Skype 3.6 for windows now available

One in every four Skype calls involves video. Keeping it in mind, Skype gave utmost importance on high quality video service in its Skype 3.6 for windows version, which is officially launched by the global VoIP giant. The latest P2P version is now available for free download. Check it out.

The high quality video service includes VGA-quality video calls, image description and clarity. Skype has joined hands with Logitech to provide these features to its members for video conferencing sessions.

The Skypers don’t require to purchase or install any video-conferencing equipment other than a 2.0-GHz dual-core processor, a gigabyte of RAM, 384 Kbits/s Internet bandwidth and Logitech webcams such as the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, QuickCam Pro for Notebooks, and the QuickCam Orbit AF.

The above three webcams feature a 2.0 Mpixel sensor, an integrated mic, Logitech LightRight 2 technology and an integrated autofocus.

The Logitech QuickCam software version 11.5 is a free downloadable application, while the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks webcams are available for $99.99. The price of Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF is $129.99.

Skype 3.6 for Windows supports 28 languages.

Cisco and Microsoft at loggerheads over VoIP

The rivalry between Cisco and Microsoft has once again intensified, as Microsoft launched its Unified Communications portfolio to take a significant share of the VoIP market pie. Cisco has already admitted that Microsoft’s entry into the VoIP sector has already slowed down its sales cycle with customers are waiting longer to make a comparison between the portfolios of the two companies before proceeding to buy.

As for Microsoft’s Unified Communications initiative, the company promises to treat voice as just another data type that can be routed around an office, much like an email. The new products include Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, a service pack update of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and a Round Table, Ethernet-connected, 360-degree videoconferencing VoIP phone that will cost $3,000.


Microsoft’s new initiative is to eliminate the traditional PBX systems that run office environments. As for Cisco, its CTO of unified communications has said:

There’s a couple of extra conversation while we work through what does Microsoft actually have, what does Cisco have and what are the various ways they can work together.

Jajah liberates VoIP users from PC

The reason why Jajah is growing at a steady pace since inception is simply due to its continual effort to make the VoIP simpler. Maintaining that tradition, the Austria-based startup has introduced yet another sophisticated service, Direct VoIP.

As it seems, the Direct VoIP will enable Jajah customers to enjoy VoIP service directly without depending upon an intermediary channel. I mean VoIP without PC. Though, the service like this is not new in the market, Jajah Direct VoIP stands unique of its own.

With Jajah Direct, the customers can make and receive VoIP calls anywhere in the world without sitting before computers. They also don’t need internet connection. With an ordinary phone, they can VoIP calls.

The Jajah Direct is very simple. It provides VoIP service the way your mobile phone makes to other phones. To go with Jajah Direct, you need an access number using which you can call to a destination phone number upon hearing a dial tone. The first call is totally free.

Jajah Direct is cheap. The company charges a paltry 2.5 or 3 cents for a minute call. The service is available in 122 countries. However, the local number facility is now available in 10 cities in the US, nine cities in Europe.

MediaRing VoIP Provider Extends Free Calls Promotion

MediaRing will extend its MediaRing Talk Unlimited Free Calls promotion through 31 January 2008. This special promotion offers unlimited free calls to key global destinations including Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and USA. See website for promotion terms & conditions.

At the same time, MediaRing is also offering a special rate promotion to India at US$0.05 cents / minute on all fixed and mobile lines. This promotion also ends on 31st January 2008.

MediaRing Talk has seen a strong surge in user sign-up rates and usage globally since its introduction in early 2007. So far MediaRing Talk has connected more than 13 million free phone calls and users have benefited from more than 50 million minutes of call time.

Yahoo AOL now on Fring VOIP

This has to be the most exciting news this week besides a bunch of VOIP providers offering free voip calls over christmas and new year. Fring has dont it again and proved why they are regarded as "GODS" of Mobile VOIP.




Fring has now successfully integrated Yahoo Messenger and AOL instant messenger. This gotta be a great news. I can't imagine how much I missed talking to my fellas on Yahoo messenger while walking off the "Kallang River" :-) So now thats makes Fring a complete VOIP Messenger service with full SIP compatibility.




By the way, currently you can only send messages to Yahoo and AIM users. The voice calls are not yet enabled but I hope they would be enabled soon. Furthermore, Its currently only available for Symbian and UIQ handsets.



Besides that, Fring mobile VOIP brought WISPr for Symbian handsets. Now WISPR is also available for all UIQ handsets. With WISPr, fringsters can seamlessly roam within Wi-Fi networks, even in uncharted Wi-Fi territory! We discusses Fring Auto roaming facility a few days back.


Along with thses updates comes the support of a few extra handsets:fring welcomes Nokia N81, 82 and N95 8GB to the fring party.


If you already have Fring mobile VOIP on your phone go buzz some Yahoo friends or Get join the Fring party.

Group Conference Calling on the iPhone Simplified by Talkster

Talkster is delivering an early holiday gift to iPhone users: simplified group conference calling all over the globe for the cost of a single local call.

Although the intuitive iPhone comes with a simple method for adding additional people into an existing conversation, the process becomes tedious and complex when adding a third, fourth or fifth caller to the conference. With the Talkster service, iPhone users simply go to http://i.talkster.com to set up their group call. They enter the names and phone numbers of the people they want to call and click invite. Talkster generates a local phone number for each of t he call participants and distributes the new number via text message. This one-time process generates a permanent number that callers can save in their address book and use any time they want to talk to this same group of people.

In addition to creating the easiest way to conference call a group of friends, this single number connects up to five friends anywhere in the world for the price of a single local call. When adding multiple friends to a group call using the native iPhone interface callers are using up multiple minutes including one for each caller in the group, with even higher costs when calling friends internationally. With Talkster, all group calls - even those that include international numbers - are as simple as dialing one local number, and minutes for just that single call are used.

"The iPhone solved some of the complexities of conference calling by adding the simple plus sign to the dial pad for adding callers, but when you are setting up a call for more than two people the built-in iPhone method can be a complex process with multiple call, hold, merge steps for each caller," says James Wanless, co-founder and COO of Talkster. "Talkster has made group conference calls as easy as dialing one phone number. Couple the ease of use with the fact that Talkster group conference calls are free and it's clear to see that iPhone users with friends and family around the globe have something to celebrate this holiday season."

Talkster is able to offer callers free long distance, international, and group conference calls from any kind of phone by subsidizing the cost of calls with advertisements. Callers listen to a single 10-second audio ad at the start of each call and then can talk as long as they like with free calling service and no talk time limits in more than 30 countries around the globe.

Eliminating the complexity and cost of group conference calls, Talkster is publicly available at http://i.talkster.com from the iPhone or http://free.talkster.com from any other mobile phone with a standard web browser.

Free VoIP Hacks offering cheap rates with Packet8

Packet8 Packet8 only one residential VoIP plan, which is an unlimited VoIP long distance calling plan. Packet8’s unlimited VoIP long distance calling plan is either $199 per year or $24.99 per month which allows you unlimited free calls to anyone in the U.S. or Canada. Standard features include: Voicemail, CallerID, Call Forwarding, 3 Way Calling, Call Waiting, Speed Dialing, etc.. Packet8 also has unlimited calling plans to both Asia and Europe as well. Please check the website for details. Please see below (in red lettering) for current promotions by providing them with the Packet8 coupon or reseller code “telebay-cheaperld” Business plans are also available at a very competitive price.

Packet8 VoIP offers the lowest startup cost of all of the carriers.

Use Free VoIP Hacks's Packet8 Coupon Code "telebay-cheaperld" To Get: FREE ACTIVATION, FREE EQUIPMENT, AND YOUR FIRST MONTH FREE.!Virtual Office: Get $24.99 off per physical extension and get FREE SHIPPING!Video Phones (Tango) : Just $99 per Packet8 video phone. No rebate required.

