel VoIP. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.
VoIP Watch has news on CounterPath’s SIP-based conferencing . . . read it here.
And is free VoIP going the way of the dodo? Read about services that are canceling their free VoIP for paid varieties here.
Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com
I have written earlier about GismoProject and Gizmocall before. Since then a bit more has happened at Gizmoproject. Version 5 of GizmoCall is out and adds;
But what is interesting in the All Calls Free Plan. Users NEW to the All Calls Free plan get 20 minutes of free calling simply by getting ONE friend to sign up for a new Gizmo account. There are no commitments and no hidden fees.
Although sounds like a marketing gimmick, I look at it in another way. Say if you are a Skype user and have bunch of friends wanting to explore other avenues of free calling for the upcoming holiday season, this would be a good way to check out the GizmoCall. Who knows, you might permanently switch over ;). 
I have both Skype and GizmoCall but on my only Windows Desktop, (a notebook actually) I have GizmoCall running all the time.
It also runs on my Nokia N810 flowlessly. It is awailable to PDAs and desktops. You can check out at Gizmo Project.
So to get started on All Calls Free plan;
1.Tell a friend to download Gizmo Project and have them add their phone number to their profile.
2. Add each other to your contact lists and you can call that person for FREE using Gizmo Project.
3. Be sure to make at least 1 Gizmo Project to Gizmo Project call per week or your free minutes will expire.
After 14 days or when your 20 free minutes are used up, users new to All Calls Free will need to follow the All Calls Free Active User Requirements to continue making free calls. All Calls Free active users can also receive up to 20 minutes of free calling per week! To learn more, view the All Calls Free Frequently Asked Questions
Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com
Pudding by Puddingmedia seem to make feel ashamed. I thought in this post that the pudding might fall on the face. But I might be wrong ;). The project is going along fine and it is already offering free calls in USA and Canada. At the end of October they partnered with Meebo.
But I am still wondering about someone, something (Program) listening to my conversations.
As always, I wish all the best to Pudding.
Source: voipcentral.org
The reason why Jajah is growing at a steady pace since inception is simply due to its continual effort to make the VoIP simpler. Maintaining that tradition, the Austria-based startup has introduced yet another sophisticated service, Direct VoIP.
As it seems, the Direct VoIP will enable Jajah customers to enjoy VoIP service directly without depending upon an intermediary channel. I mean VoIP without PC. Though, the service like this is not new in the market, Jajah Direct VoIP stands unique of its own.
With Jajah Direct, the customers can make and receive VoIP calls anywhere in the world without sitting before computers. They also dont need internet connection. With an ordinary phone, they can VoIP calls.
The Jajah Direct is very simple. It provides VoIP service the way your mobile phone makes to other phones. To go with Jajah Direct, you need an access number using which you can call to a destination phone number upon hearing a dial tone. The first call is totally free.
Jajah Direct is cheap. The company charges a paltry 2.5 or 3 cents for a minute call. The service is available in 122 countries. However, the local number facility is now available in 10 cities in the US, nine cities in Europe.
Source: voipcentral.org
Fazed by eBays move to ban Jajah click to call buttons, the VoIP startup has appealed the auctioneer to reconsider the decision and ensure click to call service to the customers at eBays site.
Jajah has very recently launched its click-to-call enabled buttons which can be put in web sites for free VoIP calls. The buttons can be used for eBay listings where sellers and buyers can talk to each other regarding the products.
Jajahs click to call application is very simple. It does not require any download, headset and broadband connection. It works on very phone. It protects privacy of online buyers and sellers.
However, the auctioneer has banned Jajah buttons terming display of outside buttons violates company policy and made it clear that all interactions between the buyers and sellers occur within its marketplace platform.
We should not forget the fact that Jajah rival Skype is providing click-to-call service to eBay customers. And Skype is core communication channel of eBay. Therefore, the decision to ban Jajah buttons is not surprising.
