Over at Digital Media Update, Sightspeed’s Peter Csathy blogs about a deal inked between Google/YouTube and Digital Music Group Inc. DMGI will supply YouTube with  a bzillion hours worth of classic TV shows and video content and YouTube will, of course, make their money back through advertising on the “watch” pages associated with the DMGI content. Peter says this is a deal that will be closely watched by all major content providers and distributors. Could movies, music, and prime time be in our not too distant future? Show us the money!

If you are really looking for the best deals in residential VOIP services, look at providers with annual subscription rates. Most VOIP providers only offer monthly plans. Vonage for example is currently offering $24.99 per month for its basic unlimited service (free unlimited calling to anywhere in NA and Europe).

But as a way to reward and attract customers, VOIP companies are adopting what cell phone companies have been doing for years: offering the latest and greatest gear for free in return for long term committment. 

SunRocket markets a similar package at $24.95 per month or an annual subscription at $199 per year. That works out to about $17 a month. So if you can handle prepaying for your service by the year instead of by the month, then an annual package is a good idea.

Packet8 has also recently adopted the annual package deal. For a flat rate of $199 per year, you get get unlimited calling within North Americal, calling features like voicemail and call waiting and a 100% discount on a Packet-8 enabled UIP1868P 5.8-GHz digital cordless phone system, which can be extended to work with multiple cordless handsets.

I posted earlier about a two week wait for response from Skype. I didn’t think that was too bad at the time. But another blogger has been waiting for 6 weeks for support and his Skype account is unusable in the meantime.

What’s the deal? Skype is happy to take your money but if it doesn’t work for you, too bad?

You may already know that I’m a relatively new PhoneGnome user, but so far I’ve been quite impressed with what this playing card-sized box gives me. When I spoke with David Beckenmeyer a few weeks ago he hinted that some great updates were in the pipe designed to really expand the PhoneGnome community. Ta-da…introducing PhoneGnome 2.0.

Today PhoneGnome 2.0 is available and I encourage you to read all about it on the PhoneGnome Blog page. Here, David works through what he and his team found were the biggest objections to PhoneGnome and how the company overcomes them.

Here’s a summary of what PhoneGnome 2.0 offers:

-Web activated calling: PhoneGnome uses your web browser to set up calls between two phones so there’s no software, microphones, headsets or other devices required. To use web activated calling, you must be a registered PhoneGnome user. Reigistration on the PG site is free and calls to other registered users are also free.

-Free PhoneGnome software: Download free software to use your PC or laptop as a fully-functioning telephone. Headset/speakers and microphone required.

-Original PhoneGnome box now a new lower price: a great deal at $59.00.

 

I’m not offering up answers here, I’m asking! 

I’ve been rereading the May 9th press release from Jajah announcing their investment funding from Intel. No doubt this is a huge affirmation for the Mountainview CA/Luxembourg company. About a year ago, I remember messing around with their beta and the free five-minute call anywhere deal. But now I need help drilling through the finance-speak to get to what Intel really means for Jajah current and future customers.

Jajah will now have “access to [Intel’s] extensive community of product dealers, OEM customers and developers, to further their reach into global development communities. As an Intel Capital portfolio company, Jajah will also be able to participate in Intel Capital’s IP Access Program, which will give Jajah access to Intel’s extensive VoIP patent portfolio.” And Trevor Healy, Jajah CEO says “JAJAH can be embedded into Intel solutions”.

So, what will embedded Jajah do for me as a consumer? In the future, will I be buying a laptop powered by Intel with Jajah on board?

Let me know your thoughts please!

(BTW, does anyone else have trouble typing “Jajah”, or is it just me? I get jajaj, Jahjaj…)

Is VOIP a generational thing? When I told my parents about my great scheme to use VOIP for my business line and long distance calling, Mom gave me that worried look that says “Are you sure that’s not illegal?” You should try it, I cry! Vonage, my service of choice at the time, was only $19.95 a month. A simple calculation on my phone bill told me I was spending more that that on long distance every month, so it seemed a no brainer.

