The VOIP Provider Guide

With dozens of companies releasing dozens of new software modules seemingly every week, it’s always nice to hear when one of the truly decent programs gets a full upgrade. This last week, Truphone released Truphone 3.0 and with it, their first full support of mobile VoIP Software. This new version comes chock full of new features including free mobile calls between all Truphone users and fairly inexpensive calls to everyone else.

It’s also possible now to use SMS over IP, something that furthers the viability of Mobile VoIP in comparison to cell phones. The service itself works right now only with Nokia’s N80 and N95 as well as their E-Series phones, though you can probably expect expanded support in the months to come.

The service is still considered to be in Beta, but with the expansion and inclusion of so many new features, it’s a viable option for anyone with one of Nokia’s new smart phones. The calling feature is fairly inexpensive for those with a means of connecting to data networks and the SMS option is free between other Truphone users and about .15 cents per message to anyone else.

Probably the best feature though is the ability to know when you’re paying for a call and when it’s free, something most companies would cringe at. It will go a long way in keeping phone bills to a minimum and not discovering much too late that that late night call to your girlfriend was actually a billed call. The service also offers a kind of “smart log on” which will automatically seek out and connect to local Wi-Fi access points. When those access points are not available, it’s still possible to access the service over 3G, though the appropriate fees that your cellular service charges will still apply.

What does all of this fancy new software mean for everyone else though? It’s a good picture into the future as to what Mobile VoIP service can and will offer in the coming months. Everyone has been asking what kind of features and quality of service we can expect from Mobile VoIP in the future and the newest version of Truphone is starting to show us exactly what that will be.

Basically, the main problem still remaining is the access points and the cost of Data use over 3G. With newer services constantly offering better features, soon smart phones with the right software will likely be offering better service and call quality over VoIP than what Cell service offers.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 2:43 pm and is filed under VOIP Product Reviews, VOIP News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.