Source: voipcentral.org
The word Free is always fascinating in the VoIP world. If it were not, we would have missed the free players after the stunning debacle of several free service providers in the market.
Of late, I got to know about a small startup, Click2Voice, which is seeking its fortunes in the market. Any way, those who are looking for free VoIP service can try it, for at least 15 minutes.
At the very outset, Click2Voice is a simple browser based calling service. First you need to open an account at the site. It is totally free. Dont way, the registration process is very simple and takes few minutes. Once the registration is completed, you can proceed for the VoIP calls.
The VoIP application is also simple. You just need to enter your phone number and number of your friend to whom you want to call. Then you must press the call menu. By doing so, you will be connected to the line. You are entitled to enjoy 15 minutes of free calls. If you want to call back your friend, you have to follow the same process.
The service is now available in 30 countries in the Europe, Asia and America. Some of these countries are Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Christmas Island, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA.
The company has restricted its free service in the above mentioned country. Thus, the outside customers can not access to Click2Voice service. In other words, both the phone numbers should fall under the listed countries. The company may extend its reach to other destinations if the free service clicks in the market.
Source: voipcentral.org
After all, why does a company offer free VoIP service? Is there any revenue for the free VoIP players? I just got to know about Puddingmedia, a new VoIP startup that provides free VoIP services in a tricky way, which may be disturbing for the customers but the company, could make good money out of it.
Puddingmedia simply enables the customers to make a free call to any phone anywhere in the U.S. or Canada under the stringent condition that they must visit companys website and talk to their friends using headset or microphone. The company records your conversation using a speech recognition software program. The software studies what you say and provides relevant ads and links into your browser during the conversation.
Suppose, you talk about a movie, restaurant or bike, then pop-ups will appear in your browser with relating advertisement links. It is something irritating for the customers. Here, we may question the accuracy of the speech recognition software. Whatever it may be, the unavoidable thing is pop-ups.
As of now, Puddingmedia provides their VoIP service to landlines. It will extend the same service to mobile phones in the coming days.
Source: voipcentral.org
Jajah has a long cherished vision of creating a global community for free or very low cost VoIP services, for which, it is adding new features each passing day and conquering one after one countries. As per the latest report of Jajah, the Austria-based startup has added 22 new international destinations.
These countries are Anguilla, Antarctica, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, Cook Islands, Croatia, Holy See (Vatican City State), Kuwait, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic, Republic of Moldova, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Serbia and Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Launched in March last year, Jajah has now covered almost 122 countries in the world with this latest addition. When I reported Jajahs customer base six months ago, it was more than two million. The number must be increasing at a fast rate. There is no doubt.
Roman Scharf, one of founders of Jajah says,
With each new market entry, we are realizing our vision of building a global low-cost calling service for consumers and businesses alike.
On contrary to Skype or Vonage, Jajah enables customers enjoy its VoIP services without internet. In other words, the customers do not require a Net-connected phone or headset to make international calls while using Jajah services.
First, the customers should enter the originating and terminating phone numbers into a text box shown at the vendors Web site and click a button. Then, they should hang on for their landlines or mobile phones to ring. When you hold your phone, Jajahs software has already dialed the other number you want to connect.
Therefore, it is clear the VoIP calls actually transmit on a fiber network connected to Jajahs servers. It is not over the Internet.
Source: voipcentral.org
Yugma as we know is a free and popular desktop sharing application enabling people to instantly connect to their friends, families and relatives over the internet to communicate and share content and ideas. It supports Windows, Mac and Linux. Yugma has now launched a Skype version of its free web conferencing service offering quick desktop sharing applications to millions of Skype users in the world.
Karel Lukas, COO of Yugma,
Skype makes it easy for people to stay in constant contact and to communicate with one another spontaneously. We believe collaboration needs to move in the same direction, which is why it was natural for Yugma and Skype to come together.
