Talkonaut native Symbian S60 Mobile VOIP Client released

The good old Fring and Truphone is about to get some serious competition from the new players
such as Tringme and now Talkonaut. Tringme Mobile VOIP client is almost ready and currently being tested in-house. Today we discuss about Talkonaut native (SIS) Symbian S60 edition.

Now you must be wondering why we should install another Mobile VOIP application when I already have Fring and Truphone? Well the reason being, each mobile voip application has it's advantages and disadvantages. Largely, I would disqualify Truphone being a Mobile VOIP application developer for the simple reason that their application doesn't work with other providers. The reality is truphone is a mobile voip provider and heck they are good at it. Fring is a truly mobile voip application developer and now Talkonaut (sounds like a russian name to me) will directly compete with them.

As Ruslan (Founder of Gtalk2voip & Talkonaut)noted down,

"During last 6 months our team had been working on two major improvments to our Talkonaut mobile application:

1. Moving Talkonaut application to native Symbian S60 platform, and
2. implementing real VoIP stack that allows Talkonaut users to make voice calls over most data connections your mobile phone might have, such as: GPRS, EDGE, 3G and WIFI. With this new 4th release of Talkonaut we present our achievments in these directions, we believe all they make Talkonaut more consistant, outstanding and break-through mobile VoIP + Chat application ever available.

Lets look at what features they offer in Talkonaut:

1) Talkonaut 4.0 was entirely rewritten in C/C++ and now runs on Symbian S60 2nd and 3rd edition based Nokia smart-phones. Moving from Java to native platform allowed to reduce memory usage, improved speed and to add some functionalities that were not previously available for Jave applications, like VoIP, access to file local system (improved file transfer) and interaction with other applications (Web Browser for opening URLs right from chat window).

2) Using a set of narrow-band Speex codecs and relying on Jingle Audio extension to XMPP protocol (same as implemented in Google Talk), Talkonaut now brings to the world a very powerful combination of IM chat, Presence and VoIP calls made over data connection. Unlike standard SIP stack, that is available on some Nokia smart-phones, Talkonaut is not bound to WIFI only, and can make calls over GPRS, EDGE, 3G or WIFI. Talkonaut does not require to do any VoIP configuration and overcomes all the hassle with SIP settings.

3) Talkonaut 4.0 allows to make or receive free VoIP calls to Google Talk users, to SIP phones, to MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ voice capable IM clients, as well as to other Talkonaut fellows.

4)*Highly Recommend Feature*: Talkonaut 4.0 allows to define any number of SIP accounts and use them to make free or cheap calls over third-party VoIP/SIP carriers. A flexible Dialing Plan feature is helpful for choosing routes to destinations between different carriers.

5) Talkonaut 4.0 runs on the following sets of Symbian S60 based Nokia smart-phones:

2nd Edition: 3230, 6260, 6600, 6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6682, 6682, 7610, N70, N72, N90 3rd Edition: 3250, 5500, 5700, 6110, 6120, 6121, 6290, E50, E51, E60, E61, E61i, E62, E65, E70, E90, N71, N73, N75, N76, N77, N80, N81, N81 8GB, N82, N91, N92, N93, N93i, N95, N95 8GB

Besides the standard Mobile VOIP client feature, Talkonaut really impressed me with their Flexible dialing plan feature. I still remember using Gtalk2voip dialing plans to make free or cheap worldwide calls. You don't have to maintain 10000 SIP accounts and of course you can route your calls via specific provider for specific country. Great feature.

If you are already bounching on your chair to try talkonaut, then give them a shot. Download Talkonaut from Mobile
Download talkonaut from Web

Rebtel VOIP foul play ?

We all know Rebtel is a popular Mobile VOIP, well actually VOIP on mobile service. Here on Free Voip Hacks, we mentioned about Rebtel numerous times. However Recently, we received a negative review which might interest Rebtel Management to review their policies.

A visitor on VOIP Guide posted a comment on one of our older post which really got my attention. It's worth reading.

Ironically, the name of the comment posted was Rebyell :-) Still don't get it?

