TalkPlus Beta - AWESOME Potential
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of being able to beta test TalkPlus’ new mobile application on both my N95 and N75, and I can say that this is an awesome service that’s fixing to get even BETTER with the release of a few key features.
What is TalkPlus? There’s 2 products. The first is basically VOIP, cheaper long distance calls. Since I have free long distance in the US, and don’t really call people internationally that much (I honestly don’t call people that often, period), I stick with the other service, which is called Multiline. Basically, it allows you to have 2 fully (almost) functional mobile numbers on one phone, without needing 2 SIM cards. Here’s how it goes down….
When you sign up for TalkPlus, you get your own virtual number for free. They have ALOT available from different zip codes around the country, and are adding more constantly. Once you get your number, you send yourself an SMS (to your mobile number) with a download link. It’s a quick download and installation, and a lightweight (in terms of RAM) application.
You get this awesome dashboard screen, which is really the only thing you interact with. Highlighting a specific line activates that number, and all outgoing calls use that number. There’s also a little icon that shows up on your Idle screen to show you which line you have active. To accomplish this, they’re using a number redirect, as far as I can tell. It calls one of their servers, which redirects the call. Thus, it’s only using your cellphone minutes, with very little data used.
Within the interface, you can select a different icon for the lines (called Profiles) and can rename them. Also, apparently in the future, you will be able to import numbers that you already own into the application, with up to 10 different numbers, all easily selectable from the Dashboard screen.
The best part of the whole thing, though, in my opinion? The phonebook integration. You can access the phonebook through the application, or you can simply go to your contacts, it doesn’t matter. AND, if you take a little bit of time in the application, you can go through your phonebook and designate a default line for any given number. Thus, you can have your personal and work contacts all intermingled, and can simply call either one and the application will intelligently use the designated line to call that person. That is what I call brilliance. Caller ID will show the appropriate line on the receiving end, as well.
So, why is this application useful? Who cares? Everyone. Why do I use it? I have 2 mobile numbers. One is for work, and one is for personal. Without TalkPlus, I only have 2 options - either carry 2 phones (which is a huge pain, 2 batteries to worry about, 2 chargers, etc) or forward all my calls from one line to the other. The problem with that is outgoing calls. There’s no way to spoof the Caller ID, so I either give away my personal number when I call, or I have to call with Caller ID disabled, which most people won’t answer an "Unknown Number" call on their mobiles (I know I don’t).
Thus, TalkPlus solves my problem. The same would work for Doctors, Salespeople, Lawyers, anyone who wants a private number but doesn’t want to juggle multiple phones.
What are the current limitations? Right now, you can’t import your existing number into the application. For me, this is crucial. However, the capability is coming. And soon. After that, I will be 100% sold on TalkPlus. 100%. Also, SMS doesn’t work. That is also something coming down the line.
As part of the beta test, I was able to have a phone conference with Jeff Black and some other TalkPlus people. I was really impressed at how hungry for feedback they were, and I felt like they were writing down everything I said. The app doesn’t take up much internal RAM, so it’s easy to leave running all day in the background. The only improvement I would make to the app is somehow tell the phone that it’s a system app, and shouldn’t be closed.
Other than that, this is an AWESOME service. It’s like having dual-SIMs, only software based, and you don’t have to reboot your phone to switch lines. FANTASTIC.
Ciao RCadden,
It’s been a while since I started reading your blog and I always thought you were awesome. Now I’ve gotta say this application bests you. It’s truly cool and with a huge potential considering the number of countries supported. Where do you get this stuff??? :p
Seriously: my sincere congratulations for your blog from a VoIP (and electronic gadgets in general) addicted.
Any idea how long your N95 could last with this app on and running?
Thanks for reading. It runs fine all day. Really, the RAM and battery usage are minimal. It doesn’t keep a constant connection to the internet. It uses very minimal data. I leave it on 24-7 and don’t have a noticable difference in battery life.
This is something that should exist for so long now!
I always wanted to have 2 sims in my phone and not needing to restart it to change the line. This is not it, but it’s a step into that direction!!
Good work