We recently posted about Future of FREE VOIP on VOIP Guide and discussed about various ways and models about FREE VOIP we might see in the future. Alok, our in-house VOIP news editor wrote a follow-up article.
The other day I read the post by Vinay about the strategies for VoIP companies. While I agree with some of the comments, I have a little different perspective on this topic. Like any industry, VoIP will have its own life cycle. The VOIP industry is probably at the fag end of the “takeoff” stage and is showing some aspects of “high turnover” stage.
Telecom or VOIP in general is a capital intensive business and is difficult to make money in the short run. Network externalities play a big role, as more and more users become a part of a network the more everybody benefits from being a part of the network. For instance, if the number of VoIP users grows enough, the cost of hardware and services will drop significantly (due to economies of scale) and this would further motivate non-users to adopt VoIP due to reduced costs. Also, at this stage of the industry life cycle it is important for the players to create a significant presence in the market place. The free or cheap calls being offered by companies is just an effort to create a significant presence in the market and mindshare among the consumers.
So what should VOIP firms do? During the “takeoff” and the early “high turnover” stage VOIP companies must ensure survival. If firms survive this phase then they will be very strong to reap the benefits in the future. This, however, assumes that they have a “sensible” business model in place and deep pockets. Once the industry enters the consolidation phase, the customer base and the brand value will be a huge asset. Firms can use different models depending on the customer segment they are targeting. Ad-based, price based, quality or reliability based are all viable models. It just depends on how the firms are looking to reap the benefits.
VCs surely seem to agree with this point of view. The amount of money being poured in this sector is not trivial. Let me know your thoughts on this.
This article has been written by our VoIP news editor Alok Saboo. Alok is pursuing his PhD in Marketing at the Pennsylvania State University.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
SMSDiscount offers cheap international calls
People come to FREE VOIP Guide for bargain hunting on Cheap international Calls, specially to India and most of the other Asian destinations. Today, we look at another VOIP provider which is left out and not so popular. Thanks to Partha Das for sharing this with us.
Betamax as we all know literally have over 20 odd Cheap VOIP Calls service clones and SMSDiscount is one of them. Primarily a cheap SMS service they also offer competitive cheap international calls to many countries including free international calls to some countries.
The good thing about SMSDiscount is they offer SIP support unlike other services like 12voip etc.
SMS Discount SIP settings:
SIP port : 5060
Registrar : sip.smsdiscount.com
Proxy server : sip.smsdiscount.com
Outbound proxy server : leave empty
Account name : your smsdiscount username
Password : your smsdiscount password
Display name/number : your smsdiscount username or voipnumber
Stunserver (option) : stun.smsdiscount.com
SMSDiscount is currently offering 2 eurocents (4.8 US cents) per minute to India which isnt the lowest but competitive. Tringme offers 3.99 per minute.
For non-SIP users, In order to use SMSDiscount you need to download their Softphone client.
If anyone is using this VOIP service, do let all know your feedback.
Betamax as we all know literally have over 20 odd Cheap VOIP Calls service clones and SMSDiscount is one of them. Primarily a cheap SMS service they also offer competitive cheap international calls to many countries including free international calls to some countries.
The good thing about SMSDiscount is they offer SIP support unlike other services like 12voip etc.
SMS Discount SIP settings:
SIP port : 5060
Registrar : sip.smsdiscount.com
Proxy server : sip.smsdiscount.com
Outbound proxy server : leave empty
Account name : your smsdiscount username
Password : your smsdiscount password
Display name/number : your smsdiscount username or voipnumber
Stunserver (option) : stun.smsdiscount.com
SMSDiscount is currently offering 2 eurocents (4.8 US cents) per minute to India which isnt the lowest but competitive. Tringme offers 3.99 per minute.
For non-SIP users, In order to use SMSDiscount you need to download their Softphone client.
If anyone is using this VOIP service, do let all know your feedback.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
skype offers cheap international call plans
Almost every week a new VOIP provider cuts down their calling rates making one of the destinations cheaper than their competitor. Skype seems to be taking the cheap international calls market seriously.
Skype has been into the cheap international calling market for long however besides the free calls to USA and Canada for a fixed price, they never really got into the "Fixed Price Plan" market. However they recently announced that they are going to offer unlimited free calls to specific countries for a fixed monthly charge.
