Yeigo VOIP releases 2.1 and Yeigo Lite version

Yeigo, a silent killer in Mobile VOIP arena is all set to take on their closest rivals Fring and Truphone will their latest version 2.1. Along with the new release of Yeigo, they also released another interesting application called Yeigo Lite.

Yeigo Lite is compatible with all handset which can support Java (J2ME) handsets. This should cover most of the older handset still largely used in the market. I think Yeigo scores over Fring and Truphone with backward compatibility. Wondering when Fring would launch their lite version :-)

Although Yeigo Lite is not FREE to call other Yeigo Lite members. It provides cheaper rates for calls and SMS. You can chat with Yahoo/MSN/ICQ contacts on the move. Of course, the big brother of Yeigo Lite, the original Yeigo 2.1 is totally free for calls to other Yeigo members.

Yeigo and Yeigo lite both can be connected via Wifi/3G/HSDPA/GPRS. In some countries, GPRS is extremely cheap like India. It costs less than $2.50 per month for unlimited GPRS connection. This facility can be leveraged to use mobile voip and save tremendous cost for making overseas or local calls.

The mobile voip market is heating up with new providers and new versions each month. All i can say is there won't be one winner and everyone will get their share of customers. However consumers would see some great offers and benefits from these new mobile voip services in near future.

Sooner or later mobile voip will go ahead of residential voip. Don't be surprised to see Yiego or Fring or Truphone selling for millions of $$$ in next 1-2 years.

Before I wind up, Do download Yeigo 2.1 and if you have a older handset, why not try Yeigo Yeigo Lite.

Talkster offers unlimited free calls

Unlimited Free Calls ar hard to find these days. With companies bringing in more restrictions over free calls policy by limiting number of minutes or asking for a fixed $$ price to use free calls, the catch is never ending. However it seems Talkster is ready to break the market with their innovative (rebtel like) service.

Why I said Rebtel like service? coz talkster does the same thing but prolly more effectively than Rebtel. If you have been using Rebtel, then you know how they work. if not, follow me in this post and you would get the idea.

Apparently, at the CTIA WIRELESS IT & Entertainment 2007 cell phone convention (23-25th Oct 2007), Talkster is launching Ad-based Unlimited Free Call services. We could only gather few details about how its gonna work.

Visit the Talkster website from a PC or cell phone browser and enter your number and frien'ds number you'd like to call. Click to get connected. At this stage, Talkster will play a ten second commercial before you can talk all you want for free. Pretty good isnt it? I don't mind listening to a audio commercial and be able to talk for unlimited time. Sounds like a Good deal. Lets hope it turns out to be a good one unlike what we usually dream about and end up being a false promise.

Leaving that aside, Talkster is currently offering free calls service via 3 mediums. Talkster site describe the procedure in detail, however to tell you quickly,

1) You need to enter your and your friends number and dial.

2) Talkster will give you and your friend each a local Talkster number that you can use whenever you want to call each other.

3) Call the Talkster number for your friend. When your friend answers, tell them to hang up and call the local Talkster number in the SMS they were sent. You hang on - don't hang up! When your friend dials back using their Talkster number, you will be connected and can begin talking for FREE!

This is purely from PC. You can however use Talkster via Mobile and SMS as well. The details are neatly described on Talkster HowItworks page

Unfortunately, Talkster currently supports very limited countries, roughly about 30 odd countries.

Talkster seems to directly compete with Rebtel in the so called "IamonlineCallmeback" kinda VOIP services. It would be interesting to see if Talkster manages to get rid of this and straightway offer a direct dial VOIP service without the need for callback. It seems talkster is trying to offset the cost via audio advertisements and maybe thinking of making a few cents per call.

Free DID / Incoming Geographical Numbers From Around The World

There are a number of companies offering DID or imcoming numbers (VoIP-In) for a flat yearly rate or a monthly fee. There are now literally hundreds of free VOIP softphones or VOIP providers giving away free calls offers. Some of them give PC to PC (pretty standard) and some offer (Pc to Phone). Today, I will list down some services which offer a FREE incoming Phone number for you, of course its available in some countries, but can be used from anywhere. For e.g if you get a free US incoming number, people can call you on that number even if you are in India.

