Jajah- A great PR company?

You know jajah, don't you? Yes yes (ja ja), I am talking about that european VOIP startup who has been in the news more than Skype this year. Although, they didnt beat skype outright in competition but they definately OWNED the media. I meant it when i said OWNED.

Every month, they come out with new products. Distribute to the media and get awesome coverage. I don't know the numbers at Jajah (besides the recent 2 million users base) but i can predict they are growing faster than we think. Maybe on a verge of a buyout?

Now distributing to the media, getting blogger to write stuff about their company etc etc is been there for a while. Companies did it for generating enough buzz, but what amazes me is how Jajah does it their true unique style. I guess their product department is berserk and on pure rampage. They might have purposely aligned the dates each month to keep it ongoing. Maybe Roman can answer these questions better :-)

Their recent announcement which came about 2 weeks back, was of a call center solution and then most recent was of 2millions users on Jajah network. One of the things, Jajah has always tried doing is to create application around the main product. I believe thats a great idea and it works so well. Like giving away the API, to develop applications. Recently, one of the developers made a Mac Widget for them. This sorta stuff turns into a good developer community and some loyal customer who look back jajah as one of those always evolving and fresh companies. I don't have to emphasis the importance of community building. you would very well know if you a professional gamer like me. Gaming companies often give away, their API to build maps & mods, in turn gets a huge free publicity. I think its essential for a company to become more collaborative and innovative. Jajah has both and thats their success mantra.

finally, before i am done with this post, Just want to post cool pics i found at the Jajah Press Center

No wonder Jajah is always in the limelight and they always will be. Remember it's not just about providing the service but its about reaching those half- millions people to use your services and other half to switch over to yours. Jajah is doing this more effectively than others. I wouldn't be surprised if europe gets coloured by jajah and skype had to play a secondary role.

Any takeover bids yet?

Fring powers Mobile VOIP with SIP

Fring, a leader in mobile VOIP has now went one step ahead of everyone else in the market to offer SIP compatibility. What does that mean to you? You can now use your SIP account with non-SIP phones. You can choose any SIP provider you like and start using Fring to make free calls to landlines, mobiles, GSM phons or any other SIP phones.

That means, if you dont have a SIP compatible phone, Fring can still allow you to make SIP calls and on top of it you can switch between SIP providers such as Voipcheap, voipbuster, voipdiscount, Gizmo project etc.

Now dont wait for that SIP enabled mobile phone. Hop on the Fring network and make free calls worldwide!

Skype 10 mins Free offer

Even before you read this full post, I suggest you guys log into your skype account simultaneously and cash in that 10 mins offer. Now the only down side is it seems to be only available for USA skype users. However I am not very sure about this. I myself couldn't test it out since I am out and blogging from my HP iPAQ :-) But i got a sweet email from skype informing me about this offer

So before it becomes a thing of the past, how about hopping on to your Skype account and get that deal FREE :-)

Free international Call - How to FAQ

This is the second series of the FAQ I posted some days back. I had been receiving numberous emails/comments from visitors all across the globe. Almost all of them asking for free international call to/from their country.

Although, Free international calls to various countries is still not possible. I will try my best to include countries which are most popular among my visitors or they recently asked for.
Update: Rebtel currently offering Double your money promotion with VOIP Guide exclusively, : Go Take this offer today

Question1: I want to make free international calls to Bangladesh. I live in Malaysia. Can you help?

Answer: Currently Bangladesh is tightening their rules and trying to keep VOIP under a tight regulation. However there is a service which can help you till the market is isolated by the government. The solution is to use Low rate voip

Question2: I am a small businessman in India and have some clients in USA & Canada. I am currently using IDD or Calling cards and sometimes messengers to communicate. But my business requires regular interaction. Can you give me any solution to make free international call to USA & Canada?

Answer: You can make free calls to USA & Canada from India. This is not limited to India but available to all other countries. The solution is to use iCall

Question 3: I am in singapore but my parents live in Argentina, Can i make free calls to argentina? Additionally, is it possible to call Brazil?

Answer: If you live in singapore, you have a added advantage. Singapore is known to a totally FREE VOIP country with minimal regulations for VOIP and telecommunications. One of the most advanced telecom countries in the world to say the least. That means you can make and receive calls in Singapore on landline and mobile both for free. Now coming back to your question, You can call argentina using Voipcheap, voip discount, voipstunt etc.