The three new subscription plans offer customers with no long-term contracts and provide users with up to 10,000 minutes, or five hours a day, of calling each month to 34 countries.
For users in the U.S., the service plan offers unlimited landline and cell phone calls within the country and Canada for US$2.95 a month. This is dirt cheap if you are used to the "Skype" calling or you can do this for free with Earthcaller or FreePhoneline.ca etc.
For Free Calls to Mexico, Skype's Unlimited Mexico" plan provides calls to landlines in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara for just $5.95.
On top of it, Skype is offering a "Unlimited World" calling plan, available for a monthly charge of just over $9.95, provides unlimited calls to landlines in 34 countries around the globe including Australia, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore,UK. The plan also includes calls to mobile phones in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
For those who sign up for a three- or 12-month subscription before June 1, Skype offers a 33 percent discount on the service. If you are keen to buy this plan, we suggest you do this before June 1 to get the most out of it.
Honestly, For a Pro-user like me Skype might not be a ideal solution but We know that they are huge number for people who still don't really understand the whole SIP based calling thing. Skype is perfect solution for newbies and those who are confortable with PC to Phone calling. If you still don't have Skype, Download it Today.
With literally millions of users, Skype has a good chance to crack this market.
If you are interested in this cheap international calling plans, Go check it out.
Skype has been into the cheap international calling market for long however besides the free calls to USA and Canada for a fixed price, they never really got into the "Fixed Price Plan" market. However they recently announced that they are going to offer unlimited free calls to specific countries for a fixed monthly charge.
The three new subscription plans offer customers with no long-term contracts and provide users with up to 10,000 minutes, or five hours a day, of calling each month to 34 countries.
For users in the U.S., the service plan offers unlimited landline and cell phone calls within the country and Canada for US$2.95 a month. This is dirt cheap if you are used to the "Skype" calling or you can do this for free with Earthcaller or FreePhoneline.ca etc.
For Free Calls to Mexico, Skype's Unlimited Mexico" plan provides calls to landlines in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara for just $5.95.
On top of it, Skype is offering a "Unlimited World" calling plan, available for a monthly charge of just over $9.95, provides unlimited calls to landlines in 34 countries around the globe including Australia, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore,UK. The plan also includes calls to mobile phones in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
For those who sign up for a three- or 12-month subscription before June 1, Skype offers a 33 percent discount on the service. If you are keen to buy this plan, we suggest you do this before June 1 to get the most out of it.
Honestly, For a Pro-user like me Skype might not be a ideal solution but We know that they are huge number for people who still don't really understand the whole SIP based calling thing. Skype is perfect solution for newbies and those who are confortable with PC to Phone calling. If you still don't have Skype, Download it Today.
With literally millions of users, Skype has a good chance to crack this market.
If you are interested in this cheap international calling plans, Go check it out.
Monday, April 21, 2008
FreeCallButton offers worldwide free calls
Don't we all miss the allfreecalls an Yak4ever, the good old access number based free calling service. The party was over about 6 months back however today we found something similar.
Thanks to Ramesh Kumar (Bangkok) for sharing this information with us.
Free Call Button is a global access number based free international calls service. It works just like Yak4ever however there is much more complex. The service gives you free international calls 5 minutes each per hour to many countries but they have restricted calls to high termination countries such as Middle East,Pakistan etc.
Lets see how you can use Free Calls button to make free international calls:
1) You can call USA access number (1-206-424-1330). Find a global access number here.
2) Get a Free PIN at LDCall PIN service. This PIN changes everyday so you should get a new PIN updated on that website. Enter this PIN number when asked.
3) Now you will hear a dial tone. Dial 00 then the country code then the phone number followed by the # key.
4)Your call will be connected. Don't expect great quality since this is a free service and probably routed via non-premium lines.
Remember each call last for 5 minutes only and you can call again at every hour. I wonder how do they track this especially when we use a free service such as Earthcaller to make a call to their USA access number.
We hope this services works fine. As you may know, am currently on vacation so this is not tested. I am confident that the large community here on VOIP Guide will surely test this and let us all know the results.
Thanks to Ramesh Kumar (Bangkok) for sharing this information with us.