3.1 www.ipkall.com - Free Washingtion (206) area code number. Number expires after 3 months if not used

3.2 www.globe7.com - Free US phone number

3.3 www.enum2go.com - Free eNum number

3.4 www.freenumber.nl - Free Dutch number

3.5 www.esms.com - Free UK numbers

3.6 www.messagenet.com - Free Italian numbers from Rome, Milan and Turin

3.7 www.stanaphone.com - Free US number (New York)

3.8 www.skypho.com - Free Italian number, but you have to use their service

3.9 www.sipnumber.com - Free US phone number

3.10 www.voipuser.org - Free UK number

3.11 www.calluk.com - Free UK number - forward to your FWD number

3.12 www.voicestick.com - Free US or UK incoming number - only to be used with their service

3.13 www.sipgate.com - Free UK number, but you have to live in the UK and use the Sipgate service

3.14 www.sipgate.de - Free German VoIP-In number, however you have to reside in the same area code (German Law)

3.15 www.privatephone.com - Free US phone number and voicemail

3.16 www.talkdigits.com - Free US phone number

3.17 www.clickdigits.com - Free US phone number

3.18 www.orbtalk.co.uk - Free UK telephone numbers

3.19 www.open-telecom.co.uk - Free UK phone numbers

3.20 www.woize.com - Free UK number after you have added a small amount to your call account

3.21 www.aimphoneline.com - Free US phone number

3.22 www.craigsnumber.com - Free temporary telephone number for 1day, 1 week or 1 month - a very nice idea !

Jaiku has been bought by Google

Jaiku, a Finland-based mobile IM and presence company has just been bought by Google (GOOG). You can get the whole story on the Jaiku website. When you get to the website, just check the Jaiku blog. There you will get more details and also a column on FAQ for current users. Don't expect to find the terms for this transaction in the blog because it was not mentioned.

This new development is indeed a source of joy for the small Jaiku Company and an additional piece for the Google Phone Puzzle.

The most important aspect where Google needs to put a lot of value for its users is in the area of activity streams and mobile presence. So, with the addition of Jaiku's technology and talented team, it will be of great advantage to Google's present application and also its mobile teams.

When you consider all this initially, it is actually a wonderful purchase by Google. Well the next step is for me is to sit back and relax, so I can try to comprehend the full meaning of this acquisition by Google and its implication in the mobile and VoIP space.

Skype Partners with 3 to offer Mobile VoIP

The VoIP unit of EBay-Skype, and 3-a mobile provider owned by Hutchison Whampoa based in Hong Kong have joined forces together to offer a Skype phone in the U.K that will enable free calls to be made without the need to use a computer, buy special software or head sets and even to set up new accounts.

The joint effort of these two mobile service providers would ensure that a fully integrated mobile phone that would make free mobile to mobile phone calls for anyone swapping networks available is offered.

With this move, the two companies are heading towards sweeping customers away from other competitors and this might eventually force these competitors to reduce their charges. And for the debutants like Apple's iphone and Google's Gphone, it might serve as a big threat to their entrance into the business.

Going by the cooperation between Skype and 3, and along side with many promises, the VoIP industry might on the verge to witness a total turn-around.

MySpace and Skype team up for voice function on IM client

MySpace and Skype are prepared to announce that the eBay-owned telephony client will be providing voice chat services for the News Corp. owned social network's instant messaging client, MySpaceIM. They are yet to divulge the financial terms involved in the new partnership.

In all probability, this must be the "MySpace announcement" rumored to take place on Wednesday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Initially it was believed that this announcement would reveal a developer platform for MySpace similar to the one for Facebook. But thanks to reliable informants who were able to quickly hint to multiple news outlets, including CNET News.com that this would not be the case. An informant for gossip blog Valleywag also revealed that the announcement would deal with the MySpaceIM client.

With this new partnership, all users in MySpace can now link their profiles to a Skype account. They can also place voice chat calls through the MySpaceIM client or the Skype client to both MySpace and Skype members. But once your Myspace profile is set to "private," you can't receive calls from people that are not on your friends list. You will find this service only in the 20 countries where MySpace has "localized communities."

In a joint statement the two companies stressed on the sheer number of users this will cover. "With more than 110 million monthly active MySpace users and 220 million Skype registered users around the world, this partnership connects two of the most popular communications platforms on the Internet to create the world's largest online, voice-connected community."

At the moment, only 25 million out of the 110 million active users of MySpace have downloaded the MySpaceIM client and none of the two companies is at the top of its game. When it comes to the social-networking field in membership and traffic, MySpace is still leading. The only thing is that it has lost its position in the spotlight to another rival, the fast-growing Facebook. Talk about Skype, it has not exactly been a real winner for eBay. Some critics actually said that the two are quite incompatible.

TV Telephony Now Available Courtesy Waterfront

The users of the VoIP service and those in the media especially the telecast would soon experience a major change in the way they interact if the innovative product launched by waterfront is anything to rely on. Waterfront which is a major player in the VoIP industry has just release an innovative service, the TV Telephony, that would enable phone calls to be made and received using a digital television.

For the people in the television industry, this might be the answer to their prayers, this is because the "phone ins" television feature has recently been condemned by many and hence waterfront service might taken as an alternative.

Features like the "ring me back" available in this new service can be easily incorporated into television shows thereby providing direct voice link with viewers and this is useful for broadcasters, production companies and advertisers.

The waterfront TV Telephony is based on the technology from ComX0 Limited based in Datchet, Berkshire .