Faxing over VoIP

As far as VoIP has come in Voice telephone calls, faxing over VoIP still has a lot of room to improve.



Have you ever tried to fax on your residential VoIP line? I have, and it didn't go well. After doing some research on the subject I found out that the voice traffic and the Fax traffic are best run over two different codecs. This is why when most VoIP carriers sell you a business account they include a free additional fax line with the faxing specific codec to allow for faxing.



Faxing on a Voice VoIP line is possible but not recommended. You can fax a page or two over your Voice VoIP line but it may take you several attempts to accomplish. The reason is when the fax tone is digitized into packets, there is packet loss. Packet loss on a voice is not that critical because even with a little packet loss, you can still hear and understand what the person is saying. But, when there is packet loss on a fax, any little bit can really mess up the fax. The result can be a bad fax, error message, or even a dropped call. When faxing over a Fax Codec, the loss of packets is minimized and faxes generally make it to its destination, but in the case of a large fax (10+ pages) your chances of a successful fax diminish. It is recommended that a customer who is planning on faxing quite a bit get a fax machine that also doubles as a scanner and can convert potential faxes into a .PDF file so if the fax over VoIP does not work, the customer can email the fax.



Programmers are coming up with a better codec all the time, so it is only a matter of time before VoIP providers come up with a more reliable faxing VoIP codec. VoIP is here to stay and the VoIP providers are trying to overcome all of the objections from small businesses to gain their business, and faxing is a large issue for small businesses. I have the utmost confidence in VoIP providers to come up with a solution that is viable by the end of 2005 or earlier.



Faxing is only one of the things to consider before choosing a VoIP solution. In fact, there are many things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. An educated consumer generally results in a satisfied consumer.

How to Choose a VOIP Provider

Technology has revolutionized communications and the way we live. VoIP has fast attained no 1 status in phone systems and both homes and businesses are choosing VoIP systems over traditional telephony.


Technology has revolutionized communications and the way we live. VoIP has fast attained no 1 status in phone systems and both homes and businesses are choosing VoIP systems over traditional telephony.

The first step is to be convinced that VoIP will benefit you and once you have weighed all the pros and cons, the next step is to select a provider. Highly competitive, there are umpteen options and attractive schemes offered by providers big and small. It would be advantageous to read through comparisons of various calling plans. Find out aspects like price, service, quality, features and more.

You have two options with VoIP. One you can choose to use a free service like Skype or SIPphone or two you can opt to use a provider service and pay a monthly charge. If you are considering VoIP as a way to stay in touch with family and friends then a free service would suffice. However if you intend to use VoIP as an alternative to the landline system and use it for home working or business purposes then a paid services would offer you are great bundle of VoIP services for just a small cost.

To make a provider choice sensibly you will need to have a reference point. Create a note on what VoIP services are essential for you. And use this list when you review various packages. Things like call waiting, forwarding, or conference calls are common to most packages what you need to focus on is something like does the cost per month allow free calls to Europe or Australia? This would be an important consideration if you call one of these frequently.

Factors that must influence your choice of provider are:

1. Will the provider allow you to select a Paris number even if you reside in California? And, will this be at no extra cost if yes, then your contacts in Paris can speak to you in California and no charge to you and it would cost them only the cost of a local call.

2. How reliable is provider x. Most promise the earth but do they actually come through? Make a survey read reviews, blogs, and complaints on the World Wide Web on VoIP providers. Too many negative reviews or unresolved disputes mean x is a bad choice. Be open-minded and weigh the good as well as bad.

3. Look for a money back guarantee this way you will not lose anything should the choice fail. Many providers are established and have a proven service record so they do offer a “money back” clause.

4. Check if they have technical support on call 24/7 and whether their equipment and services have good maintenance and upgrading routines.

5. At your end you need to check what you will need in terms of a net connection, computer, adapters, and other systems. Pay attention to the technical needs of installing a VoIP system and read through the literature provided by VoIP providers as well as the FAQs on their websites.

8 Things I love about SunRocket VOIP Provider

Small businesses and home working enterprises apart from families are reaping the benefits of VoIP which has made communications instant and affordable. The business of VoIP stays consumer oriented because of the many players and fierce competition.

Small businesses and home working enterprises apart from families are reaping the benefits of VoIP which has made communications instant and affordable. The business of VoIP stays consumer oriented because of the many players and fierce competition. Every day new companies or subsidiaries are being floated and VoIP companies all try and retain and expand their slice of pie by staying one step ahead and wooing the consumers by offering better facilities as well as freebees.

SunRocket offers their services from USD 24.95 for a month to USD 199 for a whole year. According to ratings by voipreview, SunRocket has an overall rating of 4.0. The company provides excellent features and price; these have a rating of 5. Sound quality and reliability earn a rating of 4.0 while the only aspect lagging a bit behind at 3.0 is customer service.

Customers love SunRocket because:

1. They offer the best price which goes with great unbeatable features.

2. They send e-mails to notify you of messages while you are away.

3. SunRocket offers many more features than Vonage and the sound clarity is excellent.

4. While some do experience dropped calls when installed properly and all the equipment is in working order the problem of dropped calls disappears.

5. Installation instructions are easy to follow so most users find it easy to carry out the installation without help.

6. Customer service can be accessed in less than a minute and you are not connected to a recording but friendly and courteous human being. So you can get an answer to any query fairly quickly.

7. The company offers great freebies like a free VoIP phone or 3 months free subscription when you sign up for their annual plan. So, you may get great service for less than USD 17 per month. When subscribing or renewing you must check for offers. The company is known for its low prices.

8. It is possible to save at least USD 100 a month by subscribing to SunRocket, which means the savings will cover a nice evening out or help pay a few bills.

CNET editor’s review graded SunRocket as very good, awarding the service 7.0 out of 10. The provider offers VoIP at affordable rates and a bouquet that includes two phone numbers, a dual handset phone system, E911 support, and online tech support.

As a consumer you must never go by what others say or think. Make your own choice by first determining what you want and then carrying out the exercise of making comparisons. Surf the World Wide Web and read what industry gurus say, reviews, blogs, forums and more. Find out all you can about SunRocket before subscribing.

Every system has glitches but if the right steps are taken and problems ironed out sensibly you can benefit from the wonderful service SunRocket provides as far as VoIP is concerned.

Free calls on Facebook

TruePhone has launched a VoIP application for Facebook,which allows users to call others for free.

The application called "Call Me"can be used to make calls without the need for an online TruePhone account.

Your number should be a US phone number,a landline phone number,a GTalk ID ,or a SIP no.Your friends have to click your "Call Me" button on your FaceBook profile to get connected.They do not need to have a phone to call you.

Everyone can use the "Call Me" buttons on their friend's profiles for a short period of time.After that they must install the VoIP application on their computers

So log into Facebook today and start calling your friends!

Asterix to Skype Business solution

I should say SIP rocks.It makes using and marketing VoIP easier.And think Asterix+SIP=Ultimate VoIP service.But its difficult for most SIP providers to block calls to Skpe channel through SIP.

Two providers who managed to do so were Mobivox and Fring.Fring rules the VoIP market because of its simple service and good voice quality.

We'll discuss about enterprise and small scale business VoIP solutions.We have found a service called Chanskype,( has won many awards) Asterix to Skype calling solution.

Chanskpe will allow you to recieve incoming and make outbound calls through the Skype on your Trixbox.You can recieve or make Skype calls to Skype users or make outbound calls to PSTN networks via Skypeout.


Chanskype allows you to-

1.Call other Skype users.
2.Call via Skypeout.
3.Recieve a maximum of 30 incoming Skype calls.
4.Join with SIP networks.
5. Make unlimited parallell calls.