Then Dad says, why don’t you just use 10-10-YAK? Only 5 cents a minute.

That’s what my parents use. YAK is a dial-around service you can use for long distance calling. The charges appear on your regular phone bill so there’s no subscriber contract to deal with.

But Dad (I’m deflated now), YAK isn’t VOIP, and VOIP is COOL. VOIP is the WAVE of the FUTURE…OK well whatever.

Now I don’t know if it’s just my parents, but the idea of only paying for what they use on a regular old telephone makes total sense to them. Hooking up a Vonage phone adaptor to their PC and broadband modem to make phone calls does not.

But my Dad did get me thinking about this question of unlimited calling vs. pay as you go. If you ask the folks at SIPphone Gizmo Project, they’ll say that unlimited plans won’t save you money. Only paying for minutes you actually use will.

“A calling plan that involves unlimited calling is almost never in the best interests of the consumer. When you just pay for what you consume, you end up paying far less.”

It grieves me, but lets do the math. At 5 cents a minute, I would have to spend about 400 minutes calling long distance calls (6 1/2 hours) to break even with my $20 plus tax Vonage charges for unlimited calling. I spend way less than 400 minutes a month talking long distance, so (a) I was paying way to much at my telco before for long distance, and (b) I can do way better than Vonage.

Most VOIP long distance rates are around 2 cents a minute or less, so for me paying as I go makes sense (400 minutes at 2 cents/minute is $8)!

 

In an article this week on TMCnet, the research firm TeleGeography reported that US subscribers using VOIP services rose 18 percent in the last quarter to 18.2 million with Vonage being the largest provider with 1.95 million subscribers. Why are they still the biggest?  Massive media campaigns on the web, TV, radio, and sporting events helps…a lot. And don’t forget the catchy jingle and celebrity endorsements. But all that stuff just gets the consumer to the web site (retail sales excluded). What happens after that?

Of course once the consumer turns into a subscriber, keeping them is a whole other story. This blog, as well as many others, has touched on what appears to be widespread customer service problems. In fact, I still get responses to a post back in September on the runaround I received when I wanted to cancel my Vonage service. And my story wasn’t even one of the crazier ones. (Check out Tom Keating.)

Since cancelling Vonage in August, I’ve been keeping busy blogging about the a wave of emerging voice over Internet services. I haven’t applied for any other national broadband phone service, like Primus or Shaw Digital Phone, in my area. I’m happy trying various softphones and of course my PhoneGnome.

But, I decided to take a fresh look at the Vonage web site and see if they are doing anything differently. In my opinion, for all their faults once they’ve got you, Vonage does a lot that’s right.

1) Clear description of services/plans above the fold, with enough text to explain what the plan is all about without clicking 

2) Site navigation is SIMPLE: tabs to products, services, availability and features are clearly identified

3) Upfront explanation of device bundles, including what’s free, what’s extra, and information to help figure out which device is right for me 

4) Special promotions, deals, and other creatives are below the bread and butter products. This is important (I think). To me this says that our products are the most important thing we have to offer, not the limited time sweet deal.

Packet8, Lingo or SunRocket just don’t communicate as well. These three providers all had the basic residential and business plan info above the fold, but I found it took more clicks and more reading to find the additional information I needed. Comcast Digital Voice was the most annoying. Perhaps because they are basically an entertainment company, they feel they have to “entertain” me while selling phone service. A whole bunch of flash nonsense. Stupid. And they won’t tell me anything about their products/services until I tell them my address and zip code.

I guess my point, to make a long story even longer, is for emerging products and services to learn a few lessons here. Speak clearly to your audience. Communicate your product and services upfront. Explain what’s included (device bundles, software) and what’s extra BEFORE the sign up process. I don’t want to see a small asterisk footnote that says the service works with the purchase of $75 VOIP adaptor right at the very end. And finally, don’t hide behind walls of flash animation and annoying forms that make users type a bunch of stuff.