Question 4: Is it possible to make free calls to India? This was asked by almost 100 odd people over email :-) & Why India is never listed under Free calling destinations?

Let me first answer the second interesting question. India is a traditional telecom country with one of the most stringent regulations. On top of it, it's dominated by the local telcos such as BSNL, MTNL and in private sector, Bharati, Essar & Reliance. There are billions of dollars at stake in the telcom industry which these big punters dont want to give away for FREE. Afterall, they want to cash on your pockets as much as they can till free voip becomes evident and a household name. At the same time, Government makes every attempt not to promote VOIP and benefit the telcos. You know why dont you :-)

Now, what about making free international calls to India? I would say YES and No both. Why no? Because its not possible to make free calls to india, since indian telecom companies charge the VOIP companies for terminating a call on landline or mobile in india. That sucks but it's true. Then you must be wondering how come there are providers who still offer free calls to India. Yes, there are some providers such as Gizmocall who offer free international calls to india. They basically operate in deep pockets and pay off for the termination charge from other paid service. Trust me this model falls off once the difference is huge. But till its there, you can use Gizmocall to make free calls to India


Question 5: I want to make free international call to russia & Czech Republic. Do you know any voip providers offering free calls to russia and czech republic?

Yes, Voipcheap & VoipDiscount offers free calls to Russia Landline. Similarly, they offer free international calls to Czech Republic landline only.

Question 6: I am in India and have aunt in UK, England. Since we have IDD at home, My parents always call her. However the charges are heavy for a IDD call. It seems you have some solution for free international call to UK. Can you share?

UK is another country, owned by local telcos. I mean literally, 02 (BT), orange and T-mobile owns the mobile market and have always charged hefty termination charge for international calls. However, Voipcheap, Mediaring allows free international calls to UK landline only.

I hope the above Question Answer FAQ session has answered most of the queries directed to me on emails/comments on this blog.

You can drop comments if you want any specific answers or if you are looking for free international in your country. I will try to find a solution for you as i always do.

If you would like to share your experiences about VOIP, Please send me your review on ut(dot)godmode(at)gmail.com. If i like your review, It will be featured on this blog. You can send in your picture aong with it :-)

Send Paypal money over Skype

Have you had trouble requesting for money for the online services you provided. Many of the experts (including myself) provide online paid services to people around the globe and its difficult to receive money for those service. Basically, we give out our paypal email address and then they have to send the money to us. Too time consuming and some people are total noobs with paypal making it far more difficult.

I guess skype head our story and they recently annonced that Skype would soon be fully integrated with Paypal, making the Skype a more practical option for business users.

It's highly likely that this new service will be called as "Send Money" and will be bundled with their latest offering "Skype Prime". The exact date of the launch is not yet out however it's expected in and around April 2007.

So if you providing any online expert service to your clients and looking for quicker options to receive fees. Skype Prime with Send Money option will be an excellent addition to your skype.

Skype hit by Trojan Worm

Are you using Skype? Then, its time to be aware of this new threat called Warezov Trojan horse. Websense has alerted that, A targeted Skype user will receive a chat message with the text "Check up this" and a link to a malicious executable called "file_01.exe" . If the user happens to run the file, several other files will be downloaded and run. Once affected, the worm will start spreading by sending messages to the victim's Skype contacts to propagate.

Websense Blog has some great analysis of this Warezov Trojan virus, if you are interested you can read it there.

So at this moment, the only way to be secure from this threat is not to click anything thats suspicious even from your contacts. Ask them first and confirm that they send the link or else just ignore those links.

Will update if i get any fix or patch for this.

SkyQube powers Mobile Skypeing

SkyQube, a really innovative product by Qool labs enables you to forward calls and messages made to your mobile phone or landline via SkypeOut to another number anywhere in the world.

It's just a box which will be sitting next next to your PC at home. You take the SIM card out of your mobile phone and slot it into the SkyQube. Once there, any calls made to your phone are sent over the SkypeOut network to a phone wherever you choose. You could send them to a landline abroad, for example, or buy a pay-as-you-go SIM in the country you're traveling in to receive calls. it can also receive your text message and re-route them, saves voicemail when you can't receive a call, compressing it into a WMA file and email it to you.

