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Cheatsheet - mobile VoIP and WiFi upstarts
By Vivek | January 18th, 2007 at 11:30 pm ET
With an ever increasing number of startups offering services to make your international calls cheaper, it is getting confusing for me to keep track of who offers what. So I sat down and spent the last couple of hours preparing the below shown spreadsheet that bring most of the important factors in one place.
There might be few things out of place, especially for Skype and iSkoot. If you find any corrections, put in the comments and I will update the spreadsheet.
To get the real user opinion, lets also have a poll for some of the startups from above:
on January 19th, 2007 at 3:15 am
Hi Vivek,
Great idea
see below fine-tuning on our part:
First, fring enables PSTN/GSM calls (example: through your Skype out account)
Second, I think it will be interesting to add ‘VoIP over 3G’ column to your table, as true P2P VoIP over 3G is a major technology barrier and somewhat of a differentiator.
cu
Roy
on January 22nd, 2007 at 9:13 am
1. The current Truphone offering offers untariffed calls to SIP VoIP endpoints (Truphone and other open SIP networks) and to 40 countries worldwide (from UK).
2. Truphone will work over WiFi and/or 3G data bearers.
3. As Truphone allows calls to PSTN, this column should show YES, not NO.
James
on January 22nd, 2007 at 9:25 am
Good comparison.
Some clarification for Truphone:
Truphone primarily uses WiFi for VoIP calls. It is possible to use 3G data connections, but users will need to be aware of data costs and allowable use from their operator which may affect the economics and viability of doing so.
Truphone definitely provides dialling out to any PSTN number. We also allocate a standard nationally applicable mobile number for all users in the countries we fully support. This means that all Truphone users are also callable from any PSTN number - and when a Truphone user is not registered to the SIP/VoIP service, we automatically forward to the normal GSM number of the phone, so that the Truphone number actually gives the user wider coverage than the GSM number. the idea is thet we provide a service to the user that is as close to conventional GSM telephony as possible, while giving all the benefits of VoIP.
Additionally, we offer incoming and outgoing SMS over WiFi using the Truphone mobile number.
BR
Alistair
on January 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
All updated! Thanks
on January 22nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Talkonaut works over wifi..
on January 22nd, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Cintra: Works over WiFI means calls routed over WiFi. Talkonaut initially uses data network to connect call and than uses your plans minutes during the call. Talkonaut can use WiFi only for connecting the calls let’s say on Nokia N80 or N90. That doesn’t qualify it for “Works on WiFi”.
on January 25th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Hi Vivek, very very helpful that someone took the initiative to get grips on all of this. We’ll send you an update soon!
on January 25th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
[…] In continuation of my previous post about various mobile Voice20 apps, i have the first poll going on at StartupSquad for past couple of days. Call them innovators or minute stealers, i think they definitely have a chance to change the mobile game. What’s your pick from the list? Take Our Poll from PollDaddy.com Share and Enjoy: […]
on January 26th, 2007 at 1:14 am
I think you need to add www.Symmy.com and www.Barablu.com, tiviphone to your list.
on January 26th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Now Fring supports Symbian Series v3 phones too.
on January 30th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Hi Vivek,
On supported phones I would request the following change:
> 500 J2ME phones supported. Additionally all Internet capable phones are enabled with a WAP version, no download required.
Thanks,
Martin
on February 7th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
[…] Fring and Nimbuzz already support calling to Google Talk and Skype users. As always, all updates get added to the dynamic Mobile VoIP cheatsheet. […]
on February 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
[…] German mobile startup Cellity has finally launched its beta. Co-founded by Sarik Weber, formerly of OpenBC/Xing, Cellity aims to bring down mobile calling costs using its Low Cost Router mobile application. Targeted at pre-paid mobile card users in European countries, the application works on any GSM network independent of mobile operator. Instead of making direct calls using mobile plan, users can install Cellity on their mobile, which performs a tariff check before it routes the call. In case the default route is costlier, Cellity routes the call through the lowest priced option available. Cellity claims 90% cost savings as compared to direct calling, with calling to most of the European countries costing 9 cents/min. Cellity would be taking a small cut out of your savings to drive its business. Right now the application works best with Symbian based phones, and would be compatible with Windows Mobile and Blackberries soon. Cellity’s strength, as compared to other incumbents, lies in being able to reach PSTN numbers directly. Fring uses SkypeOut for PSTN while Truphone is running an offer for free calling to PSTN numbers in limited locations which expires on Mar 31st 2007. […]
on February 15th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
[…] My feeling is give the mobile device market another year as the WiFi enabled devices get wider acceptance and data rates fall. Then Fring, Truphone, Barablu, and Nimbuzz would be all set to shake up the international calling market. […]
on February 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pm
[…] Jargong is another Europe based startup launched late last year working on developing mobile IM app. Jargong lets you login and chat with GTalk, MSN, AIM, ICQ, and Jabber buddies from your mobile phone. Nothing new in that. Number of startups are already doing that among other things. However Jargong is trying to go beyond the standard IM space by integrating photo search/upload/view/sharing and RSS feed support into the mobile client. […]
on February 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
[…] iSkoot had made big news last year when it hooked up with UK mobile carrier 3 to provide Skype based calling plan for its X-Series handsets. As part of the subscription plan, X-Series customers will be able to make unlimited Skype calls(finer print: 5,000 minutes each month. Anything above- account gets suspended) from their Nokia N73. From technology perspective, iSkoot is not really doing the funky voice over data network stuff like Fring. Instead data network aids in browsing part, while calls still go through voice network. […]
on February 28th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
[…] Yesterday Mabber launched a new release of its mobile and web based instant messaging platform. New features include a widget that you can place on your blog and enable people to connect with you while you are on Mabber web or mobile. Nothing new about this feature since it is already offered by few other startups including Wambo, and Meebo. Besides this Mabber has added support for getting alerts for RSS feeds through instant messages and also upgraded its mobile client. I am not sure what new the mobile client upgrade really offers since there are very few details on the site. Even this area is not without major competition that now includes Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Fring, Nimbuzz, Jargong, and few more. […]
on March 13th, 2007 at 5:06 am
Hey this list needs to be a little more complete, you should probably add www.yeigo.com . They support a wider range of phones, windows mobile and more symbian - personally i prefer windows phones so its all the better for me.