Free Call Button is a global access number based free international calls service. It works just like Yak4ever however there is much more complex. The service gives you free international calls 5 minutes each per hour to many countries but they have restricted calls to high termination countries such as Middle East,Pakistan etc.
Lets see how you can use Free Calls button to make free international calls:
1) You can call USA access number (1-206-424-1330). Find a global access number here.
2) Get a Free PIN at LDCall PIN service. This PIN changes everyday so you should get a new PIN updated on that website. Enter this PIN number when asked.
3) Now you will hear a dial tone. Dial 00 then the country code then the phone number followed by the # key.
4)Your call will be connected. Don't expect great quality since this is a free service and probably routed via non-premium lines.
Remember each call last for 5 minutes only and you can call again at every hour. I wonder how do they track this especially when we use a free service such as Earthcaller to make a call to their USA access number.
We hope this services works fine. As you may know, am currently on vacation so this is not tested. I am confident that the large community here on VOIP Guide will surely test this and let us all know the results.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Future of FREE VOIP
"With stiff competition in the already saturated Free VOIP market, those who do not have a revenue model will suffer in the long run"- VOIP Guide. We always said this.
People always complain about increasing cost and higher rates to certain destinations. Customers wants free calls or cheap international calls. With such high customer expectations, how telecom/VOIP companies can actually work and most imprortantly still be profitable in this competitive environment where a new VOIP provider is born every week and gives away free calls to a destinations which was once your profit territory.
Lets consider this from a VOIP provider's perspective. Let me tell you hard fact, your favorite analyst never tell you. Today 90% VOIP providers especially those in pure FREE VOIP space are operating in deep pockets means actually under losses. They are either using their own money or the VC's to penetrate the market. Let me tell you 5 years down the line, only handful of these 100 VOIP providers will actually survive. Those who believe getting money from VC's is the only alternative to raise funds to make their business successful are WRONG. You MUST have a revenue model unless you are Fring. Companies such as Fring are now already in the elite league and can easily get hundreds of millions if sold.
We know everyone can't be a Fring. You really need that extra bit of luck and passion to build a brand that leads the niche. Becoming a leader in cheap international calls and free voip could be a distant dream for many VOIP providers. There is really a lot of competition in this space which will result in no leader. However we could see 5-10 major VOIP providers taking up the 70% market share. However the question remains the same. How are you gonna make money?
1) Charge a Flat Price for Free Calls per month: Let the customers make unlimited calls for a price. Anyways you are giving away for free might as well make a few $$.
2) Adopt Ad-based free calling: Seriously the best option out there. People do not mind ads as long as they get free calls. This could be used on the website or actually inserted in a call. RingBranch has started doing this now. They are placing ads at the start of the call and when someone calls you up they listen to the short ad. We personally feel this space will get really big in 2008. Mark our words.
3) Blow VC's money and pray for a takeover: LOL. Seriously you just wait till someone buys you over however how long will your VC keep filing your pockets?
Whatever maybe the route VOIP providers take, FREE VOIP is here to stay. People are now used to it and will now never pay for it. If the VOIP providers wants to sustain they have to adopt to the changing markets.
People always complain about increasing cost and higher rates to certain destinations. Customers wants free calls or cheap international calls. With such high customer expectations, how telecom/VOIP companies can actually work and most imprortantly still be profitable in this competitive environment where a new VOIP provider is born every week and gives away free calls to a destinations which was once your profit territory.
Lets consider this from a VOIP provider's perspective. Let me tell you hard fact, your favorite analyst never tell you. Today 90% VOIP providers especially those in pure FREE VOIP space are operating in deep pockets means actually under losses. They are either using their own money or the VC's to penetrate the market. Let me tell you 5 years down the line, only handful of these 100 VOIP providers will actually survive. Those who believe getting money from VC's is the only alternative to raise funds to make their business successful are WRONG. You MUST have a revenue model unless you are Fring. Companies such as Fring are now already in the elite league and can easily get hundreds of millions if sold.
We know everyone can't be a Fring. You really need that extra bit of luck and passion to build a brand that leads the niche. Becoming a leader in cheap international calls and free voip could be a distant dream for many VOIP providers. There is really a lot of competition in this space which will result in no leader. However we could see 5-10 major VOIP providers taking up the 70% market share. However the question remains the same. How are you gonna make money?