This mean you will saving hell lot of money, while roaming around in other countries. People like me who travel atleast once every month, this device is godsend. I mean i really face a lot of trouble keeping up with everyone back home and even after that pay a huge amount of money to starhub. They also have a lite version which only lets you re-direct the calls.

The pictures of Skyqube can give you some idea of this cool gadget.


SkyQube is surely one of those interesting gadgets which hit market this year.


So if you planning for a next big holiday or a official trip outside your country, don't forget to get SkyQubed :-)

Image Courtesy: CraveCNet UK

Cheaper Call to India- A Reality?

As the telecommunication industry is moving towards a more regulated and matured phase, TRAI is loosening its grip on the rates and started to offer must flexible rating structure. We have seen many pro-customer announcement recently by TRAI (Telecom regulatory authority of India).

You will find many alternatives on this blog to make free calls to India but the offers are limited or sometimes offer a few minutes. However its more than worth it to make free call to india everyday for about 10-20 minutes. Frankly, I dont mind using those services. However, all those companies offering such schemes are either making up from other paid services or buying bulk minutes or are in deep pockets. This game won't last for long. To be very frank, it's hard to run business in deep pockets and especially when it's widely used by consumers all over the world and costing you millions of dollars every year. So these free calling packages to India are limited and will not last for long. However there is surely a hope that these might be extended or offer cheaper rates soon.

You must be wondering why? This recent news triggered off this optimism. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai has slashed ADC rates, which will result in redcution of the total burden that the telecom operators have to pay to BSNL, which will save about Rs.1200 crore for these operators and on top of it ILD (international long distance) ADC cost will be cheaper at Rs.1.00 instead of Rs.1.60. This will mean some relief for private operators and in turn VOIP/Telecom companies trying to use the BSNL network for termination or intiating a call.

The hope for a FREE VOIP INDIA continues.....

Raketu launches LaunchPad

Raketu is now looking out to reach a greater audience. Being a VOIP company their forte is into VOIP application and service, But now it seems they are playing an entirely new ball game. Surprisingly, they are entering in a VOIP collaboration environment. Jajah is another company which is trying to achieve the same. I will talk about Jajah in detail in my exclusive article this weekend. Do read it :-)

Raketu today introduced its LaunchPad interface, the first to integrate voice over IP (VoIP), IPTV streaming video, VideoOn Demand (VOD), and IM/SMS service in a single, easy-to-navigate desktop application. Is that like a Joost & Skype Clone?Huh, not sure but pretty much there.

Raketu has also added more social networking spice to the launchpad app by bundling podcasting, mediaplayer, and news/information feeds. Raketu also claims that their voice over IP (VoIP) and ipTV streaming video service runsover any Internet connection. Anyone on the Internet with a Windows PC and a headset can start using Raketu's VoIP, ipTV streaming video, andother services immediately.

This needs some reviews, however I myself have noticed with some other application that low quality video cards or lower RAM can coz huge lag on video streaming. It goes to a level where what you are watching doesn't make any sense. However it's also possible due the use of P2P, don't you know how Joost works? But Raketu has always attacked Skype's supernodes technology and claimed that Raketu's p2p technology is superior than supernodes.

Raketu offers streaming video ipTV content from Media GlobalIntertainment (MGI). I guess it's time for me to evaluate their product in detail and report back with a analysis report on Whats the future of Raketu.

Google Phone Prototype Leaked?

I discussed about a possibility of google VOIP some days back, but that was just a possibility. Google Phone, however will be a reality soon. Can we expect an all round winner from this search engine monster popularly known as BigG (i would call them Gaddy- Google Daddy or Gig Daddy. lol)

According to news.com, the google phone is in the making. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," Isabel Aguilera is quoted as saying on the Spanish-news Web site Noticias.com"

However Google has always kept mum on this topic and never disclosed in an official statement that they are working on a google phone. But rumour has it that its in the making. Google phone posts are all over the place including some prototype pictures. I did some research myself and found some amazing pictures of the so called "Google Phone". As of now, no one can claim that any of those pictures are the real ones since there is no official statement or even initial designs available. Its all a mind game.