With this integration, the millions of Skype users will be able to join Yugam directly from their Skype accounts and enjoy a number of services:
1. Instant real-time desktop sharing
2. Virtual meetings and web conferencing
3. Whiteboard, annotate and share files.
The Yugma Skype Edition operates seamlessly between Mac and Windows. It allows users to invite up 10 other friends and colleagues any time. The service is free and secure.
Yugma Skype Edition is also available for download for Skype users in the Skype Extras section. It is also free.
Source: voipcentral.org
Free VoIP calls are not free in a strict sense. The customers are charged directly or indirectly. First of all, they need to bear the hardware costs. If not, the membership fees which may be very inexpensive.
Viewed so, it would be more appropriate to discuss Oomas free offer. The Palo Alto, California-based startup has just extended call-routing devices dubbed as Ooma Hub and Ooma Scout devices using which the customers can enjoy unlimited free calls anywhere in the USA.
The introductory price for Ooma Hub is $399 and $39.95 for Ooma Scout. These devices are available from companys website. With this expenditure, the customer can enjoy life-time free VoIP services and other Ooma services such as ooma Instant Second Line and the ooma Broadband Answering Machine.
It seems that Ooma is taking a different approach to lure residential customers. Instead of spending money in marketing and advertisements like Vonage, it simply markets the devices for unlimited home calling.
Mark Sullivan has raised an interesting question regarding the survival of this new startup.
He asks,
So the key questions in Ooma’s future are these: Can it grow its network of local Hubs fast enough to dramatically reduce the connection fees it’s paying to connect calls outside its network? And will mainstream consumers lay down $400 for a piece of hardware and a promise of free calls forever?
He adds,
If the answer to either is no, Ooma might quickly burn through its venture capital and disappear like so many other VoIP upstarts.
Source: voipcentral.org
There is no such service called Free in a strict sense. Even if you are making a free VoIP call, there are certain hidden costs associated with it, to say installation charge and Internet cost.
Any way, the availability of Skype-like applications have led us to classify free VoIP and paid VoIP. I dont need to define what free VoIP is.
A recent Ofcom report has candidly revealed that free VoIP services have failed attract a substantial number of customers in UK. I feel the scenario is same elsewhere.
The available of Skype like applications has no doubt drastically reduced the cost of international calls. However, they can not sideline the traditional phone service so easily for all practical reasons.
In its latest survey, the telecom regulatory authority has found that mere 17 per cent of adults in UK have used the services and only 14 per cent of people prefer to use the service over more conventional methods.
No doubt, the adoption of VoIP is growing at a rapid pace in the past few years. As per latest count, there are more than 2.4 million households across the UK having used VoIP service. It is only nine per cent of the total. Therefore, Ofcom says that the technology is still in the early-adopter phase.
Here I would like to raise a question that why the intake of VoIP is considerable low even if the adoption of broadband is growing rapidly.
There are number of reasons such as poor call quality, security, lack of general awareness, installment problem and lack of technical knowledge.
Source: voipcentral.org
It seems that the business enterprises are now cynical at the free VoIP services following the infamous Skype outage that denied VoIP calls to millions of Skypers for about 48 hours last month.
Explaining Skype outage a wake-up call for businesses, Jan Dawson, Vice President of Ovum commented,
This will remind users what they are really dealing with here. Arguably, those businesses have been living on borrowed time until now, although they have undoubtedly saved a lot of money in the process.
He says that Skype can be used sporadically in a corporate sector, but it should not be implemented for mission-critical communications.
Lawrence Orans, research director at Gartner adds,
Skype traffic is encrypted, which blinds network-based intrusion prevention, content monitoring and filtering approaches. Skype’s protocol also does not use a dedicated port - it attempts to use any port that the firewall is not blocking. This behaviour may trigger data-leakage sensors.
For the first time, Skypes P2P network was out of service for about 48 hours last month due to the gigantic restart of PCs by users for Windows updates. It forced nearly 220 million Skype users to remain without VoIP services.
In a desperate bid to regain customers support, Skype offered free VoIP services to the paying customers. The paying customers include Skype Pro, Skype Unlimited, SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail subscribers.
