Search FPPC Blog

Google Voice on Android and Blackberry devices with faster dialing

Google Voice is getting more and more popular with latest offers around, new feature updates and more people joining. So Google Voice has come up with another new feature that is faster dialing on Android and Blackberry phones.

Blackberry and Android have a vast user base and this application by Google voice will help a lot. Till now with Google Voice application, to connect your call Google Voice app had to make a request to the Google Voice server every time you wanted to make a call to send them the phone number you wanted to dial. Then the call would be connected via a Google Voice access number.

This obviously takes time and you want some faster calling method. When you want to make a call, your phone should connect you as quickly as possible, whether you’re calling via Google Voice or not. So, Google latest application update will allow you to make faster calls how ?

Well that is possible with direct access numbers, Google assign a unique phone number to every person you call. This means that Google no longer need to use your data network to access the server each time you make a call, so calls will be placed much faster.

How to get this application update :
Updated Android app is available from Android Market.
For Blackberry users, you can download the app by visiting http://m.google.com/voice from your mobile device.

So does this update from google is of any help to you ? Please share your views !
 

Net4.in Voip Home Calling Plans : India

Lately there have been a lot of advertisements about voip in India and unlimited voip calls from India. net4.in is one such voip provider creating this buzz. I thought to check net4.in and its individual plans that is home voip plans, if its any good for people.

net4.in offers a wide range of voip plans for home users. These are Phonewala Home/ SOHO Plans that enable you to use internet connection to make and receive phone calls at very low rates, basically voip calls. So firstly you require Internet (broadband connection) at your home in order to make these calls. I am not sure, but these internet charges are not included in their calling plan rates.

Lets check out the various plans net4.in offers:

1. Homeland Plan : Rs 599/month
500 minutes* of calls to US/UK/Canada
Outgoing calls to landline and mobile destinations (except UK mobile).

I think this plan is not so good as you can make calls to USA/UK for free using Voip or most other voip provider are offering calls to USA/UK at 1 cent per minute (40-50 paisa per min).

2. One World: Available in Rs 100/250/500/1000 denominations
Call anywhere* in the world @ Re 1 per minute only.
Terms & Conditions
* Re 1 per minute applicable to more than 40 countries.
* Re 1 per minute applicable to landline destinations only.
* Calls to rest of the destinations available at Rs 10 per minute.
* For US, Canada, China, Hongkong , Thailand, and Singapore, calls to mobile destinations at Re 1 per minute.
* Validity of 30 days on Rs 100, Rs 250, and Rs 500 packs.
* Validity of 90 days on Rs 1000 pack.

Again as I said before the plan looks costly to me.

3. Gulf Gold:
Call more than 45 Gulf & European countries @ Rs 8 per minute.*
Terms & Conditions
* Rs 8 per minute applicable on calls all destinations.
* Validity of 30 days on Rs 500 pack.
* Validity of 90 days on Rs 1000 pack.

4. Unlimited Silver: US/ Canada
Unlimited* calls to US/Canada @ Rs 2499 per month only.
Terms & Conditions
* One month validity and maximum 3000 minutes per month.

Again a very costly plan.

5. Unlimited Silver: US/ Canada/ UK Unlimited* calls to US/Canada @ Rs 2999 per month only.
Terms & Conditions
* One month validity and maximum 3000 minutes per month.

Well, net4.in home plans are not at all cheap if you compare them to other voip providers. But if you compare net4.in international calling rates to your normal telecom provider then its way cheaper for many countries. So, if you are thinking of shifting to voip from your normal telecom provider then net4.in is a good option. We will soon also review their business plans.
 

Zenofon free $3 trial credit to new users

Lately there has been very little activity in the voip world with very less voip providers coming up with new promotions. Zenofon has some news for you. I am sure you must be aware about Zenofon but if you have not joined it because of any reasons then it is the perfect time to do so.

Zenofon made a lot of buzz in the voip market because of their unique referral system and free credit giveaway to all new customers. Earlier Zenofon was offering about 20cents-$1 to new customers, however their system lacked resulting in many people doing multiple registrations using Google voice free numbers. Now Zenofon has upgraded their system to catch if the number is original phone number or any voip number (google voice or any other).