I got a lot of so called google phone pictures . you won't imagine but people did mods on Nokia N series to make it look like a google phone. DUH. i wont call it as design, but a waste of time and energy.

but I guess the following 3 can make some sense.


1) This picture is all over the web. Perhaps the closest to the real design?















2) Looks like a Handheld LCD TV? No its google Video phone for you! Really slick design








3) Really way off, but i like the concept of embedding a creditcard inside a phone :-)














Do you have any other prototype, do share with us!

Vote for your favorite design!

VePhone gives free VOIP with free incoming UK number

VePhone, a service by UK based Group 3 technologies is giving away free PC to PC VOIP with free UK incoming number. I had recently managed to put together a comprehensive list of Free Incoming Geographic numbers providers list, If you are reading this. I strongly suggest you read that list as well.

VePhone promises to eliminate the use of traditional VOIP software on your PC to make a call. Instead, the users can simply use the online web-based browser based VePhone service to make a call. Its lot more simpler and easy to use. Imagine, you are travelling and want to use your account, this could be beneficial rather than downloading that piece of software on a wireless connection can be tedious. This is not new in the VOIP space, Jajah has been doing this successfully for quiet a while. it would be interesting to see how this will work with VePhone.

VePhone does not offer free calls to landlines/mobiles but they will offer the same for a VePhone number. People from all over the world can call you on your free UK geographic number and thats free for you but not for them unless they are also using a free call service.

There are surely some questions about this service, I would love to ask them about it.

1) Does the incoming number support SIP Phone?
2) Can i route my calls to any other number? FREE or Paid services?
3) Do I have to Login every time i am receiving a call? I would say this is the biggest concern.
4) The login/registration isnt working? When is gonna start?

I will shoot an email to them soon. Till then any opinions?

Oman bans VOIP Service

In the recent development in Oman, the government has totally banned all VOIP services in Oman. According to VOIP News, "Directly from the TRA (issued on March 7, 2007), “The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) noticed lately that a number of Internet cyber cafes offer basic voice service through the internet provided by foreign companies that are not licensed to provide telecom services in the Sultanate."

Oman is joining the NOIP (No to VOIP) Club select members such as Bangladesh & Dubai. That means there will be not be any free calls neither cheaper calls. Calling to Oman for a few cents is passe. Start increasing your budget if you wish to call someone in there.

Companies who were routing their calls via the local VOIP providers will no more be able to do that and have to pay for a hefty charge while terminating calls. You know the word, dont you? Its gets on to the customers. The company never takes the burden on their head. It just never works that way.

I fear for the worst, there are many other middle east countries who are keen to join the NOIP club and soon they will. PERIOD!

Jajah give free global yellow pages lookup

Jajah, a european startup, well known for being busy at making the marketing buzz, has announced a new service called as "Global Yellow Pages". This service will improve the jajah experience, especially when you are not sure about the contacts.

For e.g; I want to know a travel agent in Munich, germany offering european tours. i can lookup for their number by their name, just like we do it with the traditional yellow pages. Damn painless, it hurts my hands to hold those mega heavy directory for long :P

Once you finalise on whom to call, just click to call and your call will be placed to the party.

A great way of finding info and calling the party right-a-way. Another typical Jajah gadget.

Jajah is surely the most promising telecom startups this year and they are really the most innovative marketing buzz creators. Even if they dont win a award for a successful startup am sure they can get something for those cool "Gadgets" :-) Time to Rock Roman.

Another Gizmo Call Hack with Gizmo Project

Today I have received a "contribution" from one of my reader, Ann Fernandes. The reader is using this gizmo call hack to make 20 minutes calls instead of usual 10 mins. I must say he/she has described it nicely in this tutorial. I thought of sharing. Let me tell you again, i give full credits to the reader. The email sent by the reader is totally unedited (except a few typos) and it made it to the blog.

Gizmo Call Hack starts here
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you ever dreamed of free Worldwide Internet telephony. Now it's true. So you might be thinking that it's yet another Spam post. But believe what you see not what others tell you.It's neither share type network where you have to register yourself to get free calls, nor it's any video share program where you have to actually see videos to get free talk time. It's possible Only with Gizmo Call. Let's see how it works. So stay happy and keep talking to you loved ones.