1) Charge a Flat Price for Free Calls per month: Let the customers make unlimited calls for a price. Anyways you are giving away for free might as well make a few $$.
2) Adopt Ad-based free calling: Seriously the best option out there. People do not mind ads as long as they get free calls. This could be used on the website or actually inserted in a call. RingBranch has started doing this now. They are placing ads at the start of the call and when someone calls you up they listen to the short ad. We personally feel this space will get really big in 2008. Mark our words.
3) Blow VC's money and pray for a takeover: LOL. Seriously you just wait till someone buys you over however how long will your VC keep filing your pockets?
Whatever maybe the route VOIP providers take, FREE VOIP is here to stay. People are now used to it and will now never pay for it. If the VOIP providers wants to sustain they have to adopt to the changing markets.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
ISPBX launches Cogoblue asterisk configuration tool
If you thought configuring a Asterisk server was the most difficult task in your business model, think again. ISPBX has made it easier than ever with GUI based configuration management for easy installation and go LIVE.
Configuring a asteriks server is no easy game, it required a level of understanding and knowledge of Asterisk server management. However ISPBX launched a application called cogoblue which will allow even the novice users to play with asterisk configuration with a few mouse clicks.
Taking the UML approach in configuration management, Cogoblue works at GUI level with easy to use "drag-and-drop". This reduces the possibility of unintended results stemming from a "simple" change. This makes configuring a PBX system lot more user friendly and easy with little or no room for mistakes. If you little knowledge of object based modelling or UML or Use cases, CogoBlue should work just fine for you.
Cogoblue will be directly competing with Trixbox and Digium. Cogoblue will surely face stiff competition from these already established brands, however we find cogoblue feature rich and has enough potential to carve a niche, especially in a segment where time to market is low and doesn't have huge user experience at hand.
Of course the major market for Cogoblue is the dealers. It would be interesting to see how dealers take this up and deploy in live scenarios. Overall Cogoblue Asterisk configuration management has managed to put the open source power of Asterisk into the hands of even a non voip guru.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
TokBox Free Video Conference Calls
If you thought to make live video conferencing online needs a bulky 8 MB Video Softphone or a large application, you are wrong. TokBox is gonna make you believe what web 2.0 can do for you in the coming years.
Gone are the day when you need to download applications to stream online video calls etc. Paltalk is the leader in video conferencing with literally millions of users however there is a new entrant called TokBox who is gonna make their life lot difficult with online streaming Video conferencing service.
TokBox has taken the video and VOIP conferencing facility to the web and especially to social craze. You can embed a tokbox online on facebook or on your website or anywhere that allows you to embed a widget. If someone wants to connect to you, then can simply do it with a few mouse clicks. No need to download any special conferencing softwares to make free conference calls online.
Of course to protect your privacy, Tokbox gives you full control over who can call you and who can't. This ensures that your call conference facility is fully protected in this wild internet.
In our opinion, Tokbox can really change the way we look at free conference calls with its sheer ease and great delivery method. Imagine, you can take conference calling to any stage with this service. All seemless and easy. No configuration needed to make conference calls neither worry about call cost.
It seems next 2 years, we are gonna see some innovative applications changing the way we look at telephone, conferencing and video calls. Technology is about to change your life and for the time being, tokbox will change the way you make live conference calls.
Gone are the day when you need to download applications to stream online video calls etc. Paltalk is the leader in video conferencing with literally millions of users however there is a new entrant called TokBox who is gonna make their life lot difficult with online streaming Video conferencing service.
TokBox has taken the video and VOIP conferencing facility to the web and especially to social craze. You can embed a tokbox online on facebook or on your website or anywhere that allows you to embed a widget. If someone wants to connect to you, then can simply do it with a few mouse clicks. No need to download any special conferencing softwares to make free conference calls online.
Of course to protect your privacy, Tokbox gives you full control over who can call you and who can't. This ensures that your call conference facility is fully protected in this wild internet.
In our opinion, Tokbox can really change the way we look at free conference calls with its sheer ease and great delivery method. Imagine, you can take conference calling to any stage with this service. All seemless and easy. No configuration needed to make conference calls neither worry about call cost.