Zenofon has announced the beginning of its new promotion that gives away a free coupon worth $3 of free calling to people who join Zenofon and confirm their account with a valid mobile number.

Zenofon mentions on its website that "this program will help Zenofon grow quicker, Zenofon mangement believes, because the company now can give away more free time to actual users. Once users experience Zenofon’s technological superiority, such as the Zenofon international call forward program, Zenofon’s pick your own rate program, and Zenofon’s service that lets non-skype users call Skype lines without having to download Skype, the service will continue its double digit quarterly growth."

Please note that this zenofon offers $3 free calling for all new users that sign up with a valid phone number. This $3 free is divided up over 7 days, (42 cents/day.) Non-mobile numbers get 30 cents free to try the service.

So, if you have not yet joined Zenofon its the right time to do so and make some free voip calls.
 

Pingo EZ Dialing Free $5 calls

Well, I was just going through the older posts looking for some offer which was popular in the past and is still valid. I found that Pingo Calling cards EZ dialing free calls offer is still valid and is used by many.

For those who don't know about Pingo, Pingo Calling cards is one of the most popular and best international calling cards used by many to make calls to India. And for the EZ dialing, its similar to mobile voip, where you download simple mobile application to your phone and start calling.

The best part about this offer is that Pingo is offering $5.00 in Free Calls (to every new user) under this offer. That's up to 4 ½ hours of FREE International mobile calls!

Some features:
  • No access number to dial
  • No account or PIN to enter
  • No hidden fee's or contracts
  • No data plan needed to place calls


Step 1:
Download Pingo EZ Dial application FREE on your smart phone. It works with over 450 mobile phone handsets.

Step 2.
Start making $5.00 in FREE International calls!

So make use of the offer before it expires. Try it Pingo Calling Cards.
 

IndiaLD adds more access numbers

IndiaLD is also one such voip provider widely used by many to make calls to India. Their low calling rates, good voice quality and so many access numbers are main reasons people go IndiaLD.

Recently, IndiaLD has increased its access numbers in UK, Spain (Madrid) and Norway (Oslo). This means people from UK, Spain and Normay have more options to make calls to India.

Below is from the blog post in IndiaLD blog sharing more information about their increased access numbers.

For the UK, we have starting working with yet another access number company. The good news, is that we are not dropping our current access numbers there. If you are a UK customer and like the numbers you are using then you are ok. We did want to offer our service to more cities in the UK which is why we are with a new company. Here is the list of our new access numbers which include Manchester, Scotland, and Wales:

Belfast (44) 289 506-0810
Birmingham (44) 121 284-9320
Coventry (44) 247 714-9330
Derby (44) 133 292-6820
Edinburgh (44) 131 471-0810
Glasgow (44) 141 289-0810
Leicester (44) 116 304-0810
London (44) 203 129-9370
Manchester (44) 161 354-9310
Nottingham (44) 115 718-1065
Swansea (44) 179 227-2810

We’ve also added a couple of additional European countries. Here are our new access numbers for Spain and Norway:

Norway – Oslo (47) 21988999
Spain – Madrid (34) 911390199

Some months back, IndiaLD was the cheapest voip provider to India offering just 0.7cent per min to India. However the promotional offer is over but still their present rate is competitive making IndiaLD worth trying.

 

Zenofon now offers 7 possible rates to all international destinations

Here is the latest buss from Zenofon. Zenofon is now offering 7 possible rate plan to all your international destination. This means, depending on certain criteria which we discuss below, you will be able to call your destination with flexibility of the calling rate you choose. This feature looks quite unique and will surely attract many more customers to Zenofon.

Below is the content of mail which Zenofon sent to its already customers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zenofon's mission is to save you as much money and time as possible when you call internationally.

To save you time, we created 30 call forwarding numbers that you can store in your phone, that you can program to call internationally. Previously, if you wanted to save money on your international calls, you had to dial an access number and a PIN number, and then the number you wanted to dial. Once you add your international contacts to your Zenofon phonebook, that 3 stage dialing annoyance is a thing of the past. All you have to do is dial your Zenofon number and it will ring all the way to your contact overseas.