So,here is simple guide to make call at Gizmo call for 20 mins instead of 10 mins.

1)Before you start using this guide. Ensure you have latest Flash Installed on your system. you can get the latest version of Flash from here

2)Go to GizmoCall Website
You will a Flash will start to load. Let it load completely. After flash loads completely, You will see a main homepage to make a Call. Now Type in the number you want to call and click on the "Call" button.

3)Once you click on "Call", it will ask for the Flash Plug-in. Since you are the first time user, you won't have the Flash Plug-in and You will see a Instruction to Download the Plug-in. Download the Plug-in by saving the plug-in on your system (anywhere you like). Don't open but save the file.

4)Once you have download the plug-in on your system,the screen will appear like this. Waiting for Flash Plugin. This state is seen before you actually install the plug-in. Basically, its trying to find the plug-in since you downloaded.

5)Now locate the file you have downloaded.
File name: GizmoCall.exe
and Install the file.

6)Now go back to the Website. You will find the flash plug-in is now loaded. Here, the flash plug-in will ask for your permission to access the Microphone, Webcam and Storage space. Click Allow . Click "continue Call" (this will appear if you already tried calling without the plug-in in step 1)

7)Now you are all Set to make a Call anywhere in the world. Enjoy your FREE Call for 10 minutes everyday worldwide.

Now you are set to go. But does 10min limited Duration makes you uncomfortable, then try following trick to get unlimited access.

You can also renew your free 10 minutes per day, as well,
Follow the following steps....
Delete ....
Temporary Internet files
cookies
before trying this.......
You need to registered with the GizmoProject for this to work, by downloading/installing their VoIP application, it's free.
1. Navigate to this folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\
There you'll find a folder that starts with 3 letters, followed by 5 numerics (e.g. GVP00001).
2. In this folder, you'll find a sub-folder titled "http://www.gizmocall.com/"
3. Inside this folder, you'll find a "SOL" cookie
4. Permanently delete this file
(Shift + delete).
5. Go back to http://www.gizmocall.com/
6. Re-setup your audio device(s)
7. Click Sign In/register
8. Sign in with your Gizmo Project ID
9. Start a call, and your Gizmo calls will automatically refresh, to another 10 minutes!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

You can also send tips, tricks and hacks about VOIP. Just drop me an email on ut(dot)godmode(at)gmail.com

Microsoft's VOIP plans and industry outlook

VOIP has become a buzz word of telecommunication industry and people are betting big on it. Whether or not they will succeed, only time will tell the story but one thing is for sure, there is more liquidity in this market than ever before. you name the big wigs, you name the venture capitalist everyone trying to cash on this mammoth telecom power which very possible going to rule the way we will communicate in future. Its perhaps the time for the oldies (PSTN providers) to wake-up and put together a plan to counter attack or adapt to the change.

The latest entrant to join the party is Microsoft. Microsoft already had a MSN messenger software enabling pc to pc communication , however Microsoft largely failed in penetrating that market or even promote the product as a voice messenger. Yahoo outshine them by a huge percent and Microsoft never bothered to even answer. However, they have some big plans for the Microsoft office communicator. I myself use this tool in my office to connect/talk to my office colleagues separated by distance literally by timezones and miles miles away. Its so easy and cool to have a quick chat with a guy sitting in india and next minute have a conference with a guy in taiwan office. I love every bit of it. Office communicator also integrates with Outlook so you know when the guy is busy, he is away for meeting or he is simply enjoying holidays.

Now to add to these already bulky feature list, Microsoft is going to add VOIP technology to make it one of the best product for inter office communication and a good target market.

According to Microsoft, "Office Communications Server 2007 allows companies to integrate voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology into existing telephony infrastructure, eliminating the need for expensive network overhauls and also extending the useful life of existing investments. The new voice server will also allow workers to instantly launch a phone call from 2007 Microsoft Office applications, such as Office Word 2007, Office Outlook^® 2007 or Office Communicator, by simply clicking on a colleague’s name to determine his or her availability and initiate a person-to-person or multiparty call."

I guess this was just a start for the big M, there is more to come. but you will always know one thing, with Microsoft nothing is FREE and by far not even Cheap.