Anyone can buy a business version of Chanskype for US$99.Those who want to use Skype for business can try this.They have a trial version also.

TerraSip offering Free Calls to many Destinations

As discussed earlier more and more VoIP providers are trying to provide low rate calls or Free calls.Today we will discus about free calls to India(Bangalore) and Pakistan(Karachi).Many VoIP providers are giving away free calls to to many countries this year.


TerraSip is also giving free calls this Christmas season.As the name speaks,it is a SIP based VoIP provider.Their free calls are mostly being offered to landlines.

List of Free Calling Destinations-

Argentina Buen. Aires free
Argentina La Plata free
Australia Melbourne free
Australia Brisbane free
Austria Vienna free
Brazil Rio de Janeiro free
Canada Toronto free
Canada Alberta free
Canada Quebec free
Canada Quebec City free
Chile Santiago free
China Beijing free
China Shenzhen free
China Mobile free
Colombia Bogota free
Cyprus free
Czech Rep. Prague free
Denmark Copenhag. free
Estonia Talinn free
France Paris free
Germany free
Greece Athens free
Hungary Budapest free
India Bangalore free
Indonesia Jakarta free
Iraq Bagdad free
Ireland Dublin free
Israel Tel Aviv free
Italy free
Japan Tokyo free
Korea South Seoul free
Latvia Riga free
Malaysia Kuala Lum. free
Mexico Guadalajara free
Mexico Mexico City free
Netherlands Amsterd. free
New Zealand Auckl. free
Norway Oslo free
Pakistan Karachi free
Peru Lima free
Poland free
Portugal free
Romania Bucharest free
Russia Moscow free
Russia St Petersburg free
Slov. Rep. Bratislava free
Spain free
Sweden free
Switzerland free
Turkey Ankara free
United Kingdom free
USA New York free
Venezuela Caracas free

But theres a small catch-you should have atleast 1 cent to make free calls.
I think that's very little.

I tested TerraSIP on X-Lite some time back.The voice quality is pretty good.
Register on TerraSIP and you will get the details for your account.

I got following details-


Configuration and operation references (Sip server Settings):

Server Address: ...... terrasip.net
Port: ...... 5060
Domain Name: ...... terrasip.net
Voice Port: ...... 5060
Outbound Proxy IP: ...... terrasip.net
Outbound Proxy Port: ...... 5060
stunserver: ...... stun.terrasip.net:3478

Phone Number: ...... your Sip number (see your account in MyTerraSip)
CallerID: ...... your Sip number
Port: ...... 5060
User Name: ...... your Sip number
Password: ...... your SIP-Password .


You have to dial the numbers without 00,but always dial the area code every time.for eg while dialing to India you dial 9111xxxxxxxx.That means always dial the country area code without 00 and then the area code, also without leading a 0.

So don't wait,straight away register at TerraSIP.

Free Calls to China and Hong Kong

As the christmas fever is building up, VOIP providers are snowing in more free call offers or rather extending them for the new year to get some more members on the board.

We have seen this across the board for almost all VOIP providers. The tempo is building now and around next week, we are expecting some big offers out for free calls. Last year we covered Jajah who were giving away full 1 day of free calls to many destinations including India. It was so much fun :-)

Mediaringtalk and Owtalk are both gearing up for the new year and have extended free call offers. Mediaringtalk will continue to offer free calls till Jan 2008 and Owtalk will offer free calls to hong kong till end of 2007.

Thats a great news for people who want to make free calls to singapore, hong kong, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Australia and United Kingdom. Owtalk only offers free calls to hong kong.

If you have a SIP Phone or VOIP Adapter, you might wanna try our recommended settings for Mediaringtalk SIP. We have tested mediringtalk to make calls to shanghai and it works great. You might see occassional SIP errors but besides that voice clarity is good. Although remember that each call is limited to 10 minutes, however you can dial the same number again.

We highly recommend to use Owtalk for making free calls to hong kong. Owtalk also a local hong kong number which could be handy to receive calls. Besides that Owtalk has a mobile voip software called Owtalk InternetVoice. Its worth checking out. If you have a SIP enabled mobile phone such as N95, you can download Owtalk InternetVoice and setup your Owtalk account in SIP details. You can then make free calls to singapore. However the easier way could be to just set it up using Fring.

We will be discussing some great ways to make free calls with Fring. How to effectively setup Fring SIP to route calls to multiple SIP networks without bothering about changing SIP details each time. Hopefully we finish that article soon.

Flash Phone Stops Free Call Service

Just when you thought the good days of Free VOIP are back? Flashphone has officially stopped their free calling service.

FlashPhone was never a free calling VOIP service provider. They are originally SIP based flash phone developers. They built and wanted to get some users test the system. I am confident that VOIP Guide has sent them massive traffic which prolly was enuff for testing :-) No seriously they are not a VOIP provider so it's not feasible for them to continue providing free calls especially to destinations such as India where even the wholesale termination rate ranges around 4-5 cents per minute.

FlashPhone team have posted an official note on their forums. Here it is for all of you.

"Dear users, flashphone isn’t a VoIP operator, flashphone is a web-based SIP softphone, free calls were needed for testing purposes. Everybody can use flashphone to call other flashphone’s users, to make and receive free SIP calls, to use your SIP provider for making calls to PSTN and receive calls. We are going to release CallMe widget soon which will allow you to put it on your site and receive your site user’s calls. You’ll be able to choose – receive calls in flashphone or using standard phone, mobile phone, PBX, call center via SIP.

Regards,
FlashphoneTeam"

So till it lasted, it was good. The party is over. We are waiting for the next big christmas free calling offer. Anyone?

FreshTel provides VoIP products in ASDA UK

FreshTel, the Australia-based VoIP vendor, and its hardware partner Binatone, have started to sell their Internet Phone service is Wal-Mart’s UK retail arm, ASDA.

ADSA began selling the Freshtel Internet Phone in 122 of its UK stores in June 2007. The retailer is selling the device under the Binatone Internet Phone brand, and it is powered by Freshtel.

Freshtel hopes the agreement will lead to further deals with Wal-Mart to sell the product in other markets, such as the US, Europe and Latin America, where VoIP subscriber numbers are rapidly expanding.

Binatone has a long-standing relationship with Asda and its move into internet phones is indicative of the rapid growth this part of the market is experiencing.

Nokia Siemens Networks launches VoIP Named ‘Communication Key’

Nokia Siemens Networks is demonstrating its ‘Communication Key’ at the Nokia World event in Amsterdam, December 4-5 2007.

The Communication Key is a USB device with integrated SIM authentication which provides VoIP communications from any PC connected to the Internet.

As well as voice calls, it allows users to share videos, or send instant messages and other rich media communications as easily as making a mobile phone call.

The Communication Key can also help mobile operators differentiate and add value to their service in the face of increasing competition.

A subscriber’s identity, phone number and account information are linked to the device’s SIM card, allowing the operator to provide services tailored to the user via Nokia Siemens Networks’ core network solution.

Authentication and billing with the Communication Key is based on
the user’s SIM card, streamlining payment as part of the user’s mobile phone
bill.

SIM authentication allows Communication Key users to be reached by their normal mobile telephone number. This allows users to answer incoming calls on either their mobiles or PCs.

Calls made with the Communication Key are authenticated, connected and charges for with Nokia Siemens Networks’ core network architecture, based on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or mobile softswitching.

The Communication Key can be plugged into any Internet connected PC, allowing users to make VoIP calls whatever their location, independently of local mobile network coverage.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ Communication Key will be available in Q3 2008.

Critical hole in Skype VoIP client remedied

It has been announced that Skype has remedied a critical security hole in version 3.6 of its VoIP software for Windows, released in mid November 2007.