Here is the Rebtel VOIP (negative) Review:

I was a huge rebtel fan, operative word being WAS there. Here is my story, I will try to be factual and leave the emotion out as hard as that may be.

My in laws are from Russia, my wife like talking to her family. It is very important to me that she be able to communicate with them on a regular basis since it helps with her overall sense of well being.

Many months ago I saw CNN do a story on the top 10 next big companies and one was rebtel, they even show you how to make free international calls. So I looked into. I went to their website and looked at the posted rates, which were 1.9 for Russia. I thought wow this is great. So I signed up and told my wife the great news, she could call even more often now because these rates are awesome. Fast forward approximately 4 months. First thing I notice is that all my contacts went from being labled Russia to Kazahkstan, now my inlaws do not live in Kazahkstan they live in Russia, on of the older cities in Russia. At first I thought well computers are not perfect so maybe it was just a glitch, until my wife made a call and we were charged quadruple (a new rate of 7.9 cents a minute) what we had been on previous calls. Apparently Rebtel now designated my Russian inlaws as living in Kazahkstan even though they live in Russia, neat trick. So I did what any one would do I contacted them and asked what happen and why were my in laws being listed as Kazahkstan when they live in Russia. I didn't get an answer to my Kazahkstan question but the politely told me that they are constantly buying time from different vendors and sometimes the rates change, when this happens it is just too monumental to try and notify every user. The customer service rep also pointed out that the TOS state that rates can change with no advanced warning.

Now I thought ok I dont like it but yes they can change any time without advance notice and their TOS state this. So I look into this a bit further and find that the advertised rate for Kazahkstan is 4.8 cents a minute and Russia is still listed as 1.9 cents a minute yet my inlaws who are listed as kazahkstan have a rate of 7.8 cents a minute. WOW is this what you call a bait and switch, where I come from this gets your business license pulled and everyone filiing law suits.

I hope Rebtel guys read this and post a clarification.

Why I posted this?

Because, I believe Free Voip Hacks is a strong medium to communicate to the companies about their possible flaws/issues. We have proven in the past that it works. I remember hearing from Betmax when we posted about Nonoh Billing Issues.

We hope this platform will solve your worries about being cheated or ripped off by a VOIP Company. Do let us know your stories/review. Of course not just the negative ones. By the way before you try to write a negative competitor review, Let me tell you It won't be published. Only honest reviews are welcome. So go ahead and send in your reviews at shivkokroo@gmail.com

Fring VOIP releases new version

The undisputed leader in Mobile VOIP applications market, Fring has released a new version of their client adding more features to the already bulky feature list.

Fring's new version now makes Fring Mobile VOIP application a file transfer utility. The new version allows fringsters to swap music tracks, pictures, video clips and other files between each other, from mobile to mobile and mobile to PC quickly and reliably without the need for MMS, cable, Bluetooth, or Infrared connections and without additional cost as it uses the phone's internet connection.

As you may already know, Fring integrates almost all popular IM client such as Google Talk, Yahoo messenger and Skype. On top of it, Fring allows you to setup a SIP provider and make calls via that SIP provider. Technically extending the Fring Mobile VOIP capability to make calls to PSTN and Mobile networks.

Fring Team released 3.30 and later found issues with WIFI connectivity. They immediately released a newer version called 3.30.6. The latest version 3.30.6 addresses the issue they had with WiFi connectivity.

I myself didn't yet test the latest version but will be doing so next week. My VOIP testing lab is currently full with huge list of VOIP products/services to be tested.
My good old N95 crashes sometimes when it can't take the load of latest beta releases :-) Fring has however never crashed my N95, Fringers crossed :-)

I will soon be posting my wish-list for Fring including some of the latest Mobile VOIP products/services.

So if you want to test the new Fring Mobile VOIP before i do, Hop over the Fring and Download Fring 3.30.6

Blyk offers UK free calls

Not many companies in today's market offer free UK calls, really hardly any. Those who do have to cover their cost via funding or advertising. The ad based VOIP model has been tested in the past but doesnt seem like working good for those VOIP providers.

