Source: voip-tech.blogspot.com

Skype™ offer under payment a SkypeIn number that allow to be contacted from landline phones and cellphone to the own Skype contact; starting from some days ago, it’s available a service, not owned by Skype, that offer a free SkypeIn number, Ring2Skype need just a simple and fast registration: a valid email address, a personal password (it could be different from the one used in Skype), the username of the Skype account that you want to associate with the number and, obviously, the country and the region for the allocation of the personal telephone number.
To be contacted over Skype from a landline phone or a cellphone you should provide the number with its extension, after composing the number, a voice will tell you to type the extension, at this time the call will be forwarded to Skype, that must be open and online.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

I’m sorry, but I think this is in pretty bad taste.  Get yours free here.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Google keeps expanding its franchise on world domination by now offering a free directory assistance service called GOOG 411.  

You don’t need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free. (*)

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you’re looking for. GOOG-411 will connect you with the business you choose.

If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."

Source: www.voip-news.com

Free always trumps services that require you to pay, right?

Well, not necessarily. With free, you get what you pay for (ie: if customer service is an issue, you need to suck it up because you aren’t paying anyway). With paying service, you have to foot a bill … and sometimes that bill can escalate as you use the service more and more (like those dreaded hundreds of dollars cell phone bills I used to get).

But you may also get more perks and services when you pay even a little for your service (but then again, some free ones offer great functionality too).

So, free or paid?

That’s the question in this VoIP-News feature that compares Phone.com’s newest offering with Google Voice.

Source: www.voip-news.com

In Spain, a phone company called Telefonica is giving unemployed customers a break on their bill. Nice gesture. Read about it on VoIP Watch.

Smith on VoIP names six VoIP alternatives to AT&T’s CallVantage, which is being shuttered.

Free Skype to Skype calls in the UK? Yep, with 3UK and a 3 SIM card. Read about it on TMCnet’s VoIP & Gadgets Blog.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Aastra’s move to an open VoIP platform has boosted their sales. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

Andy Abramson at VoIP Watch speaks out against the free model of business. Giving something away for free doesn’t build brand loyalty and such.

Smith on VoIP names the Top Five VoIP Adaptors for VoIP Providers.

VoIP & Gadgets Blog talks about using the Monit Tool to monitor Asterisk.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Jaxtr has launched a new service that offers free, unlimited member-to-member calling worldwide called FreeConnect.

“Launching a free international calling service that works on any phone is a dream come true, and something the jaxtr team has been working toward for many years,” said Touraj Parang, jaxtr Co-founder & COO. “Although smart phones such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Google’s Android have received widespread accolades, the vast majority of people worldwide do not have access to such phones. Our mission at jaxtr has been to create innovative services that are accessible to anyone, anywhere. We’re extremely proud that FreeConnect delivers on this promise, and can be used on any of the more than 3 billion mobile handsets worldwide, and the even larger volume of landline phones in use today.”

According to Jaxtr:

FreeConnect is easy-to-use. Jaxtr members simply enter the number of the jaxtr member they wish to call. Jaxtr will then give them a local number to reach that person. Once they initiate the call, jaxtr notifies the person they are calling, and will give that person a local number to call, too – allowing the parties to connect directly. They can then talk for as long as they like, free of any charge from jaxtr. These assigned local phone numbers can also be used again by the same parties on an ongoing basis.

“We’re in the business of offering exceptional value to our userss, and are very pleased to provide them with FreeConnect, our member-to-member free calling service that offers phone device and wifi independence for maximum flexibility,” added Bahman Koohestani, president and CEO of jaxtr.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Last week, as I was on my mission to get my phone bill’s price point reduced, good old AT&T sweetened the deal by closing the deal on their buying Wayport.   So what’s that mean to we consumers?

20,000 Free Hot Spots and Counting

So now, we’ve got 20,000 new places to hang out and get free WiFi giving now giving me 80,000 new free AT&T hotspots, including the  nearly 7,000 company-operated Starbucks locations (give or take the ones that are scaling back.)

At places like McDonalds and Hertz, you’ll now get free AT&T WiFi.  For a list of locations, click here.

Source: www.voip-news.com

PIKA WARP the Appliance is now compatible with the Asterisk-based FreePBX Graphical User Interface. The WARP product began shipping in June.

“We are very pleased to have supported the effort to adopt the FreePBX application to run in the PIKA Warp environment,” said Terry Atwood, vice president of sales, marketing and customer care at PIKA Technologies. “Used in many Asterisk implementations around the world, including Trixbox, FreePBX has proven its value, time and again. When the FreePBX team expressed their willingness to work with us to port to the Warp Appliance, we jumped on the opportunity.”

According to the company:

WARP’s flexibility has now been extended to include FreePBX, one of the top Asterisk GUIs in use today. The FreePBX application provides pre-programmed functionality for users wanting to ease the work required to configure the Asterisk open-source platform.

“FreePBX has become the de facto standard for enterprise grade PBX functionality delivered to the SMB business and includes a very rich set of functionality and customization potential,” said Philippe Lindheimer, open source community director of Bandwidth.com and leader of the FreePBX project. “But no GUI is complete without a wide range of hardware options to complete the package. We are delighted that PIKA can now include FreePBX in the PIKA WARP and bring our two eco-systems together.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new service for free international calls. Voipax has released a service called Freebuzzer.

The free international calls are made through a web browser. You aren’t required to input a credit card number or complete registration. Better yet, there is no software or downloading required either.

How is it free? Advertising.

According to the company:

To use Freebuzzer’s service today simply go to http://www.freebuzzer.com/ on your computer. At the site, enter the phone number from which you will place the call, along with the phone number of the person you want to call. Freebuzzer will then connect both phones free of charge.

Freebuzzer’s service can be used from more than 42 countries, including popular destinations such as United States, Canada and the largest European countries.

Consumers will be able to make up to three international calls per day and can talk up to two minutes per call.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Looking to save money on calling? Ring Plus has the ticket. The VoIP provider now offers free ad-supported calls. Yes, I did say free.

Just think, you could pay only for internet service and have your calling sans dinero.

According to the VoIP News feature:

Getting Ring Plus’ free calls requires first subscribing and providing a fair amount of personal data to Ring Plus. Subscribers have to enter their name, email address, phone number, date of birth, marital status, number of children, profession, income, type of car and hobbies. Hobbies they can choose from include being lazy, exercising, “My Work IS My Hobby,” partying, reading, shopping, television and traveling. Once signed up, they call a local access number, enter a PIN and password and dial the number they want to reach. After listening to the ad that replaces the traditional ringing sound, they can talk free for anywhere from several minutes to nearly an hour. The length of the call depends on factors such as its destination and the constantly changing cost of circuits.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

At first glance, the just announced i.TV free programming guide for the
iPhone would be a really handy tool for checking out the latest programming on AT&T’s U-verse.

On small problem.

In my zip code of 78209, they offer TimeWarner, Grande, DirectTV and others, but I guess someone forgot to tell them to include AT&T.

Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if AT&T sold the iPhone, provided the voice service for the iPhone, that they would have worked with the nice people at i.TV to include U-verse programming?

Comments?  alan at weinkrantz dot com