It seems next 2 years, we are gonna see some innovative applications changing the way we look at telephone, conferencing and video calls. Technology is about to change your life and for the time being, tokbox will change the way you make live conference calls.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pennytel extends cheap international calls offer to other countries
Increasing number of people today are ready to pay for high quality telephone service with cheap international calls offer. Gone are the day when only looking for free international calls. We are surprised but this tendancy is building up among our visitors. People are looking for cheap deals on international calls rather than finding free international calls.
This is a good news for VOIP services who can drive more volumes and pass the benefit to consumers. WIN-WIN for both. Pennytel is doing just that by driving more users to their VOIP services based on SIP protocol. You can make untimed calls to many countries for a flat charge of 38.88 cents PER CALL (not per minute). This way if you talk for 30 minutes or more, you are already saving some money.
Untimed call is really a unique offer in the market. This way Pennytel is entering cheap international calls market with some serious competition. I have been using Pennytel to make calls to india and its turns out to be really a cheaper option if you call for extended time. Asians typically have lot to talk :-)
Now Pennytel has extended the offer to MOZAMBIQUE, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, MONGOLIA and MARTINIQUE. So now you can make cheap calls to mongolio. I remember someone asking me for this a few months back.
Overall Pennytel fits the pocket pretty well and you can configure it on any SIP device like SIP softphone, SIP/VOIP Adapter, Your Mobile VOIP enabled phone.
This is a good news for VOIP services who can drive more volumes and pass the benefit to consumers. WIN-WIN for both. Pennytel is doing just that by driving more users to their VOIP services based on SIP protocol. You can make untimed calls to many countries for a flat charge of 38.88 cents PER CALL (not per minute). This way if you talk for 30 minutes or more, you are already saving some money.
Untimed call is really a unique offer in the market. This way Pennytel is entering cheap international calls market with some serious competition. I have been using Pennytel to make calls to india and its turns out to be really a cheaper option if you call for extended time. Asians typically have lot to talk :-)
Now Pennytel has extended the offer to MOZAMBIQUE, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, MONGOLIA and MARTINIQUE. So now you can make cheap calls to mongolio. I remember someone asking me for this a few months back.
Overall Pennytel fits the pocket pretty well and you can configure it on any SIP device like SIP softphone, SIP/VOIP Adapter, Your Mobile VOIP enabled phone.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
500 minutes of Free Calls to USA
Almost every other VOIP Provider gives Free Calls to USA, however not many offer beyond a certain number of minutes exceptions being Earthcaller etc.
We discussed about OoVoo, a free video conference and Free Calls VOIP service. ooVoo is actually targetting the Free Video conference user base however to promote their offering they are giving away free voip calls to usa. When we reviewed them a few months back, they were offering 120 minutes of talktime however now they have extended this offer to 500 free minutes per month. This offer is good for people who had trouble accessing earthcaller to make free calls to USA. In my opinion, Earthcaller is still the best solution out there however some users reported to have issues using Earthcaller. For them, ooVoo might work well considering its a desktop based VOIP softphone client.
ooVoo might also turn out to be a good addition if you intend to hold large VOIP or Video conference calls with multiple people. The clarify of the Video Conference is better than most other Video conference services. Video conference being the core focus of ooVoo it scores in that department.
Thanks to Raja Rajan M for sharing this update with VOIP Guide.
We discussed about OoVoo, a free video conference and Free Calls VOIP service. ooVoo is actually targetting the Free Video conference user base however to promote their offering they are giving away free voip calls to usa. When we reviewed them a few months back, they were offering 120 minutes of talktime however now they have extended this offer to 500 free minutes per month. This offer is good for people who had trouble accessing earthcaller to make free calls to USA. In my opinion, Earthcaller is still the best solution out there however some users reported to have issues using Earthcaller. For them, ooVoo might work well considering its a desktop based VOIP softphone client.
ooVoo might also turn out to be a good addition if you intend to hold large VOIP or Video conference calls with multiple people. The clarify of the Video Conference is better than most other Video conference services. Video conference being the core focus of ooVoo it scores in that department.
Thanks to Raja Rajan M for sharing this update with VOIP Guide.
