Fring for S60v3 is out, Goodbye VOIP, Hello MOIP
Mobile VOIP, or MOIP, has arrived. That’s right. Tommi has announced today that Fring is available for S60v3 devices. What the fring is Fring? It’s a free MOIP app for your phone that DOES NOT require a PC in any way, shape, or form. It is completely mobile, and it allows you to use EDGE/3G/WiFi to connect to Skype or Gtalk for MOIP and IM.
There’s also a very active thread on Howardforums here with the developer answering and addressing lots of questions. Olly pointed this out to me the other day and I have to say we both applaud the developer for being active on the forums. Yes they have their own site, but they’re obviously one of few mobile developers that go straight to where there is a high concentration of potential users and start working there. I love it.
However…
I have to confess, I have no fringing idea what the big hoopla over MOIP is. People were going nuts to get Skype on their mobile phone. Why? Unless you make alot of international phone calls, I can’t see the benefit of Mobile VOIP (which I’m officially dubbing "MOIP").
Any carrier in the US requires a voice plan before you can get a data plan. And the cheapest voice plan is $40/month. So you’re already paying that much, you might as well use those minutes. I guess if you’re a high talker you could drop the minutes down and just use your unlimited data package, but still, you now have to give people TWO phone numbers to call you on. Do you simply say, "if it’s after the 20th of the month, I’m out of cellular minutes, call me on this other number." ??
Anyone care to chime in with why you use VOIP for me, and if you’re now going to switch to MOIP?
My father has been waiting for something like this. He only uses one phone number anyway, his cell number, with judicious forwarding. The problem is that Cingular reception sucks at his home, and he’s not allowed to use a cell at the hospital where he works. With MOIP he can ditch the landline at home. Sure, he might have to forward his cellphone to his cellphone (Cingular to MOIP), but that’s not so bad.
Potential benefits of VOIP / MOIP:
-Free international calls (like you said), saves a heck of a lot of money
-Merging of PC phone calls and conventional phone network calls, people looking at their Skype lists while using their computer will be able to contact you even when you’re out and about. People won’t ever be out of range of any phone service.
-Lets you use the same number whether you’re calling on the move or calling through VOIP
-Lets you use the same service on many different types of infrastructure (wi-fi, USB or bluetooth passthrough on your PC, mobile phone networks, wimax etc). It separates the application from the network, basically.
…but yeah, as long as mobile data use is expensive this is of limited use. That won’t be the case forever though, the average price of data now is a fraction of what it was 5 years ago, and in another 5 or 10 years the landscape could have changed completely, allowing things like MOIP to take over from conventional phone calls.
@ Colbey, sounds like your dad is a key potential for Fring. Hopefully it’ll work out for him!
@ Krisse, I think as long as I have a mobile number, MOIP is something targeted towards others. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a neat concept, and something I could see a potential in, but as long as I’m paying for cellphone minutes, there’s no reason I shouldn’t use them.
However, your 4th point, which is basically an extended idea of UMA, is dead-on. Business 2.0 magazine had an article about that last year and I scoffed while reading it, till UMA was announced. The idea that your phone (or any device, really) could use whatever wireless frequency is available, regardless of anything else, is absolutely fascinating.
OP: “Any carrier in the US requires a voice plan before you can get a data plan. And the cheapest voice plan is $40/month.”
I know carrier subsidies are the usual way to get phones in the US, and they’re tied to these contracts, but is there nothing else available? I live in Finland, and here’s my situation:
I bought my Nokia E60 separately from a store and transferred the SIM card over from my old phone. I have a GSM plan with very low fixed monthly cost (2-3 euros) and pretty low euros-per-minute cost for calls. I also noticed that I’m automatically able to use the operator’s 3G network but it’ll cost me 1.5 euros per MB. That’ll soon get expensive, but for now I’ve only been using it occasionally to check public transportation time tables on the fly. My monthly bill is mostly 10-15 euros for calls, text messages and data combined.
The mobile carriers have been very careful with introducing real unlimited data plans. They start at almost 20 euros a month. By using MOIP, I could go with that plan without increasing my monthly bill much, however.
Having these options makes me feel like I still have some power as a consumer. :p
Well,
You say hey I just got this new free number that I can add up to 7 other numbers so now no matter what you can call me. This service is from GrandCentral.com That that way you don’t need two numbers, or if you have two phone you have a work phone and a play phone for going out.
Mark
I can’t believe how fast our world develops.I only yesterday bought my VOIP service and now I read that a new better edition has been released.Very interesting indeed.
Moip? Sounds cool! Does every cellphone service provider have this service? Ill just check it out at information of cell phone service providers http://www.bestcellularphoneserviceplans.com .
I didn’t know that there is not only a VOIP but a MOIP too.I look for some additional information about it but it sounds like something interesting and useful.
Remember that Skype also provides some level of encryption of the call, whereas standard voice calls are always easy to monitor