on March 27th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
[…] I think with this release guys at Barablu, Fring, Truphone, Nimbuzz………should plan to support BBs ’cause BB users would never-never want to switch to WM or Symbian unless forced by RIM itself Tags:Share and Enjoy: […]
on March 29th, 2007 at 10:29 am
[…] Mobile VoIP startups are striking out one line item after another from their todo list to get onto as many handsets as possible. Couple of weeks back it was Barablu that had enabled support for IP phones. Now Fring users also have access to the same functionality and can get connected to their SIP accounts. And this is possible even from non-SIP enabled handsets. So off you go hooking up your Nokia with GizmoProject to call landlines, GSM, and SIP phones via Fring. Tags:Fring, Mobile mVoIPShare and Enjoy: […]
on April 3rd, 2007 at 2:45 pm
[…] Couldn’t have come up with a simpler name for a mobile wifi calling service: WiFiMobile. Not much of a secret out there as to what the service does. Right now WiFiMobile is operating more at the Nokia device level providing the automation around it’s SIP capabilities. With quite a few startups and mobile carriers competing in the same space I think any upstart would find it difficult to get the traction with users unless they come out with broader device support. Rebtel will be yet another startup trying to steal few users pretty soon. Still everyone has time to buildup atleast for the US market before WiFi enabled devices get into more hands. […]
on April 25th, 2007 at 11:50 am
[…] I had thought EQO had called it quits. Evidently that is not the case. Today the startup that provides chat and Skype-out based calling on mobile phones announced that it has raised another $9 million in funding. EQO had earlier raised $3.5 million in funding last year. To me the investment is like throwing good money after bad money since EQO has really struggled to innovate in the face of competition from big to small companies in the mobile space. It has been more than 1 year since EQO launched and even now EQO’s core product is Skype based calling via your mobile phone. Only problem with that service is it needs to communicate with your PC to make those calls. Not sure many users would fall for that kind of service when Fring, Barablu, Nimbuzz, Truphone get you talking without any middleware or callback technology or paying for anything. In fact they even work on WiFi, so you don’t require a data connection as in EQO. If you ain’t there for Skype calling than you might just satisfy yourself with EQO’s federated IM for your mobile. Since Fring and Barablu even doing that piece, not sure what anyone would install 2 clients to get the same service. […]
on May 5th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[…] Related:Cheatsheet - mobile VoIP and WiFi upstarts […]
on May 9th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
[…] Jajah is along with Rebtel on this, both the startups content playing in the middle ground, while startups like Fring, Barablu, Truphone, and Nimbuzz fight out the battle on the mVoIP space. Was this the right strategy to follow? In hindsight, the plan has been executed to perfection. Both the startups now have established userbase which would act as the perfect launchpad for their nextgen services. Still a lot will depend on how they build on their lead. […]
on June 4th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
[…] Should we even start talking about competition? Naa. Just check our cheat-sheet for bunch of other startups operating in this space besides the carriers themselves. […]
on June 5th, 2007 at 6:50 am
More on Yeigo please, from what I’ve heard its call quality is flawless over wi-fi and it offers a true one-world communications solution. Could u perhaps do a follow-up article?
on June 19th, 2007 at 7:14 am
[…] Nimbuzz is very competitively placed as compared to Fring, Barablu, and Truphone all of which are growing rapidly in Europe and Asia. […]
on October 4th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Sorry, but this list isn’t complete without the second largest IM in the world: MXit
on April 16th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I want to buy