Monday, April 7, 2008
TringMe VOIP opens up API for Third Party Application Integration
Since the launch of TringMe, its core functionality and features have received great customer and industry feedback. The flash telephony technology primarily the base of TringMe as a VOIP service has been top notch. Now its open to public via API, so developers can now freely build VOIP/SIP applications, gateways or any other third party integration with large PBX/Asterix or VOIP softwares.
Developers of Adobe Flex, AIR, Symbian S60 or even a pure web platform like PHP, AJAX will be able to create web based, mobile or standalone voice enabled applications easily.
Developers can now develop applications based on TringMe API within hours instead of months or days with traditional coding methods. This makes the whole development cycle lot shorter and you can hit the market faster than your competitors.
Developers will be able to produce compelling voice/VOIP enabled applications using Flash, Flex or AIR technologies. For example, developers can create a fully-functional desktop phone on top of TringMe APIs using Adobe AIR technology.
Tringme API is totally FREE to build voice enable applications unlike some of the competitive API available in the market which come for a price. To extend the love further, TringMe has decided to even open up their Flash Technology and Mobile VOIP technology to developers so that they can build VOIP applications around this technology and leverage the core Tringme/TringSwitch features.
If you are a VOIP/SIP developer, I strongly recommend you take a look at TringMe API
Developers of Adobe Flex, AIR, Symbian S60 or even a pure web platform like PHP, AJAX will be able to create web based, mobile or standalone voice enabled applications easily.
Developers can now develop applications based on TringMe API within hours instead of months or days with traditional coding methods. This makes the whole development cycle lot shorter and you can hit the market faster than your competitors.
Developers will be able to produce compelling voice/VOIP enabled applications using Flash, Flex or AIR technologies. For example, developers can create a fully-functional desktop phone on top of TringMe APIs using Adobe AIR technology.
Tringme API is totally FREE to build voice enable applications unlike some of the competitive API available in the market which come for a price. To extend the love further, TringMe has decided to even open up their Flash Technology and Mobile VOIP technology to developers so that they can build VOIP applications around this technology and leverage the core Tringme/TringSwitch features.
If you are a VOIP/SIP developer, I strongly recommend you take a look at TringMe API
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Pingo VOIP Guide Calling Card Winners
Everyone has been eagerly waiting for the winners of Pingo Business Calling card Contest we held about 1 week back. The results are finally OUT, sorry for the delay.
I would like to thank everyone for great support to the contest and of course my special thanks to Pingo for sponsoring this contest. Pingo is award winning International Calling card company and have been instrumental in bringing the best quality and cheapest price for their calling card customers. I hope the winners will enjoy these free calling minutes and make the most of it. Of course, Pingo would love to hear your feedback on the call quality.
We have noticed that comments part got the most response, so I decided to move some of the cards to comments category so we have more winners. We still have 1 card leftover, which we are moving to Tipsity 100 Calling Card Contest
Finally the winners in each category:
1) Comments on Pingo Business VOIP Guide contest Post: Randomly Picked.
a)Jhanavi Bachu
b)Paul
c)nil@muftonline
2) Write about Pingo Business Contest on your website.
Jose Pinto
3) Digg the post
a) Harish Kapoor
b) Priyan
c) superfish_oil
4) Make video on VOIP Guide and how it helped you to make free international calls worldwide.
No Winners.
5) Write articles on Free International Calls or Cheap International Calls.
Rohin Adalja
6)Special Winner: For contributing to VOIP Guide numerous times and adding value.
Ramesh Kumar
I will be sending out your cards within 24 hrs to the email you used while commenting or otherwise. All calling cards will be sent via email only along with instructions on how to activate and use it.
Those who didn't win this, dont loose hope. We have a mega contest running at Tipsity, almost triple the prizes (15000 calling card minutes) with over 100 international calling cards to be given away. I suggest everyone to participate. If you make minimum 2 post on Tipsity- Online Tips, you almost sure to win 1 calling card. Go check out Contest details.
I would like to thank everyone for great support to the contest and of course my special thanks to Pingo for sponsoring this contest. Pingo is award winning International Calling card company and have been instrumental in bringing the best quality and cheapest price for their calling card customers. I hope the winners will enjoy these free calling minutes and make the most of it. Of course, Pingo would love to hear your feedback on the call quality.
