What folks are using VOIP for…FierceVOIP reports that last year over 614 billion national long distance minute were served, compared with 382 billion local and 82 billion international LD (iLocus report).
Andy posts long and loud on AT&T’s new Unity Plan: unlimited free calling between AT&T mobile and landline customers for a fixed price per month. While the plan excludes mobile roaming, international calling, and CallVantage services (the AT&T VoIP offering), he thinks they will be blended into the mix soon enough. This should prove troubling for companies like Vonage. In fact, why use Vonage when I can have unlimited mobile AND landline calling for a fixed price on one monthly bill?
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?
Luca F. gets into why businesses must factor click-to-call into their marketing plan to succeed online. I agree.
In fact, I think that click-to-call is turning into a must-have feature for the new VoIPÂ services and applications you see popping up everywhere.
Thanks to Tom Keating for alerting me to Skype’s new call transfer feature. Tom points out that this feature that smooths the way for Skype as a practical business phone system.
Call transfer is available as part of Skype 3.5 BETA so it’s still in trial mode. You won’t get this version by updating Skype from the Help menu. You need to go here and download the beta.
I just noticed that Andy Abramson’s got Sitofono (www.sitofono.com) on his blog now. Sitofono is a web-based toll free service that lets you put a “call us” button on your website or blog for a flat fee. Customers (or loyal fans) just click the button to call you free of charge. Calls can be made either with a microphone headset or a regular landline phone.
Judging by Andy’s earlier post, he’s probably got GrandCentral going on this number too so your call will be routed to wherever he is or to a unified voicemail box that keeps track of all your wonderful feedback. But wait, before that happens he’s letting iotum determine if he’s available, how he’s available (like on his mobile, phone, or instant messenger), and of course how important you are so he won’t miss your call. Wonder who’s doing the dishes? Â Â Â
Â
On Monday, Gizmo Project intro’d Gizmo Call, a super easy way to make calls from your browser. They say no traditional software download and installation is required, but you do have to install a Flash plugin (that’s kind of software isn’t it?) But, to get people using it, they’re offering five FREE minutes of calling anywhere. If you register with Gizmo, you get 10 minutes free. After your 10 minutes are up, you switch over to CallOut credits (roughly 2 cents/minute within North America). Pretty darn cheap.
See these other reviews from:
Andy Abramson, VoipWatch
Garrett Smith, Smith on VOIP
GigaOm, Om Malik
Here’s some other tips I dug up about using GizmoCall.
- If you are calling another Gizmo user, which is technically a free call anyway, the “timer” will count down and the reset itself to the original value after the call so you won’t be using free minutes for free calls.
- Two-number Caller ID costs $4 per year. Once you’ve paid for this service, make sure you are still logged in and click the Caller ID tab. The page should reload after a few seconds to show the Mobile and Home fields. Enter the numbers (either one or both) you want to use for caller ID.
- To have a call history, you must register with GizmoCall. Registration is free and you receive 10 minutes free when logged in (only 5 minutes when not logged in).
More info about Gizmo Call can be found here.
Â
I recently bemoaned the fact that I was having a hard time recruiting followers to my SightSpeed network. SightSpeed is an easy-to-use video calling application that lets you make free video and voice calls.
I found that asking friends to join using the “Invite” feature generated an autoresponder-type email that at least one of my buddies deleted without even reading. It looked too suspicious.
Peter Csathy, SightSpeed CEO, points out that you can embed a click-to-call link in any email, or paste HTML code for clickable “call me” buttons into your web site or blog. The email recipient or web user clicks the link or button to launch a SightSpeed plugin that automatically dials you up. You’re not asking them to download or trial anything.
I tried it and it works great. At work, my husband could see and hear me, but I only had the audio. He also started a text chat while we were talking from his end.
To use click-to-call links or buttons:
Â
I got an email today from Carolyn Shuk from the Voxilla forum, a gal who’s been writing about VOIP for a few years.
In a recent post she talks about what happens when VOIP doesn’t work. Sigh. You can always make a call the old fashioned way.
“There’s just no limit to the rosy picture promoted by VoIP boosters. But what seems to get overlooked in the VoIP conversation is what people really want to do with it – I mean, other people, people who aren’t industry boosters. They just wanna make calls. Remember phone calls? Like “one ringy-dingy?”
Read When will VOIP stop batting 1000Â
Â
I was following the thread started by PhoneBoy and SightSpeed’s Peter Csathy about the obvious advantages of communicating with someone in person. Facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language are huge non-verbal cues that say a lot. But, when face time isn’t an option, then real-time video calling (using SightSpeed of course) is the next best thing. Peter himself runs his Berkeley-based team from San Diego, and couldn’t do so effectively without SightSpeed. PhoneBoy agrees and thinks that SightSpeed rocks, “Almost like being there”.
But, I’m curious to know if the folks who use SightSpeed today are making spontaneous or pre-planned calls. I confess that when I use it, it’s usually a planned thing. I’ll email or text someone and say, “OK to SightSpeed you now?”, or IÂ pre-arrange a call at a certain time.
My guess is that live video from the desktop is still so new that people hesitate at “surprising” someone with a video call. Unless of course you’re The SightSpeed Guy. You may want to check out his latest blog post. He’s wearing a tie. Must be the staff Christmas lunch.