When a specially crafted website is visited, attackers are able to inject malicious code onto a PC and execute it with the user's privileges. It would then be possible to infect the computer with contaminants.

The Zero Day Initiative says there was a flaw in the URI handler skype4com, which is created when Skype is installed. Short strings can then be used to provoke a memory violation in this handler, allowing code to be written into memory.

It is not clear whether this flaw entered the software with the update for the URI hole that was made public just prior to this update. But it is clear that Skype has once again closed critical holes furtively without informing users at all.

The last security advice published by Skype is dated 3 October, 2006. Users who still have an older version of Skype should install the latest version as soon as possible. Generally, the software informs users that a new major update has been released. The software reportedly also informs users about security releases, but Skype first has to declare them as such.

Pennytel offering cheap phone calls

There is reason to smile this christmas if you are looking for a great cheap phone calls. We have found a voip provider that would beat the cheapest rate you knew in the market.

Pennytel an austrlian VOIP provider with office in rest of Asia Pacific such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. This whole month of december and next month January, pennytel is running a promotion. They are offering calls to certain countries at 28.88 cents per call.

Did you read that carefully? Its per call not per minute, so if you make a 60 minutes call, you are going to make a great saving. We tried looking into something called "Fair Use Policy" but didnt find any fine print telling whats the upper limit. Sounds like a good deal unless we missed something.

Lets see where you can make cheap phone calls with this irrestible 28.88 cents per call deal.

Pennytel is offering this "Talk till you Drop" offer for following countries:

India, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Macau, Malawi, Pakistan, Malaysia Mobile, Russia, taiwan, Vietnam, Australia Mobile.

All calls are only for landline unless otherwise states like Malaysia mobile and Australia mobile.

Now the biggest issue is will pennytel cut your calls after certain minutes? Is there a fair usage policy? To check that, I went to their live chat and spoke to Sean.

Sean@PennyTel: hi how can i help ?

vinny: hi sean

vinny: i want to know about talk till you drop offer

vinny: if i call india how much will i be charged? 28.88 cents per call?

Sean@PennyTel: you will be charged 28.88 cents per call

Sean@PennyTel: for both landline/ mobile

vinny: is there a limit for number of mins i can talk per call?

vinny: like u have a fair usage policy?

Sean@PennyTel: it is 28.8 cents per call

vinny: i understand that

Sean@PennyTel: it means you can talk as long as you want

vinny: all am asking is can i talk for 2 hrs per call?

vinny: is there a limit

vinny: ok thanks a lot. Just wanted to confirm if there is any limit for the call

Sean@PennyTel: please hold

Sean@PennyTel: ok the 288.8 cents per call is only applicable to india landline

Sean@PennyTel: 28.8 cents per call

vinny: not to mobile?

Sean@PennyTel: no

vinny: then how much do i pay for mobile?

vinny: ?

Sean@PennyTel: PennyTel Rate Card

vinny: ok thanks so this is only for landline then

vinny: or else its about 10 cents per min

Sean@PennyTel: yes it is

vinny: ok thanks mate

Sean@PennyTel: no worries

So it seems there is no upper cap for making calls.

You can use Pennytel Dialer to make calls. Pennytel also gives you a free extension number which can be reached via their access numbers in australia, singapore and malaysia. Pretty handy indeed.

Let us know your feedback about Pennytel and their cheap phone calls offer.

Enum directory - The next major push for VoIP

I had argued earlier that one of the major bottlenecks for widespread VoIP adoption is the dependence on the PSTN for completion of VoIP calls. Consider VoIP as another telephony option like cellular or satellite phones. One of the reasons why cell phones could became so popular was their independence from the PSTN networks, i.e. a call from one cell phone to another did not rely on the PSTN network for completion.

This is not the case with the VoIP telephony, at least not currently. But things are looking up and the future could be very different from what the situation is today. ENUM, a protocol that uses Internet DNS system to translate ordinary telephone numbers into IP addressing schemes, is slowly gaining momentum. Enum is to VoIP, what DNS is to internet. Enum facilitates completion of the call by locating the end points. You can visualize Enum as a telephone directory, with an address for every VoIP connection.

But for Enum to be efficient all the players should be a part of the directory. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Most of the major players like AT&T, iConnecthere are not part of the network, making the completion of the call difficult without routing through PSTN network.

UK has embarked on an ambitious project to integrate telephony networks across the country. The first phase will cover creating a directory for the internet telephony network. In the next phase this would be linked with the PSTN network. If this project succeeds then we might see similar implementations in other countries. But due to the lack of common regulator this implementation might be delayed as nobody can force a country to adopt ENUM. But there is always a potential for inter country partnership. Between Europe and US, we have the bulk of the VoIP market today. If these agree to partner on the ENUM directory, things would change overnight for the VoIP telephony.

Messagenet offers free voip incoming numbers

Messagenet has now extended their services to London. Now you can get yourself a free incoming number in London in addition to free incoming number services in Italy. On top of that Messagenet is now offering its fax to email and VoIP services in U.K., France, Netherland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.You may now have a Messagenet phone number in one of these countries to receive faxes by email or phone calls on your usual VoIP device.

FreeFAX is available (for free) with a London area code to let you get faxes in your mailbox.



Messagenet has also started some really cool offers for their customers including a World Flat Rate calling service. Over 40 countries can be called with this plan. It costs only euro 13.20 per month. You may like to check their Flat rate offer.

It seems messagenet is slowly becoming a leader in free incoming voip number services in Europe. We hope they cover more countries such as Germany etc. If we manage to get Germany on the list, the number might work with Peterzahlt and we could call the world for free :-)

Go get your favorite London number for your VOIP Phone.

Free Phone From Anywhere!

VoIP promises free PC-to-PC calls and cheap handset and mobile calls, but “free” would be even nicer. While many mobile plans offer free night and weekend minutes, but long-distance and international calls can still incur tolls no matter how “free” just picking up the phone is.


However, several companies have devised ways to take advantage of free calling times or otherwise defray tolls and termination fees, allowing you to make long-distance and even international calls for free.


JAJAH

We’ve covered Jajah several times in VoIP News, but it’s still highly relevant. Jajah allows you to make about an hour’s worth of weekly mobile calls for free, since other users buy premium Jajah services that underwrite telecom carriers’ termination fees.

Enter your phone number on Jajah’s Web site, then the number you’re calling. Press a button on the screen. Your phone rings, you answer; the receiver’s phone rings, they answer. Make too many calls, and Jajah asks you to sign up for a premium service. This is fine for personal calls but makes Jajah’s free service a bit cramped for heavy-duty business use.


PHONEGNOME

TelEvolution’s PhoneGnome is similar to Jajah, in that Web-initiated mobile or calls to other PhoneGnome members’ phones are free within the U.S. and Canada. Calls are free regardless when both caller and receiver have the $60 PhoneGnome box, a small (wallet-size) switching gizmo that automatically finds the cheapest way to route a given call (landline, VoIP, Skype, etc.). So if calls to non-PhoneGnome users aren’t actually free, it’s a good bet they’re traveling the lowest-cost route available at a given moment.


ROCKETVOIP

Free international cell calls on RocketVoIP are easy—well, except for the $10/month you pay for their RocketVoIP Basic plan. But still: That ten bucks means unlimited calls within the RocketVoIP network, and also provides a host of other features including call waiting, forwarding and blocking. The company also throws in 200 minutes’ calling to the U.S. and Western Europe, further defraying that already modest investment.

Since it’s usually going to be evening or the weekend on either the caller’s or the receiver’s continent (U.S.-Asia, U.S.-Europe, Asia-Europe), wait until you’re on your mobile plan’s free night-and-weekend minutes, dial the RocketVoIP access number, dial the overseas number you want to call, and presto: free international calling from your cell without even charging minutes against your mobile plan’s monthly total.