We have noticed that comments part got the most response, so I decided to move some of the cards to comments category so we have more winners. We still have 1 card leftover, which we are moving to Tipsity 100 Calling Card Contest
Finally the winners in each category:
1) Comments on Pingo Business VOIP Guide contest Post: Randomly Picked.
a)Jhanavi Bachu
b)Paul
c)nil@muftonline
2) Write about Pingo Business Contest on your website.
Jose Pinto
3) Digg the post
a) Harish Kapoor
b) Priyan
c) superfish_oil
4) Make video on VOIP Guide and how it helped you to make free international calls worldwide.
No Winners.
5) Write articles on Free International Calls or Cheap International Calls.
Rohin Adalja
6)Special Winner: For contributing to VOIP Guide numerous times and adding value.
Ramesh Kumar
I will be sending out your cards within 24 hrs to the email you used while commenting or otherwise. All calling cards will be sent via email only along with instructions on how to activate and use it.
Those who didn't win this, dont loose hope. We have a mega contest running at Tipsity, almost triple the prizes (15000 calling card minutes) with over 100 international calling cards to be given away. I suggest everyone to participate. If you make minimum 2 post on Tipsity- Online Tips, you almost sure to win 1 calling card. Go check out Contest details.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Cheap international calls to india
People are always interested in making free or cheap calls to India. There are increasing number of people who don't mind spending a few cents for a quality call. Today we explain a good way save some money and makecheap international calls to India.
As you are aware, Dialnow has probably one of the cheapest rates for India (0.039 US cents). It allows you to make calls directly from your phone, without using computer at all. If you are in some European country, Australia, Argentina, Canada, etc. you can just dial the access number in those countries and then dial the required number. But the problem with Dialnow is that it does not have an access number in the US (from where bulk of the calls are made).
So for all the US residents wanting to call back home for cheap, here is the solution.
1) Register on Dialnow as a Canada resident, with your US number.
2) Note down your Pin Code (you will have to enter this later).
3) Register on Ringbranch (for free) and get the local number. Ringbranch is an auto-attendant service, similar to GrandCentral to some extent. Just have a look and you will figure out what I am talking about or else read our RingBranch Guide
4) Enter the Canada Access number (6477244222) in Ringbranch and give it a convenient extension.
Now you are all set to make cheap calls to India without any extra charges (other than those charged by Dialnow obviously). Let’s say your Ringbranch number is 770-357-4285 (this is a fictitious number, dont call).
1)Dial your Ringbranch number and then enter the extension you entered in the step 4 above.
2) You will then be connected to Dialnow and then you would get a prompt saying “You are not dialing from the number you registered” and then you would be prompted to enter the PIN.
3)Enter the PIN and then you can dial any number you want to connect and talk for cheap!
This trick can be used at other services, which do not have access numbers in the US.
A Quick plug: I will be announcing the winner of 5000 minutes Talktime Giveaway contest tommorow.
This article has been written by our VoIP news editor Alok Saboo. Alok is pursuing his PhD in Marketing at the Pennsylvania State University.
As you are aware, Dialnow has probably one of the cheapest rates for India (0.039 US cents). It allows you to make calls directly from your phone, without using computer at all. If you are in some European country, Australia, Argentina, Canada, etc. you can just dial the access number in those countries and then dial the required number. But the problem with Dialnow is that it does not have an access number in the US (from where bulk of the calls are made).
So for all the US residents wanting to call back home for cheap, here is the solution.
1) Register on Dialnow as a Canada resident, with your US number.
2) Note down your Pin Code (you will have to enter this later).
3) Register on Ringbranch (for free) and get the local number. Ringbranch is an auto-attendant service, similar to GrandCentral to some extent. Just have a look and you will figure out what I am talking about or else read our RingBranch Guide
4) Enter the Canada Access number (6477244222) in Ringbranch and give it a convenient extension.
Now you are all set to make cheap calls to India without any extra charges (other than those charged by Dialnow obviously). Let’s say your Ringbranch number is 770-357-4285 (this is a fictitious number, dont call).
1)Dial your Ringbranch number and then enter the extension you entered in the step 4 above.
2) You will then be connected to Dialnow and then you would get a prompt saying “You are not dialing from the number you registered” and then you would be prompted to enter the PIN.
