When someone says VoIP, we all think about making calls from pc-to-phone. There is other side for VOIP which is called mobile VoIP or mVoIP. With the advancement of technology, more and more sophisticated cell phones like iPhones, PDAs are available in the market. These are actually like mini computers and allow the users to make calls using their cellular provider’s internet or using Wi-Fi. Today we will talk about recently released Vonage’s VoIP app for iPhone and iPod touch and for PDAs.
As you all know that Vonage is currently running a promotion which allows its users to make unlimited calls to India and other countries just for $24.99/month. This also includes a free incoming number so that others can call you on this number. The call clarity of this service is very good. On the top of that, you can have 30 days money back guarantee, keep your existing phone number. If you refer someone both gets one month of usage for free. The only downside which I notice is “one year contract”. In this VoIP world the prices are slashing drastically, I cannot say whether it is worth in signing a contract or not.
Any ways, they recently released apps for iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry and for smart phones. You can download this app for free from iTunes or from Vonage mobile website. This app lets you to make unlimited free US long distance calls on your Wi-Fi network. The same service is being offered by Skype for $3/month. You can also make cheap international calls to India and 60 other countries using Wi-Fi network or your cellular network. Calls through Wi-Fi networks are routed through internet and calls through your current cellular network are routed their server. No need to enter any PIN numbers. Call clarity is excellent. Calls to India costs $0.07/min and which is lot cheaper than Skype.
However there is one downside for this app. You cannot use your current home phone account to use this app and according to Vonage website, they are trying to fix this problem and hopefully you should be able to use your existing home account with this app soon. Finally this app is wonderful for those who has limited cellular minutes and for those who wants to make cheap international calls using their PDAs iPhones and iPod touch. Download this app and today and start making free unlimited continental US/Canada calls and cheap international calls.
We thank Kiran K Satyavarapu for writing this article, Let us know your opinion on this article.
Why Vonage Mobile® is Unnecessary
ReplyDeleteRecent release of Vonage Mobile® application on the Iphone and Blackberry has caused a lot of excitement among bloggers, Iphone and Blackberry users and the news media. What is little known to everybody is that with the installation of a small hardware on the Vonage World® line, Vonage Mobile® becomes unnecessary. Everybody was waiting for a Vonage World® version that would work on their cell phones. What we got was just a cheaper calling card that works only on an expensive smart phone - the Iphone or the Blackberry. Using an Iphone, we have a choice of operating it on a 3g network, WiFi or regular cellular network. With the Blackberry, we can only use the regular cellular network. When we run it on a 3g network, we incur an additional $20 monthly fee. When we run it on a regular cellular network we pay for expensive air time and long distance charges. When we choose to go with WiFi we have to seek out hotspots, which are not readily available. It is also inconvenient that we must anticipate and prepay for these services. There is no need for any of these if we already have a Vonage World® account. We can extend our Vonage World® account to our cell phones now. Here’s how:
You subscribe to a cellular plan which has either free incoming calls or free calls to and from favorite numbers. You designate your Vonage® number as a favorite number. This gives you free unlimited air time calling to and from that number. Even as heavy cell phone users, you can sign up for the minimum $49 per month plan and slash your monthly bill by half and still make free unlimited air time and long distance calls.
To illustrate how Vonage World® can be accessed manually by any cell phone user using the regular cellular network, let us say you have somebody (your wife) at home where your Vonage World line is installed. You call your Vonage® line (or have your wife call you from the Vonage® line), your wife answers and you tell her to transfer the call to another number which could be domestic (all USA and Canadian numbers are transferable) or international (some countries like India, China, Malaysia are transferable). Your wife will tap the hook switch (flash), put you on hold and get another dial tone. She then dials “#90” (to tell Vonage® it is a transfer call), the country code, city code and the telephone number. Vonage® will automatically transfer the call to connect you directly to the destination number. Vonage® will send your wife a stutter dial tone and a long dial tone to signal her to hang up and free up the Vonage® line. Your son (friend, employee, etc.), using their own cell phone, can repeat the process and be connected to their destination number at the same time you are using the system. Of course it is not practical for your wife to do all these things for you even if you are saving a bundle. What you can do is install a telecommunication switch such as the DialMate CM1003 on your Vonage® line and have it perform all these functions for you. With this combination you can place the cheapest domestic and international calls from your cell phone. As an added bonus, the people you call in those 60 flat-rate-calling-countries can also use your Vonage World® line to call those 60 countries for free and most importantly, using an ordinary cell phone or landline, without a broadband connection.
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