CLICK4ME

You can also make free cell calls through SMS software, since the same protocols that allow instant text-messaging can carry voice as well. VoiceOne’s Click4Me service makes use of this fact: You and whoever you want to call sign up with Click4Me and get Click4Me IDs; text Click4Me with “CALL” plus the recipient’s Click4Me ID and the call connects. Click4Me also allows blocking of certain numbers/IDs, and lets users get e-mail or SMS messages showing which calls they’ve missed.


MOBIVOX

Other companies are building applications that ride on top of Skype technology. Mobivox is Exhibit A. Register your Skype account with Mobivox, and the company will list your Skype contacts as people you can call. You can then use local access numbers to call them for f ree from your mobile (presumably connecting with them at their laptops).

That said, if you and the callee are both in the Mobivox network, mobile-to-mobile calls are not only possible but free up to 250 minutes per week. As with Jajah, it appears that those 250 minutes are underwritten by others’ purchase of premium Mobivox services, in this case international calling minutes.

In a nice touch, Mobivox actually tells you whether a call is free or not before you make it, through an operator app named VoxGirl. This type of plan offers business users a lot of flexibility since Mobivox’s pricing is transparent, VoxGirl acts as a tripwire when you’re about to run out of free minutes, and no contract or downloads are involved.

Hopefully these examples give a flavor of what VoIP has made possible in today’s telecom environment. If you can’t bring your overall telecom costs using technologies and deals from these and other VoIP-centric companies, you’re not really trying.

Ibibo Free Calling Hack

Just when you thought the talkplus party is over, we are building the tempo at VOIP Guide with more voip hacks to make free calls. Yeah, you heard it right this time we have India on our hit list.

Again, our regular readers love VOIP Guide and always think of contributing exclusive hacks first. This is another exclusive hack for Free calls to india. Thanks to Sriram V for sending in this great hack.

You all are aware of a new blog service called ibibo, its very similar to blogger. ibibo has started a free service through which registered members can call each other for free. Looks very similar to Jaxtr

They are currently offering 10 mins free call to other registered users with maximum 2mins for one call; that makes up to maximum of 5 calls monthly, free!! (Don't get upset by this figure, we'll come up with a hack at the end!! :-)

To get free calls do the following

1) First you have to register at http://cafe.ibibo.com/
2) Register your mobile number in the site.
3) Invite friends to join cafe.ibibo. Ask them to do the same.
4) When you want to call a friend goto his/her Cafe profile and click the "Call Me Free" button. If he/she has enabled receiving calls then your calls will get connected. Ibibo will call your mobile first and then your friend gets a ring. Talk for 2 mins free!!
5) When your free 10mins are over you have to wait for 1month to get that recharged.But don't worry, Ibibo is trying to increase the call time at the earliest.



Now, the hack.

1) Register another account in cafe. (You can register as many account as you want, the email id should be different)
2) De-register your mobile from your first account. And register it here. (Ibibo allows this!!)3) Call your fiends free for another 10mins. :-)
4) Do this as many times as you want.
5) Every month all your accounts will be recharged with 10 free minutes. So you don't have to create new accounts to call your friends if you have many accounts created the previous month!!

e.g: If you have registered 10 accounts, you get 100 free minutes every month!!

From the hack, you can understand that this hack will only work if you live in India. However we know a huge number of readers here wanted this free calls solution for India to India free calls.

I hope this exclusive hack will help you make call India free from india. If anybody can think of a better hack with this method, please do let us know.

Now Call Worldwide for Free with Jaxtr VOIP

Many users were asking for a VOIP service provider which allows to call from India for free. We discussed many voip services in the past, however almost all stopped offering free calls. Today, we will be discussion this solution to call india for free or for that matter it works for many countries.

We did post about Jaxtr back in March 2007. We got some great responses and some people were able to make free calls, however there were apparent issues. It seems Jaxtr has matured into a more flexible VOIP solution.

Hemant Jain from IIT Madras has today contributed this article. Hemant has been instrumental in testing various VOIP services for VOIP guide in the past. The article is edited by Vinay for minor changes.

Jaxtr is a Voice 2.0 startup in VOIP space. Jaxtr was launched back in Jan/Feb 2007. Jaxtr offers free calls to over 51 countries around the globe including India and Pakistan. It works with any landline or mobile phone.

You can receive/call up to 100 minutes per month of incoming jaxtr calls to your existing phone if you are in one of the following 51 countries (the number of minutes will depend on your country and the kind of phone you use(For India it provides some 16 mins per months).

Let see how you can use Jaxtr:

1) Signup at Jaxtr
2) Verify your email address
3) Add your phone number by selecting add/drop option in the drop menu
4) You will receive a call from jaxtr team. Answe the call and press the verification code shown on the computer screen.
5) After that computer will show the message that your account is verified.(Sometimes the call from jaxtr team will get disconnected before You enter the verification code. Don't worry in that case your phone number will be added automatically)

Note: Uncheck the privacy shield before making any calls.

You will get a jaxtr link for receiving calls using this registration. That link will be (www.jaxtr.com/user_name) where username is the screen name which you have given while registering at the jaxtr.

How to call using Jaxtr:

1) Open your jaxtr link
2) A widget will appear on the computer screen.
3) Enter the phone no of your friend in the gadget shown
4) First ring will go to your friends phone number and after then your phone will ring.
5) Receive the call and enjoy talking.

Jaxtr will connect the two numbers only once after that a special local number is created. Special local number will be of the country from where your friend is calling (Mumbai's number in case of India).Your friend can call you using that number by dialing at that number from his phone as many times as you want at the cost of local phone.

How to earn Extra Jax (Getting more talk time)

Like most of the VOIP service provider jaxtr also believe in gorilla marketing. It gives you talk time for each user you invite and he/she signs up. Earn 20 jax for each new jaxtr user you sign up.

Happy calling to the World and espcially India.

Zapp global free offering free calls to romania

FREE Calls to Romania!

Zapp an Romania based Voip Provider is offering free calls to Romania. For this you need to register with them for free and can make use of this service. You can call all your friends and partners in Romania unlimited for free on a Zapp mobile or FixTel.

It’s completely FREE for you, no hidden costs, no credit card payments, no special conditions. To start using this incredible service simply Register, login, and start calling your friends.

Gizmo project 4.0 beta with video calling

We all know about the popular Gizma Project. Now Gizma Project 4.0 beta is out with Video Calling and with new look for windows. Currently they are working for MAC version. Works on Nokia, N800/N810 mobile devices too!

Click here to download the software and use it.

Featured Highlights of this Software:

Free Video Calling facility is added now.
Easier redesigned interface for users to interact easily with the other party.
You can chat with Instant Messaging, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live, GTalk, iChat and more chatting softwares.
Supports Group chat also.
You can share your files with your friends and family members.
You can customize your Avatar in Gizmo Project.
Tabbed Chat interface which is easier to tab all your chat windows in one window.
You can log the chat coversation in your PC.

Skype 2.0 for Linux Includes Video Calling

There is a great news for Linux users, their most asked for Skype feature video calling is now part of the latest skype 2.0 for linux released recently by skype.


This release is not just a revolution for us in Linux, but a revolution for the Skype world at large. No longer are we, the people of Linux, prevented from socialising in the same way as our peers.

Users of skype on linux platform can now make video calling like all other skype users.

Bok offers free usa and canada calls

Those who have been eagerly waiting to make free calls within USA and Canada can now relax :-) We found something (rather digged in our own existing post) that will let you make free calls to north america and canada.