Rebtel Free plan isnt really FREE

Rebtel, A mobile VOIP company announces free international calls to almost 36 destinations, which includes UK, Us, Brazil, Chile, Peru etc. definately some countries which never make it to the mobile voip free list. I appreciate Rebtel could make it possible.

However the biggest reservation i have about their service is about the "FREE" component. I mean it's not free to be honest. Its only FREE if you have a mobile plan in your country (one of the 36) which gives you a certain talktime free each month. You can utilise that to make free calls via rebtel. but you must be wondering why would i need to use my local minutes when i am calling a international number? Thats the catch. Let me explain.

According to them, this is how it works:

1. Call your friend on their Rebtel Number(They send you a SMS when you sign up.)
2. When they answer, ask them to look at the number displayed on their phone screen. Tell them to hang up, and call you straight back on that number.
3. Now for the weird bit. Don’t hang up when they do, but stay on the line.
4. A couple of seconds later, they’ll join you back on the call.

That weird bit is so confusing and also the looking at the number, hanging up and calling back again. This seems the best of the Indian mobile community. Wonder why? Because Indians are the no.1 missed call users. I am sure 50% of people in India use missed call for communicating and still indian companies make huge profits. :-)

anyways, so if you have those free minutes, then here is what you got. and if you dont have those free minutes then rebtel charges you starting at 2 cents per minutes

• 10 international calls a month
• Talk for as long as you like
• No contract, open
  to all

They don't have Singapore included in country list, so i can test it myself anyways. However, if anyone has any experience using them, please share.

Let me reiterate, Rebtel free plan isnt really FREE.

GizmoSMS Free SMS anywhere in the world

After a successful launch of Gizmo Cal, SIPPhone now started a "younger brother" of that service. Its officially named as "Gizmo SMS". guys at SiPPhone are going berserk with the new products being launches back to back.

In today's fast paced world, SMS still has a lot of space to grow further. Although, it might not have the same impact about 5 years later than it has today. I know there will be some experts who can counter question me on this.

Moving on, Gizmo SMS has a very similar interface to Gizmo Call, without of course the sound settings. To test the speed of this service, I sent a quick "testing SMS" to my own number. It never reached my cell. I tried my friend's number. It didnt reach his mobile either. I dont know what could be the reason behind this :-) I might try later. It could be possible that their server might be overloaded with too many SMS request at once.

I guess guys at SipPhone needs some serious work to look at these issues. Hopefully they will solve it soon. Otherwise, this a is a great service. No frills, simple and unlimited FREE SMS to almost anywhere in the world.

VOIPGuide needs your Feedback

In the next few days, I might be changing the template of this blog to something better. However, I need your inputs. Please vote for what you think is the best choice for VOIPGuide-Your favorite VOIP Weblog.

VOIP in China- A In-Depth Review

China is the world's most energetic and exciting country at this stage. Their GDP is rising at a massive speed and they are growing in every sector you can dream off. So why not VOIP? Have you ever wondered whats happening in China when the whole world is buzzing with VOIP startups.

China is no different. The asian monster has already made a kill in financial and manufacturing sector and is all set to become the world's largest VOIP nation by 2020 (my prediction). China at this stage is dependent on traditional PSTN lines which are costly to maintain and run. Of course, no telco a fool to subsidise the price. Eventually it gets passed to the end users, consumers. The only cost effective alternative to this is VOIP. Maybe it be a business or home phone, VOIP will soon dragonise china.

According to recent surveys, Broadband VoIP subscribers who get their service from telecom carriers are estimated to number 9.53 million by the end of 2011, up from 720,000 in 2006. That will be a huge leap for china in VOIP, however there is more to go. China will probably adapt to VOIP faster than their asian counterparts such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia etc. Most of the indian sub-continent is lagging behind the scene due to stupid regulations in place. I had written a interesting article about VOIP in Indian Sub-contient.

Of course, at the same time being such a big nation, regulating VOIP will be far more difficult. We can also expect a seperate cell/ministry for this business activity in China. The possible issues in reaching VOIP to masses can be the illegal VOIP operators. It will be difficult for a country with such a huge population to keep track of small time illegal operators, especially when a VOIP conferencing service can be setup in a small room with a couple of devices. Its a child game these days. Ever wondered why Bangladesh had mushrooming illegal VOIP providers?

