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Voip calling!

Question

So if you transfer a call from EDGE (or 3G) to WiFi, what's going on? Getting the audio connection to switch to an internet address? I don't get it.... Do you pay less for each minute, or only pay for the time until you switch the call over to VoIP?
 
Great stuff.

I'm sure there will be a flurry of these available officially. Maybe even skype will join the fray. But the voice->wifi transfer ability is awesome. I can see being at home and getting a cell phone call, "...uh, you're breaking up, hang on, let me switch to wifi."

Hopefully they can get enough funding to get some wireless lavalier mics for the next demo. :)
 
I fully intend to use this program as much as possible when it is released. 450 minutes a month is really cutting it close with my cell phone use and I'd like to accumulate some rollover minutes.
 
So if I'm at home and someone calls me would the call immediately come through over VoIP and bypass the cell provider completely?

Which would be cool because my cell signal sucks in my house!
 
jasonfj said:
So if I'm at home and someone calls me would the call immediately come through over VoIP and bypass the cell provider completely?

Which would be cool because my cell signal sucks in my house!
Click to expand...

No. You have to manually transfer it as programs aren't allowed to run in the background.
 
I guess I'm missing something, but I don't see how transfer from cell to wifi is possible without either cooperation of the carrier (i.e. how it works with T-Mobile Hotspot @ Home, etc.) or using another number (i.e. give out this new number which your sip provider decides to ring through to VOIP or your actual cell line).

If you want the cell minutes out of the equation, I can't see how they could do it without one of those.

Needing to use a new "follow me" number seriously cramps the potential for this project.
 
JBaker122586 said:
No. You have to manually transfer it as programs aren't allowed to run in the background.
Click to expand...

although i agree -- the website says, make AND receive calls using VoIP...so something tells me that there will be either a new number or some way it runs in the background. either way, look forward to using it -- downloading it as soon as i can!
 
jimleszczynski said:
Wow!

This is a fantastic idea!
How can they provide a service like that for free though?

Release date ne one?
Click to expand...

I doubt it will be 100% free, but you never know. If it follows their regular VOIP service, calls are only free in certain parts of the world (US/Canada) and those calls are limited to 5 minutes.

To get more you have to pay there per minute rate, just like other VOIP/SIP providers.
 
hhmm....

Well Making out going calls may be nice....but you guys don't use the at&t feature Called call forwarding? I have had it for years. You pay 2.99 extra a month and it allows you to transfer ANY incoming call to a LAND line only but when you do it dose not take away from any of your anytime minutes.....I use this all the time. Now its not even something I need to think about, once I'm out of my car walking up my steps to my home I use call forwarding.........and if I make a call I'll just say "hey can you call me back really quick I'm in a bad area" lol :) then they call back and it's free all day.

Think about it if you have a desk job with your own direct line...or once you walk threw the door at home:)

That is why one of my complaints of the iphone is I wish they would let you make a home screen icon of some of the applications on the iPhone.....such as make a blu tooth icon on the home screen,or make a call forwarding icon on the homescreen....cause everyday I have to hit,settings,phone,callforwadring,on.
 
Not too big a deal but be aware of this... from their FAQ

The number displayed on the caller id of landlines and mobile phones when making a call from iCall will be one of our "pool" numbers and can change from call to call.

If you use iCall Pro the Caller ID will show your personal telephone number

How much does iCall Pro cost?
iCall Pro costs just $4.99 per month and is billed in 3 month intervals of $14.97

International calls ( outside of U.S. and Canada ) are of course on a per minute basis.

This service is already available for Windows users. It is great for people who travel overseas. They can call any number in U.S. and Canada for free. That should be quite a big money saver.
 
dangleheart said:
Not too big a deal but be aware of this... from their FAQ

The number displayed on the caller id of landlines and mobile phones when making a call from iCall will be one of our "pool" numbers and can change from call to call.