Bok is a innovative callback free calling system which will let you make free calls to USA and Canada. The unfortunate thing, it will only work in USA and canada. However people in canada can call anyone in USA for free and vice versa.

Bok is actually a SMS callback system. You need to send a SMS with a number to BoK system and then it calls you back and connects your call.

Lets see how Bok works.

Step 1) Send Bok a text message containing the phone number of the person whom you’d like to talk to. Assume that you’d like to call your friend in Ottawa. Her phone number is 613-123-4567. Start a new text message and enter your friend's phone number as the content of the message.

Step 2) Now that you have completed composing your text message, send this message to bOK (613-614-0285). Hint: It's really convenient if you've stored the bOK number in your phonebook.

Step 3) Your phone will ring in about 10 seconds. When you pick up the phone, you will hear the phone ringing on the other end. Once your friend picks up, you will be connected to her and can start your conversation.

SEe Pictorial below:

Now talk as much as you want without worrying about phone bills or long distance calling rates. Of course, this is only beneficial if you have a good SMS and incoming free plan.

The only cost you would incurr is sending a SMS assuming you have free incoming calls from your mobile provider.

So those in USA and Canada start bugging your friends this Christmas.

We know some readers who have been actively looking for such solution. We hope this solution would make a difference to their life.

List of all current known Betamax VoIP domains

List of all current known Betamax VoIP domains
All of these domains are registered to Betamax and maybe in future more VoIP services will be launched. Please let us know of any other domain registered to Betamax.

1. www.12voip.com
2. www.cheapvoip.biz
3. www.freecall.com
4. www.internetcalls.com
5. www.internetcalls.net
6. www.poivy.com
7. www.sipbuster.com
8. www.sipbusters.com
9. www.sipfoon.com
10. www.spk2.com
11. www.spk2.net
12. www.telbo.com
13. www.voicebuster.com
14. www.voicebuster.net
15. www.voicebusters.com
16. www.voicebusters.net
17. www.voiparound.com
18. www.voipbuster.com
19. www.voipcracker.com
20. www.voipcracker.net
21. www.voipdiscount.biz”>www.voipdiscount.biz
22. www.voipdiscount.info
23. www.voipdiscount.net
24. www.voipdiscount.org
25. www.webcall.biz
26. www.keenvoip.com
27. www.librevoip.com
28. www.lightvoip.com
29. www.loginvoip.com
30. www.lowratesvoip.com
31. www.lowratevoip.com
32. www.skp2.com
33. www.skp2.net
34. www.skypsite.com
35. www.voipappel.com
36. www.voipbarato.com
37. www.voipdescuento.com
38. www.voipgigant.com
39. www.voipgigante.com
40. www.voipshark.com
41. www.voipskyp.com
42. www.voipsmasher.com
43. www.voipsmasher.net
44. www.webcalldirect.com
45. www.webcalldirekt.com
46. www.webdirectcalls.com
47. www.yourvoipnumber.com

Make free mobile calls, live chat and presence over internet data plan or wifi

Fring Beta another voip proider come with this new plan now.

fring is based on a unique thin-client technology that for the first time enables true VoIP over 3G, GPRS and WiFi networks. fring dynamically adapts itself to the optimal network and handset characteristics while enabling seamless roaming VoIP on multiple networks. The dedicated three-sided P2P network architecture has been developed to support near telco-grade voice quality and network efficiency.

fring leverages the internet connectivity traditionally used for mobile email retrieval and web browsing to provide mobile VoIP communications so you can talk and instant message for free!

Download fring.
fring is compatible with Symbian 8, 9.1, 9.2, Windows Mobile 5 & 6 and UIQ handsets.

Nokia E51 now supports fring. Now you can download and install in that mobile and enjoy it.

DialNow offers 1 cent calls to India

Betamax is eyeing the India market pretty seriously after some other VOIP proviers started offering cheap calls or free calls to India. Now their outfit, Dialnow offering the cheapest ever rate to India.

Dialnow is a part of ever growing list of Betamax voip service. Dialnow is currently offering superdeals to India and many other countries. You can make calls to India at 1 cent per minute.

Of course, there is a catch. there is no SIP, no software to use to make calls. You need to dial their access number which would recognise your phone CID and allow you to make calls.

Lets see how you can make calls with DialNow.

1) Register at Dialnow
2) Add credit to your account
3) Now dial Access number and make calls.

Remember that Access numbers for Dialnow are available in only few countries, namely Argentina, Austrlia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland & United Kingdom.

The most surprising thing is USA is not included in the Access numbers list. Sorry folks you missed this one unless they add USA numbers to the list, hopefully soon.

So all the guys from the above countries, Top up some $10 credit and try Dialnow at 1cent per minute to India (Landline + Mobile).

Let us know how it went.

New iConnectHere Internet Telephony VoIP Launched

Like other Internet telephony VOIP providers iconnectHere requires Broadband Phone adaptor that connects any analogue phone (even a cordless one) to your Broadband Internet connection.To set up user only requires inserting a number that he can find on the adaptor itself (called the MAC address) into the easy three-step Broadband Phone Setup Wizard. The MAC (Media Access Control) address is your Broadband Phone adaptor's unique hardware number. The MAC address of your Broadband Phone adaptor can be located on a sticker on the back of the Linksys and on the bottom of the ATA adaptors. The MAC address is used in the process of automatically and fully configuring your adaptor for iConnectHere's network.The voice quality provided is indistinguishable from a traditional phone line.

iConnectHere Internet telephony VOIP offers many free features ranging from Voicemail, Caller ID, 3-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Speed Dial, Do Not Disturb, it also includes some Free Advanced Features, they are Worldwide Telephone Numbers, Real-Time Call Records, Online Account Management, Free In-Network Calls. Some of their Bonus Features are PC to Phone and Virtual Calling Card are included with all plans.

iConnectHere Internet telephony VOIP provides it’s customer with the facility of Virtual Calling cards wherein if you’re traveling, out for lunch or the Internet is simply not available, your iConnectHere account is always with you. Virtual Calling Card is an option that allows you to use your Account Balance to make calls via Toll-Free numbers in 27 countries.

User can keep the track of last three months call records , by accessing the call records directly through the Members Center, by selecting 'Call Records' from the Navigation Bar on your screen.

iConnectHere offers a unique package called as India World calling plan that offers pc-to-phone service users special rates to India, US and Canada, UK, Italy and Bhutan. The cost of the plan is $19.95 per month for 215 minutes, including 115 minutes of calls to India and 100 minutes to the US and Canada. When registered to this plan you will also receive the following special rates to UK, Italy, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. If you exceed the minutes included in the calling plan you will be further charged the some above-cap rates. In addition the India World 215 Plan includes calls made to Toll-Free numbers, area codes 800, 866, 877, and 888, which can be made free of charge.

Another exclusive package is iCall North America calling plan which is a Broadband Phone Service monthly package that offers 800 minutes to the US and Canada. This includes Toll-Free calls to area codes 800, 866, 877, and 888, which can be made free of charge. The cost for this plan is $15.99 per month, and it includes a free local US number where you can be reached, free voicemail and advanced telephony features.

The monthly fees for these plans are deducted from your account balance and will not be charged to your credit card directly.

iConnectHere put forwards a broad money-back guarantee so as to doubly check if it’s users are satisfied with their service. Any customer for whatever reason if wishes to withdraw from their service will be qualified for the money back guarantee as long as he requests to cancel their Internet telephony VOIP service within 30 days of account activation and if have not exceeded 50 minutes of usage. If he meets these criteria, iConnectHere will refund the charges for all monthly and activation fees.

Currently iConnectHere Internet telephony VOIP does not support Local Number Portability (LNP) but as per their promises it is comprehended that soon this option will be made available to their customers. IConnectHere do have the support for fax, in which a user can send and receive a fax using it’s Linksys PAP2 Broadband Phone adaptor, all you need to do is connect a fax machine to your Broadband Phone adaptor.