Research report predict, "Almost 13 million people in China will be paying to use unlicensed local internet phone services within four years".

The possible quick growth can be seen in PC to Phone software or services. In fact, Skype is getting equally popular in China with more than 25 million downloads. Although, Skype has tested a bitter fruit when they were blocked in China in 2005 by using NetSpective® M-Class Solution, SkypeFiltering. Although, its now being used widely in China. They can expect another smashing anytime from the government especially china telecom. Skype is now distributed by China-based provider TOM Online. There is also an allegation that TOM online does a content filtering for text messages being sent via Skype-Tom, a joint venture.

Whatever maybe the hurdles, I can blindly predict that the DRAGON will feast on VOIP by 2020 and its the next big market to look for espcially companies in Europe such as Jajah.

Do you share my views? Do let me know, Post comments.

VOIP Guide- The Free Call movement Grows further

First of all, I would like to thanks all the visitors of VOIP Guide. When I started this blog, I was just a simple VOIP user. I know a few things here and there :-) but i wont brag about it. The only inspiration i had was to share the knowledge and help people make FREE Calls around the world. I know there are millions of people in the world still paying huge phone bills when they shouldn't have. I know those million people might not even read this blog in their entire life. (i pity them)

Many of the visitor never participated in the discussion under comments, however i strongly feel everyone who visits the website has added some value to the content by inspiring me to find that new Free Call VOIP website or software. I would like to mention that some regular visitiors such as Daksh, Manni, Mak4Bd, Sam (sorry if i missed anyone's name) has contributed to a great extent.

VOIP Guide has also seen a tremendous growth in traffic Since February. The traffic has almost tripled since first week of Feb and its constatly building. Most of the visitors come from USA, India follows next. Although, I have seen a lack of mouth publicity. I would be happy if some of the visitor can link my blog on their blog or website to spread the word or even tell their friends or family.

VOIP Guide in the News:

Over the last few months, VOIP Guide has been in the news for all the good reasons. It was featured 4 times on some of the biggest news sites such as VOIP News etc. Some of the articles has been linked all over the place by other fellow bloggers/webmasters. Thanks to everyone for spreading the world and giving the credit. I will be adding some more original article in the coming days.

Issue/Concerns:

At the same time, there are numerous visitors/readers send me emails everyday, mainly about VOIP Support issues such as Gizmo Call not working, gizmocall.exe failed to load, how to use icall etc. Most of these VOIP issues are already covered on this blog under blog post or comments. I understand that people dont have enough time to read everything.

I love reading and replying to them, but lately it's going out of control. While i was away last week and only reading comments, i have receieved more than 200 emails from visitors all over the world and I am not yet done reading them :-) so if you are expecting a reply from me, just wait for some more time. its coming your way!

However at the same time, i strongly suggest everyone to ask your VOIP questions as "Comments" and email me when the issue is serious or you need a very quick answer.

There are multiple benefits of asking your VOIP support issues in comments. There are many more readers reading the comments everyday. They can reply to you before I would. They might have more knowledge about the topic than me.

Again let me reiterate, you can still send me Emails with Love, Hatred or whatever feeling you got for me :-) As i said, i will continue to read them and send replies. Hatred ones will get a quick reply..lol

Whats in the Store for you?

Of course, I will continue to keep you updated with the latest happening in the VOIP Space. As you all know, I dont post all the VOIP news clutter that hits the news agencies everyday. I filter the best of the action and try to give you a sumarised picture of whats happening in the world of VOIP. I am sure if you are reading this blog, you will have nothing to do with a "Nokia Phone Launch". Who wants to read about Nokia phones on a VOIP Blog? Duh.

I am also planning a huge contest. I am not sure if that will materialise but i am working with some industry leaders on this one. Will post about the contest soon. If you are interested in sponsoring the contest or managing/helping with it. Please let me know. I might have some work for you.

The contest should have some great prizes and freebies coming your way.

Big Announcement:

I am looking for a couple of guest bloggers who can contribute to this blog mainly articles , news stories etc. If you are interested, please read below if you eligible for that

1. Flare for writing : Its very important that you love writing and sharing your knowledge. This love will make you a good writer if not great.
2. Time: Atleast about 2 hours per day
3. A VOIP User (preferable)- Since you use it, you know it better.

