Vonage app available for iPhone, BlackBerry
Vonage Mobile for the iPhone, iPod Touch.
(Credit: Vonage)Voice over Internet Protocol service provider Vonage on Monday announced that it has launched its first mobile apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry devices.
Dubbed Vonage Mobile, the company's free VoIP app enables users to place international calls from their mobile devices. iPod Touch owners can do so by placing calls through Wi-Fi. BlackBerry owners will transmit calls over the cellular network only. iPhone owners will be able to place calls from Wi-Fi or through AT&T's network.
According to Vonage, its app will help users save up to 50 percent on international calling charges levied by carriers. After downloading the app, users need to enter an international number. They can also select a call recipient from their existing iPhone or BlackBerry contacts list. Those who receive calls will see the user's cell phone number on their caller IDs. Charges will be taken against the user's credit card, which they need to input when they first start using the app.
For now, Vonage is offering per-minute rates. The company said in a statement that by the end of the year, it will offer the Vonage World plan to users. Vonage World for home users currently allows them to make calls to more than 60 countries for $24.99 per month.
Vonage's app launch comes on the heels of controversy over whether Google's similar Voice app should have been denied access to Apple's App Store. The debate still rages on.
Vonage's new mobile app is available now in Apple's App Store and Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World. Both versions are free.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
I was one of their earliest customers but I had to drop them recently because the service became unusable. I spent many hours on the phone helping them diagnose their problems to no avail. And then they tried to blame me and my setup. Who has the time for this?
I've switched to lightyear. Not a single problem so far after several months.
With an increase in VoIP offerings on mobile devices, mobile carriers need to revisit their pricing plans. With 80+ percent of the time spent in wifi enabled areas (home, work, etc.), why would anyone not utilize free services such as Google Voice and Google Talk (an SMS service).
It's an example of the principle of Freemium offered in Chis Anderson's latest book, "Free". Google will eventually prevail. It's difficult to compete with Free.
- by Saeed_Khan October 5, 2009 11:32 PM PDT
- Vonage is taking over mobile market very fast. @ Davis: pointed right in first look i thought its a truphone or Vopium interface only that V sign make it different.
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