IconnectHere provides with the extensive customer support, and any user having troubles with their service can look their FAQ’s on their web site, or may put up their query through web site for which they will have to log in their account and the best part is their live chat support which is available from Monday - Friday: 07:00 AM - 11:00 PM GMT and Sunday: 07:00 AM - 11:00 PM GMT

Poivy another betamax provider offering 300 minutes calls to 43 countries

Another betmax provider poivy is now offering free 300 minutes call to 43 countries. All these free calls are applicable for land lines only. For few destinations they are offering free calls to mobile also. The below are the free destinations they are offering this free 300 minutes call.

Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Chile
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Hong Kong (+mobile)
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Panama
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico (+mobile)
Russian Fed.
Singapore (+mobile)
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States (+mobile)

As usual to call your friends and family members download their dialler software and start calling for free.

poivY accepts various major payment methods like Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Carte Bleue, Dankort DK, ChinaUnionPay, MBNet, Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren, Topup with text messaging, PayPal, Solo Switch, Western Union, Click & Buy, Bank Transfer, MoneyBookers, PayByPhone, Regular Bank Transfer, UKash, iDeal . Click here to find out which one suits you best.

5 things about Betamax VOIP you didn't know

We receive enormous comments for any post remotely related to Betamax and its VOIP services. Some of the post are targetted towards their voip minute billings issues or some with their voip service.

Today, we thought its about time we educate our readers about things you need to be cautious about while using Betamax.

We all know they had or still have issues with their systems. Most of the time, the account gets blocked or credit disappear etc. Lets see how we can possibly protect ourselves to the max if not the fullest.

1) Making Calls Via Betamax product such as Voipcheap, voipraider, lowratevoip, nonoh, 12voip etc:

You need to be extremely cautious while using your own VOIP hardware while making calls via their SIP services.

Users like Ramesh from Bankok emailed us saying " The published rate to make a call to India using voipraider is 3.5 cents. But I've made a call using ATA, and it deducts about 14 cents per minute. Afterwards I've made a phone-to-phone call using voipraider. Same 14 cent again. But an additional 5 cents per call for connection.
Finally I've made a call thro' softphone. Just 3.5 cents only getting deducted.

Now does that mean, if you call via their softphone its only 3.5 cents but if you use any other method like SIP Phone or VOIP Adapter, they will charge you more? Anyone else can confirm this?

2) Phone to Phone Calling Secret you possible didn't know:

Lets take an example you are in India and want to call USA. You are jumping with joy looking at USA as free destination. You buy some credit and thought of making a call. You are obsessed with your landline phone so you make a Phone to Phone call. Had a great chat. Now its time to check the account balance, oops you got furious? They possibly deducted some money from your account. You run to VOIP Guide screaming over betamax that they are cheating you. That was a typical story.

However, you missed the whole point. When you are using Phone to Phone calls always remember that when you receive a callback from their service, it costs them some money. India is not a free country, so if you use phone to phone, the call you receive in India is charged. Hope that makes it clear for some who thought they lost their money.

3) Most Common Registration 32 error:

We suggest you try disabling your firewall or antivirus software which might be blocking certain ports. Besides that, another common pattern is if you have used their service in the past, the registry entries are created in your windows registry. Flush them out and try registering again. The registry hack is not recommended for the weak hearted means newbies :-)This can crash your PC, am serious.

4) Improving Voice Quality:

While making calls, shut down all other resource hungry bandwidth eating apps in the background. Pause your downloads. The more bandwidth your voip service has the more clarity you should get. People often forget that your uploads matter than most than your downloads. You wouldn't know this unless you are a gamer :-)

5)Fraud VOIP Resellers:

There are apparently some people claiming to be resellers of Betamax. I am not saying all are fraud but beware of them who imitate betamax products or for that matter any other voip service and claim to provide you a free service. I suggest extreme caution while buying from such resellers.

We hope that this quick betamax usage guide should help you in dealing with Betamax services and improve your overall experience.

If anyone has any more tips to share with our readers, please drop them under comments or send over email.

FlashPhone offering free worldwide calls

As the year 2007 ends, it seems we are up for some good news in FREE VOIP world. We also hope that more VOIP companies offer free calls during the year end and new year period just like Jajah did last year. Oh my, I still can't forget those 2 days :-)



Now lets keep that aside and wait for those offers. In the mean time, we got something hot for you to play with. Flash Phone, a russian VOIP service is offering totally free calls to most part of the world including India. However each call is limited to 5 minutes and you can only make 1 call per day.



FlashPhone is currently in beta however you can signup to the service and use it. As i said they offer free calls to india including other countries.



How to use Flash Phone?



Well its pretty easy and straight forward.



1) Signup at Flash Phone website

2) Verify activation email

3) Login into Flash Phone





P.S: You need Adobe Flash player since Flash phone works on Adobe flash. Its very similar to Gizmo Call. (See screenshot).



While making calls, remember to dial country code area code phone number for e.g: Russia, Moscow: 74951000000



Besides making free worldwide voip calls, flashphone is working towards receiving calls from outside. Flash Phone is purely based on SIP and you can make calls to other flash phone users for FREE just like any other SIP provider.



We lurked around their forums and found some good suggestion by members such as integrating Flash Phone with Fring or Truphone etc but apparently Flash Phone has a PDA version which you can use on your mobile phone.



Currently there is no way to buy credits neither they have disclosed any rates to call certain destinations. So there aint any catch. Just login and make your 5 minutes call.

Go make your first call at Flash Phone.



Note: Free VOIP Hacks is not interested in releasing a hack for Flash Phone. We want them to run this service for good, hack might destroy their service completely and we would loose a good service.

Free Calls to Pakistan

VOIP Guide has always been a no.1 resource for finding Free calls to India or Free International calls or even Free VOIP. We not only found a place in google but also in your heart :-) However we never blogged about Free Calls to Pakistan.

Thankfully we got some great audience who not only read the blog but share great voip services, hacks and much more on a regular basis. Our regular reader, Aboo Hamid has sent in a tip that Lowratevoip(another betamax product) is offering free calls to pakistan (landline+ mobile) and free calls to Jordan.

Of course always remember one thing, with betamax you need to atleast top-up minimum credit in order to make free calls or continue to make free calls. Its definately a great news to pakistani friends who always have been on the lookout to make free calls. Now for a minimum credit purchase you can make free calls to pakistan.

With lowratevoip, Registered users get max 200 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days and per unique IP address. Unused free minutes cannot be taken to the following week(s). Do remember this fair use policy before buying credit.

One more important thing not necessarily related to lowratevoip, but I would like to share. With any betamax product, if you do not belong to a free calling country, don't use Phone to Phone for free destinations. If you use, the callback to your phone will be charged. There is no point in blaming betamax that they charged you since your origination country isnt free and it costs money to call you back.

All pakistani friends, go checkout Lowratevoip and make free calls to pakistan.

QuantumTone Introduces Unlimited Calling to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mexico

QuantumTone announces it’s launching the highly anticipated unlimited calling plans for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and other countries for flat monthly rates.

This new service liberates consumers from paying per minute rate for international calls. They can use their existing mobile, home or get new digital home phone service from QuantumTone to use the service. It can also be used without any internet connection and is available through online portal at www.quantumtone.com and some designated local retail storefronts found in major metropolitan cities nationwide. In the future, the product will be rolled out to European and Middle Eastern consumers.

This service transforms any mobile or local land phone into an instant world phone with unlimited calling capabilities. The advent and perpetual developments of QuantumTone VoIP Technology has simplified international telephony. Realizing how agonizing, time consuming, and expensive for ethnic frequent callers to use long distance services and deceptive, gray-route prepaid calling cards, we felt the need for such flat rate unlimited calling plans.