I’ve been wondering about the GrandCentral “One number for life” mantra, and TalkPlus‘ second number for your mobile phone. While I understand these products target different markets, I find it hard to keep them distinct in my mind. It dawned on me that this could be a problem that consumers have as well.

There’s a lot of chatter about Voice 2.0 applications–the user in control not the network–but that is the VOIP blogosphere talking. Me, I think okay, I get another number, it’s free for now, and it’s solving what problem exactly? 

GrandCentral:

Provides a phone number not tied to a device or location. When people call this number, the phones you have “attached” to it ring, like your cell phone, home phone, and office phone. Up to six phones can be linked to your GrandCentral number. The service is all about giving you control over how people reach you (inbound calling) as opposed to how you place calls. Callers can leave voice messages that can be checked by phone, email or online. You’re notified of a voice mail via email or text message to a cell phone. And you can flag unwanted callers as spam. It’s also free.

You need it if people have a hard time tracking you down. You find yourself playing telephone tag. You WANT to be found but heck, you’re always bouncing between work, home, and on the road.

TalkPlus:

Provides a second number for your cell phone so you can separate personal life and work life. The number can be used as a second line for business, dating, classified ads, online auctions, social groups, or a second residence. Like GrandCentral, unwanted callers can be blocked while priority numbers ring through. When making outbound calls, you can specify which caller ID to use so that the person you are calling doesn’t know how or where you’re calling from.

You need it if your mobile phone is your primary means of communication but the  separation of work and play is important to you. You want people to know that you’re calling from the office (the caller ID says this is a work-related call) even though you’re calling from home or the beach in Maui. You are also concerned about personal privacy and want to make sure that your personal number is only available to the people you want to have it.

***

In talking with Craig Walker, GrandCentral CEO, he tells me they couldn’t be more different than TalkPlus.

“Our philosophy is that we don’t need MORE numbers for people to reach us at…we need less.  As long as I have the control over my inbound calling that GrandCentral gives me, there’s no reason that I would want to juggle different personas. I don’t want phone numbers that identify me as being located at a certain place or doing a certain thing, I want a phone number that is personal to me.  If you want to reach me, call my ONE NUMBER.  I’ll be able to answer it wherever I want…I will be able to know who’s calling every time, and I’ll even be able to listen in on the voicemail as its being left if I’m still unsure whether I want to take the call.  When somebody calls me, they shouldn’t be able to “figure out” or know where I am based on the number…if I’m in the office, working from home or on the beach, that’s my business.” 

Obviously there’s more to both GrandCentral and TalkPlus than what I describe here, and the enthusiasm voiced by many in the VOIP blogging community seems to be not so much what these services are doing today, but what we can expect from them in the future.

To set up a free GrandCentral account, click here. To sign up for a TalkPlus sneak peak beta (for Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint customers in select U.S. states only), click here. TalkPlus won’t be a free service like GrandCentral and pricing is to be determined.

While I can appreciate Tom Keating’s wholehearted enthusiasm for the rash of gadget deals that abound today, Black Friday and all, I do pause ever so slightly when I remember that isn’t this time supposed to be well, Thanksgiving, as in the Giving of Thanks?

I’m hardly the first person to point out that giving thanks with the right hand hand whilst brandishing our credit cards with the left seems a little crazy. In Canada, many of us watch American news stations showing the 5 am line-ups, door crashing mayhem, and fist fighting moms. But we’re no better. The traditional Boxing Day Sale, the day after the biggest “giving” day of the year, is when Canadians lose their heads.

Who started this anyway? Okay, enough sour grapes.

As usual, Carolyn Schuk over at Voxilla writes a great post summarizing Skype’s appeal to business users. The bottom line is that today, Skype works well for a “small workgroup to increase productivity”, but it just doesn’t bring it for all around business-class communications.