What's the incentive? Well you will be a known face in blogging. I currently can't afford to pay you any money, but if writing is your passion and you want some fame, then come dive in. If i like your passion for writing, I might be offering a per month salary in future.

You can drop comments with the answers to the above questions as application for the Guest blogger.

Last but not the least, Please please please give your suggestions to improve this blog. Its very important since i feel it's not just mine but your blog as well.

MediaRing offers US, Canada, China, Singapore United Kingdom free calls this Chinese New Year Period

Here in Singapore, CNY is over. I was on a shopping spree till i realised its Chinese new year and not Diwali. I wonder, what my wife has spent on my credit card:P

Oh its yet time to receive my credit card bills. Let me move on with the post. Its time for more and more free VOIP call offers and i love each of them.

This is a huge promotion by MediaringTalk, From Feb1 2007 (oops i totally missed this one, sorry) till 31st March 2007, you can call

United Kingdom- fixed
US, Canada, China, Singapore- Fixed & Mobile

The only downside is, each call is limited to 10 minutes. However, there are no restrictions on calling the same destination multiple times. Well, I don't mind calling my friends for 10 minutes and cut the call to dial again :-)

So if you are eager to know about your Ex-GF (*cough*) in US or Canada, give her a buzz and wish Kung Hei Fat Choi or Gong Xi Fa Cai..or maybe happy holi :-)

Have fun Calling! almost forgot, You need to Register to their service

Download VOIP cheap Older Version

Those who have been desperately looking for the older version of Voip cheap and dropped several comments demanding one. I have this pretty old version i myself downloaded around July 2006. After this there were 2 new versions. I am confident that this older version will help with the hack to make free calls worldwide with voip cheap

Download the file

Ok. I am not going to ask for any real favours, but I would love a link on your blog/website for FREE :-)

Thanks to Sam, Manni etc for giving the shouts and following up with me on this. Make the most of it.

Call India Free this Holy

Yahoo Voice is currently running a free offer to call anywhere in India during the Holy Season. This offer is similar to what they offered during the diwali season. The only catch i found in this, is you need to have a Yahoo Voice account to use this service. I wouldn't really call it totally FREE since you need to sign-up with atleast $10 top-up.

However those who already have accounts or want to have a account can surely try this service for FREE.

The offer is running from

			Mar 2 9:00pm PST Mar 3 10:30am IST		Mar 4 8:59am PST Mar 4 10:29pm IST

I hope I didn't made it too late for you guys to avail this offer. Thanks to Sam & other visitors for pinging me on this one. I knew it but i thought it might not be relevant since its not totally free in some way. However, I have received numerous emails from visitors asking me about this. This post is for them who gave me the shouts. you guys make this blog special. Keep sending those great tips & hacks to make the free VOIP experience better.

I wonder if anyone would offer free calls on Gudi Padwa or Ugadi, The Hindu New year! I wish :-)

Make free calls with Apple iPhone

Don't have iPhone yet? Well most of us dont have but finding a reason to buy when it's available at the nearest store. I have already made up my mind and budgeted for that cool gadget.

However if you still finding a reason (or excuse) to buy iPhone, this blog will prolly make it up for you. Hopefully you can go ahead with iPhone.

Jajah, a european VOIP startup has been in the news for long. It's one of the companies which is never shy at exploring new possibilities and making user's experience enjoyable. I am all praise for them for the sheer simplicity they brought to VOIP free calls. The day they launched their service, they have enjoyed the buzz for all good reasons and something that they deserved.

Now going forward with their new ideas, Its kind of official that Jajah will now support iPhone or rather i would say Jajah will power your iPhone to make free calls to almost the world. Of course, both parties need to a Jajah registered members. Well getting registered takes less time than making a Peanut butter sandwich .

Jajah is powering this via their mobile.jajah.com intiative. In fact many other smartphones are covered under mobile.jajah.com

So if you planning to buy a iPhone, there is another reason to go and get it coz you will saving huge amount of money by calling your friends and family across the world totally free. Imagine the free calling world. Oh i love it :-)

If you have compatible smartphone, you may want to look at their mobile Jajah homepage for more info on using their service.