3)Enter the PIN and then you can dial any number you want to connect and talk for cheap!
This trick can be used at other services, which do not have access numbers in the US.
A Quick plug: I will be announcing the winner of 5000 minutes Talktime Giveaway contest tommorow.
This article has been written by our VoIP news editor Alok Saboo. Alok is pursuing his PhD in Marketing at the Pennsylvania State University.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
HipSip VOIP SIP service enables Skype Calling
In the world of Mobile and Desktop VOIP, not many VOIP / SIP services can talk to Skype protocol. There are definately some who do it efficiently including Fring and Tringme. Today, we found one more called HipSip.
HipSip is a free SIP service which lets you connect to Skype from your mobile phone. The only unique thing about HipSip is you don't need a special SIP Softphone to connect to their SIP service. However there is something called "Hipsip Bridge application" which you need to install on your PC to create a bridge between your Mobile Phone-Skype-PC. Wohoo. I almost gave up at this stage. Why do I have to do all this? just to make free skype calls? I can as well make these calls from Fring or Tringme without any such tedious setups. On top of it, to use Skype features, you must leave a computer connected to the Internet
I am confident 85% people won't go ahead with this complex setup. On top of it, Their SIP/ Skype calling is only available in Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingtom and United states.
At this stage, the only thing that a positive about HipSip is you don't have to download any special VOIP softphone client for your mobile and its a free SIP service. I still don't understand why did they bother to start a SIP service with no value addition. Can someone enlighten me?
HipSip is a free SIP service which lets you connect to Skype from your mobile phone. The only unique thing about HipSip is you don't need a special SIP Softphone to connect to their SIP service. However there is something called "Hipsip Bridge application" which you need to install on your PC to create a bridge between your Mobile Phone-Skype-PC. Wohoo. I almost gave up at this stage. Why do I have to do all this? just to make free skype calls? I can as well make these calls from Fring or Tringme without any such tedious setups. On top of it, to use Skype features, you must leave a computer connected to the Internet
I am confident 85% people won't go ahead with this complex setup. On top of it, Their SIP/ Skype calling is only available in Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingtom and United states.
At this stage, the only thing that a positive about HipSip is you don't have to download any special VOIP softphone client for your mobile and its a free SIP service. I still don't understand why did they bother to start a SIP service with no value addition. Can someone enlighten me?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Pingo 100 International Calling Cards Giveaway
Wohoo! The first contest isnt over yet but we got one more to fill your pockets this April. We are offering 100 International Calling cards. Thanks again to Pingo.
This contest is organised at our group site, Tipsity. There is a great active community for VOIP and Free Calls in VOIP Forums. If you are not registered there, you are already missing a lot of action. Tipsity however is much more than a VOIP Forum, they have freebies and lot more. It has already exceeded 2000 page views per day.
Moving on, Pingo and Tipsity has teamed up to give away 100 International Phone cards. As people pointed out during the Pingo Business contest, that Pingo is indeed a great phone card service since it offers cheap calls to many countries which are often found in high cost zones. This is a great opportunity for everyone to win those 100 international calling cards and make some free calls. Those who sign-up for Pingo
will automatically get $5 free international calls instatly credited to their account. It's a great offer to tryout their services.
Of course, its a contest and it has certain rules. I suggest everyone read the rules.
Just to clarify, this is NOT April fool joke. Pingo and Tipsity are both serious about giving away 100 phone cards.
This contest is organised at our group site, Tipsity. There is a great active community for VOIP and Free Calls in VOIP Forums. If you are not registered there, you are already missing a lot of action. Tipsity however is much more than a VOIP Forum, they have freebies and lot more. It has already exceeded 2000 page views per day.
Moving on, Pingo and Tipsity has teamed up to give away 100 International Phone cards. As people pointed out during the Pingo Business contest, that Pingo is indeed a great phone card service since it offers cheap calls to many countries which are often found in high cost zones. This is a great opportunity for everyone to win those 100 international calling cards and make some free calls. Those who sign-up for Pingo
will automatically get $5 free international calls instatly credited to their account. It's a great offer to tryout their services.Of course, its a contest and it has certain rules. I suggest everyone read the rules.
Just to clarify, this is NOT April fool joke. Pingo and Tipsity are both serious about giving away 100 phone cards.
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