If you use iCall Pro the Caller ID will show your personal telephone number

How much does iCall Pro cost?
iCall Pro costs just $4.99 per month and is billed in 3 month intervals of $14.97

International calls ( outside of U.S. and Canada ) are of course on a per minute basis.

This service is already available for Windows users. It is great for people who travel overseas. They can call any number in U.S. and Canada for free. That should be quite a big money saver.
Click to expand...
Interesting about the pro version showing your number, i didn't realize that.. but hey if i could reduce my minutes to 450 for 5 bucks a month and save that much i'd do it in a second! so what your saying is i could be in england and call the states for free? (as long as i'm from the state originally that is)
 
so what your saying is i could be in england and call the states for free? (as long as i'm from the state originally that is)
Click to expand...

Yes. In fact, I do not think you need to be originally from the U.S. Anyone in the world can dial U.S. and Canadian numbers for free, if you have a decent high speed internet connection. If I go by their web site, you should be able to get a north american number and so anyone from Canada or U.S. should be able to call you on that number as well. If you have a windows box, you can already try this out.

I am not sure what their business plan is. May be they expect to convert a certain % of people to Pro.
 
dangleheart said:
I am not sure what their business plan is. May be they expect to convert a certain % of people to Pro.
Click to expand...

I 've used iCall on windows and yes, I think you really need Pro. There was a difference in call quality. That's right... they detect whether you are using iCall or iCall Pro.

When using regular iCall, no one could recognize my voice and it kept cutting in/out. With Pro, calls where better, but still not up to snuff.

And as I said in an earlier post, regular free calls are limited to 5 minutes (using their softphone on Windows).

What i'm most interested in though is to see how well they can "integrate" with the iPhone. I'm using Fring amd SipGate right now. Both dialer apps are less than ideal for a number of reasons, but the big 3 for me are:

1) no DTMF
2) no access to my "regular" phone contacts
3) no hands-free

If they don't have these added, you'll quickly see how cumbersome it can be using an app like this on the iPhone.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

Will this work on my iPhone if I cancel my plan? I'm sick of paying for 3 internet connections: wife and I have iPhones plus connection at home. As awesome as the iPhone is I have to cut costs somewhere and that's a quick $40 a month just to have the occasional use somewhere besides home. If this works well I'll even cancel my phone plan and use my iPhone for a landline.
 
rioja said:
I 've used iCall on windows and yes, I think you really need Pro. There was a difference in call quality. That's right... they detect whether you are using iCall or iCall Pro.

When using regular iCall, no one could recognize my voice and it kept cutting in/out. With Pro, calls where better, but still not up to snuff.

And as I said in an earlier post, regular free calls are limited to 5 minutes (using their softphone on Windows).
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info on the 5 minute call. I wish they had mentioned that in their web page somewhere, even if it is in one of their FAQ. I am sure this is indeed a frequently asked question!! It makes sense they limit it to a 5 minute call. In whole sale, it costs a penny to make a call and so 5 cents a call with the hope of converting some of them to a Pro user sounds like a business plan, whether it works or not. There are also other ways of making money once you have millions of consumers, even if free.

Pro does not cost too much, so it may still be a good deal for people from other countries to call U.S. if they have a need.

"No DTMF", I understand why, though they should be able to fix it. That is going to be a pain if you reach those pesky IVR systems.
 
There's already a Skype web app for the iPhone, in case anyone didn't know. But this should be good, especially if it uses Skype, or if Skype were to come out with their own program.

In any case, TMobile has been doing VOIP for a while now with Hotspot at home. You just have to buy a capable phone and you then use your internet connection to make calls.
 
Would iCall Pro work with outgoing calls? It seems like most of the examples are people calling in and then the person receiving the call switching over to wifi.
 
Bassassin said:
Would iCall Pro work with outgoing calls? It seems like most of the examples are people calling in and then the person receiving the call switching over to wifi.
Click to expand...

yep there was a dial pad and the faq says make free incoming and outgoing calls i believe
 
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