Zenofon has also invented something extremely powerful that will be extremely useful in helping us deliver to you the cheapest possible telephone rates and service. Our new software platform now offers you the choice of 7 possible routes that your call can take as gets delivered to your contacts overseas. Some of you will always choose the cheapest rate and some will always opt for the best quality route, but Zenofon intends on giving you the option, so you can decide for yourself what is best for you.
At this time, our level of reporting is not 100% there. We are working on a more transparent information sharing method, so you can see which route is the best blend of economy and high quality service. We hope to have that for you shortly. In the meantime, a summary of the routes are as follows:

Route 1 - Economy
Route 2 - Discount
Route 3 - Discount
Route 4 - Quality
Route 5 - Quality
Route 6 - Extreme discount, not guaranteed quality
Route 7 - Hi quality
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please share your views on this latest step by Zenofon.
 

MediaringTalk offers unlimited calls to India

Recently Mediaringtalk has launched some unlimited calling plans, in which it is offering unlimited voip calls to many countries for a few bucks. Actually Mediaringtalk has launched 3 unlimited plans which we discuss below.

Two of the plans offers unlimited calls to India and these plans looks good.

Unlimited calls to 40 countries for $9.99 - These 40 countries include China however India is not included in this plan.

Fair usage policy for this plan :
Unlimited calls to 60 countries including India & China for $19.99 : This plan offers unlimited calls to India. Calls to phones and mobile phone calls are included in your subscription subject to a fair usage limit of 2,000 minutes per User per month for the Dial the World – Unlimited Plan based on billing cycle), and 3,000 minutes per User per month for the Dial the World + India – Unlimited Plan (based on billing cycle) , for a maximum of 2 hours per 24 hour period. In addition, no more than 25 different numbers can be called per User, with maximum of 10 repeated calls to the same number, per 24 hour period.

750 minute to call anywhere in India for $9.99 - The effective calling rate comes around to 1.33 cents per minute. This rate is almost same as that offered in Pay as you go option.

So, depending on your need just choose the voip plan. For more details, visit Mediaringtalk Unlimited calls.
 

MTNL Calls to USA at Rs 1: MTNL US Calling

Indian telecom industry is quite huge. Almost everyone in India is now using a mobile phone. Let me give you some interesting statistics.  By May 2012 the country had 929 million mobile subscribers, up from 350 million just 40 months earlier. The mobile market was continuing to expand at an annual rate in excess of 40% coming into 2010. That's quite a big number, and so big is the competition.

We have so many different telecom provider everyone trying its best to lure customers. We have already seen price wars among telecom companies and all of them are now offering very cheap local calling rates. Infact the price war is now shifting towards towards international calls as now MTNL is initiating the new price cuts. Many Indians are living in USA and people here make lots and lots of international calls to United States.

MTNL is trying to target those customers by offering very cheap USA Calling Plans and these are surely not to be missed. ISD tariffs for its GSM and 3G subscribers were slashed by MTNL few days back.


MTNL is now offering Rs 1/min calls to many countries which include China, US, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. This rate is effective from July 1st 2010. The earlier price of MTNL for these countries was 6.20-9.20 per minute so this is a huge drop. MTNL US Calling is now at just Rs 1 per minute.

Offcourse if you are using Wifi or 3G on your mobile, then I would suggest you to use mobile voip and applications like Viber, Skype, Tango and Whatsapp. These are highly useful applications offering free international calling and messaging.

Similarly, call rates will be Rs 3 per minute (Changed from Rs 12 per minute) to countries like Argentina, Bahrain, Cyprus, Jordan, South Korea, Malaysia and Sweden. Call rates to countries like Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Columbia, Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam will come down to Rs 5 minute from Rs 18. The new offer is a promotional one and valid for a period of 3 months. This is part of a scheme to effect reduction in call rates to 26 countries.

According to MTNL CMD, MTNL is expecting Rs 10-15 crore revenue addition through their ISD rate reductions, which, in all, include 26 countries through volume growth. About 1-2 lakh more subscribers are expected to add to their existing 50 lakh user base base on account of this.

This step by MTNL should start the move of international rate reduction in India telecom. Lets see, what other major like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance has to offer. The day should not be far when you will be able to make international calls at local rates !!
 
 
Copyright © 2008-2012 Free Pc to Phone Calls, Free Voip Calls to India International ! - All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Proudly powered by Blogger