"Residential consumers can take advantage of our new service and call their friends and family overseas worry free,” said Monica Kish, the CEO of QuantumTone, “We are the first US telephone company that pioneered such aggressive worldwide unlimited plans to some of these high-cost international tariffs like anywhere in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, Columbia, and other destinations.”

QuantumTone along with its partners, is an international digital phone company that specializes in technologically advanced, feature-rich, business quality unlimited local, long distance calling and IP hosting services bundled with enterprise grade broadband internet connectivity at a fraction of fixed cost to consumers, businesses, and enterprises in all 50 states in US and worldwide as a local and international phone service provider. Our technology enables anyone to use their traditional phone with high-speed internet ( Cable, DSL, T1, ISDN ) connection or existing mobile or home phone ( without any internet ) to make and receive phone calls anywhere in the world even while traveling. At QuantumTone our goal is to make calling simple and almost free for everyone using cutting edge IP technology.

Top 10 Free Voip Providers Compared

In your quest to find a free VoIP service, you will quickly learn a harsh reality: "free" is a very subjective word. Keep in mind that you will never find a VoIP provider or program that is completely free. In the end, you are at least paying for your Internet service, right? However, the good news is you can steer clear of any mainstream and costly VoIP subscription services like Vonage or SunRocket. After all, the fact that you are shirking the telephone company in the first place means you are tired of hidden and needless fees.

The following lists the pros and cons of ten "free" VoIP options. Keep in mind that while many of these alternatives offer some sort of free and immediate service, you will first need something to speak through. From headsets to WiFi phones, there are many devices available to fit any budget or lifestyle.

1. Skype

Pros: Skype is a reputable service that, when used a specific way, will be completely free to you. The software is easy to download, and talking to any other Skype user is free. Rest assured that there are plenty of Skype users out there, too, as it is currently the most popular VoIP service. If someone you call frequently doesn't use Skype, you can merely send him/her the link to easily download the software. Long distance phone calls to your mom in another state, for instance, will at once be pain-free for both you and her. A professional site and customer service, in addition to clear sound, makes this a legitimate winner for most.

Cons: The free feature is only available when calling from one computer to another. If you are interested in dialing regular landlines from your computer, Skype offers unlimited calls to all of North America for $30 a year. Not steep by any means, but still not free. Also, there is controversy about their use of supernodes, which could put your computer at risk of contracting a virus.


2. Raketu

Pros: Raketu is a hip site, combining state-of-the-art communications with the networking style of MySpace and YouTube. Free calls can be made to landlines and mobile phones in 42 countries, which is very impressive. Also, features like live stream television allows for people to chat with their friends about what they are watching together.

Cons: Although seemingly perfect, this site does have some discouraging fine print: you will be required to make a $9.95 deposit into your account when registering before you start making free calls. They do not consider this a membership fee, however, but a "credit" for your new account. Think of it as insurance, should you wish to make a call to a location that isn't covered by the free plan. It will likely be the only money you will ever have to spend at Raketu.

3. VoipCheap

Pros: VoipCheap should be more aptly titled "VoipFREE". Unlike Skype, VoipCheap will allow you to make free phone calls to regular phone lines. This free service also includes many other countries, not just USA and Canada. The software is free to download and simple to start using right away, provided you have a headset or phone ready to plug in.

Cons: While VoipCheap does allow for free calls from your computer to regular phones, there is a weekly limit of 300 minutes per IP address. Watch that limit, or rates will apply to your calls! Should you choose to make a call to a paid destination, VoipCheap does require a very small credit deposit before dialing, not unlike Raketu's credit system. Although their regular rates are still very cheap, the object here is to call for free.

4. Gizmo

Pros: Like Skype, Gizmo offers free software and free calls to all other Gizmo users. The interface is very user-friendly and the company claims it "is as simple as instant messaging". A bonus to this service is the "All Calls Free" plan, which states that Gizmo users can call other Gizmo users' landlines and mobile phones, not just their computers.

Cons: Although Gizmo proudly boasts that users can make free calls to landlines and mobile phones, they really prefer you to make PC-to-PC calls. There are some very tedious (sneaky, some would say) rules to the "All Calls Free" plan at Gizmo. If not used properly, some hidden fees could sneak up on a Gizmo user, which is unfortunate.


5. Windows Live Messenger

Pros: PC-to-PC calls are always free when made between those who have Messenger installed. VoIP novices may feel more comfortable with a provider like Windows, as the conglomerate is more likely to offer round-the-clock customer service should any problems arise. Also, the interface will look and feel familiar to longtime Windows aficionados.

Cons: There are no drawbacks to their PC-to-PC plan. However, should you decide to pay a low rate to call a landline with your computer, phone calls are limited to five minutes. For some, that is a major deal breaker.


6. Yahoo! Voice

Pros: This is a simple and free PC-to-PC calling software like Windows Live Messenger. Similarly, the free calls must be made to other active Yahoo! Voice members. Those who are already familiar with the regular Yahoo! Instant Messenger system should feel right at home with the application. Since there are already so many Yahoo! IM users, this may be a great place to begin experimenting with VoIP technology.

Cons: There have been many complaints about inconvenient technical difficulties with Yahoo! that could make the Voice feature less than desirable. Yahoo! is admittedly a busy site that is growing exponentially. As such, constant updates to their applications can trip up their services at times.

7. WengoPhone

Pros: WengoPhone intends to circumvent any restrictions that Skype or Gizmo users experience. Their software allows for users to make free PC-to-PC calls to anyone else with compliant software, no matter who their VoIP provider is. This is a very subversive program and many tech-savvy folks are very happy with it.

Cons: The interface is very crude when compared to well-known providers like Skype or Raketu. Likewise, you may find their customer care to be lax when experiencing technical difficulties. Many Wengo users depend on their peers to help with any problems.


8. Internetcalls

Pros: Internetcalls is a popular alternative to services like VoipCheap, although they are practically identical. Like VoipCheap, all calls should be free to most destinations. Also, the service is now boasting improved sound quality, which is a relief to those wishing to use it for business purposes.

Cons: If you are a stickler about perfect sound and a short delay, you may wish to go with a larger company for VoIP service. This is a free to cheap program that is mainly used for personal calls, particularly people with friends and family out of the country. A troubleshooting guide can be found at the site, but it isn't as nice or thorough as a paid providers' 24-hour, live customer service.


9. Level3

Pros: Level3 is a giant in the business of communications, so many companies will probably adopt their revolutionary VoIP service in the near future. Businesses can now handle all their toll-free calls through VoIP, thanks to Level3, and this is a completely free service. The prospect is a boon for call centers in particular, as well as offices that conduct a lot of conference calls.

Cons: There aren't any drawbacks to this service to speak of, but it is limited to businesses and probably of no use to individuals making personal calls.


10. Google Talk

Pros: Another PC-to-PC application that is free to use for fellow members, Google Talk offers a very polished and user-friendly interface. BlackBerry addicts will be happy to know that Google Talk is available for free on their handheld lifelines. Also, the newly introduced Google Talk Gadget offers fun tools like YouTube interaction between chatting friends.

Cons: This is a brand new VoIP service, still in beta mode. Any number of kinks could be discovered with Google Talk, despite the brand name backing the software.
Although you can receive free VoIP through any one of the above services/programs, they all have a limitation somewhere. Choosing which is the best one really depends on your needs. If you are looking for unlimited calls to distant lands, in addition to perfect sound and customer support, you may well be better off with a paid service. However, you will certainly save a lot of money if you are able to drop your phone bill in lieu of one of these recommendations.