Thanks to Sriram, our regular reader to share a new provider called Blyk. So whats Blyk? Its a mobile service which lets you send 217 free texts and 43 free minutes, to any UK network.

How can you join the service?
- Be 16-24 years old
- Live in mainland Britain
- Have an unlocked mobile phone with picture messaging (MMS)
- Have a Blyk invite code

If anyone has a Blyk code, please share with others. Overall, this looks promising of they give UK mobile free calling minutes. Blyk is not a mobile VOIP service, its just a good old advertising model plugged into Mobile.

Remember Blyk makes money through advertising so when you share your mobile number, be ready to receive ads through SMS and MMS. I hope they do voice based advertising to really bug you :-)

1 million free calling minutes

The festive season is knocking the doors in China, as more and more VOIP providers are trying to cash on the opportunity and rake in more $$$. However a few generous ones are actually giving away some FREE CALLS in a bid to gain large customer base.

Rebtel a leading Mobile VOIP provider is offering 1 million free minutes to China from anywhere in the world and calls from Shanghai to the USA and Canada during 7-21 Feb.

If you already have a rebtel account, you don't have to anything fancy just sit and wait for 7th Feb. You will get the free minutes automatically on 7th Feb onwards till 21st Feb. Those who do not have a rebtel account, there is another good reason to Signup

For newbies, lets see how Rebtel works.

1) Rebtel give us the phone number of a friend in another country, and they give you a local number for them.

2) Save this number on your mobile so you can call your friend whenever you want, for a fraction of your normal international rate.

Also remember according to campaign TOS,

- All users are eligible to participate in the Chinese New Year Campaign. (Thumps Up for this one)
- Each user is entitled to a maximum of five hours of calls
- Please note that Rebtel may terminate this Campaign at any time prior to 21st of February 2008 (00:00:00; GMT+8) at Rebtel’s sole discretion.

A professional way to say don't abuse or else we will kick your a$$ :-)

At the end of the day, Remeber Rebtel costs you a Local Call + Rebtel Rates. So effectively during the chinese new year, you would be calling your friends in china or in usa/canada at local calling rate.

If any VOIP provider is offering similar offers, please contact us. Last but not the least, Kung Hei Fat ChoY!!! GONG XI FA CAI!!! Woot Woot I learned chinese finally :-)

Gizmo5 offers Free calls via Backdoor Dialing method

It seems people are now inspired by Free VoIP Hacks :-)There were times, when we used to be the only people finding some great hacks to make free calls around the globe. It seems now even mainstream commercial companies are participating and finding new loopholes to make free calls.

A leading VOIP firm, SIPPhone (guys behind Gizmo Project) have started offering a grey root method (they call it backdoor dialing) to make free calls to USA.

According to Gizmo5, SIPPhone's mobile VOIP service, Approximately 11% of US telephones, including mobile numbers and land lines from carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc., are connected via VoIP. Working with telecom partners we are now making it possible to dial these numbers without going through the traditional phone system.


However since its just 11% of the USA lines, you can't possibly call all USA phone lines for FREE. They built a FREE Phone finder which will tell you if the target number can be dialed for free or not.

They are basically bypassing the PSTN routes to save on termination cost. Its a great thinking and I wish they could extend this to internation destionations and not just USA. USA is given away FREE by any tom dick and harry these days.

How do you make calls using Backdoor Dialing?

Using Gizmo5 software on any Mac/Win/Lin computer simply dial the prefix 0101 and then the desired telephone number. For example, 0101 858-555-1212

Alternatively, You can download Gizmo 5 for Mobile and make calls. Of course, you need to connect to Gizmo 5 via Wifi, 3G or GPRS. You can also set it up on ATA or SIP Phone.

Lets hope this last long. This is probably the second time, I liked Gizmo. The first time when I hacked into original GizmoCall program and converted 5 mins call into 40 minutes per day. Alas they fixed it later. Now I kinda like them, ain't they now officially ethical backdoor hackers?

I can't imagine how traditional telecom companies would be responding to this but I can guess they won't be throwin in a party soon.

Did I hear Pat Phelan singing, "Die AT&T die?" :-)