We’ve already been there for iPhone VoIP, but what about all you BlackBerry users? What do you do for cheap calls on your BlackBerry? Do you use a phone card or an override provider to cut costs?
Fortunately there is another way to make cheap calls on your BB: VoIP. There is a choice of mobile Voice over IP apps and services for BlackBerries that let you make cheap calls, send text messages, IM with friends and even transfer files on the fly. These are mostly free downloads, but some are also web-based which makes them even easier and more convenient to use.
So without further ado, here are the best BlackBerry VoIP apps, services and tools. Go and check them out!
Read the rest of this entry »
For the average user the tariffs for iPhone usage, specifically in relation to voice calls, are more than enough to suffice. However, even several hundred minutes included for free per month aren’t enough for some users. And if you are a globetrotter making a lot of long distance and international calls then you’ll know just how costly a call home can be. So what do you do about?
The answer: VoIP for iPhone. With a choice of softphones available now for iPhone, there’s literally no limit to the number of calls that can be made for free or at a massively reduced rate.
Some of the iPhone VoIP solutions we’ve listed below are so slick and well integrated that they’ll blow your mind, while others require a little bit of tinkering. Nevertheless, if you’re looking to save money on your calls with mobile VoIP, particularly if you frequently travel internationally, there’s plenty to get started with!
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s easy to blame your ISP for declining broadband speeds, but while the ISP most certainly has a part to play, there are many things closer to home that can negatively or positively affect your broadband speed.
I write this post out of conviction and experience. I’ve been there in the trenches suffering painfully slow broadband connection speeds that boggle the mind. I’ve done all the tests, had the engineers out and paid far too much for phone calls to support that really didn’t help.
I’ve put together this list of tips, segmented into hardware and software, that will help you to optimise your broadband speed. Try them out one-by-one and hopefully you’ll improve the the speed of your internet connection!
Read the rest of this entry »
Just in case you haven’t noticed, recently I’ve been on a total video conferencing tirade. During this time I have written about a relatively new service (to me anyway) called MeBeam, developed by Ashod Apakian.
MeBeam is a browser-based video conferencing service that uses Flash for video and audio conferencing right from within your browser. The beauty of this approach is that there is nothing download and nothing to install, it just works. One of the great things about MeBeam is that it isn’t just cheap, it’s free!
Ashod contacted me about a new feature he was working on: free multi-person Skype video conferencing. Naturally, I was intrigued. It turns out he has managed to integrate MeBeam with the Skype contact list so that you can easily organise an ad hoc video conference. This fulfills a much-needed functionality that is missing from Skype but comes as standard with alternatives such as SightSpeed.
So how does this work?
Read the rest of this entry »
When you work in a company you’ll probably work alongside coworkers with all sorts of technological skills. Some will be geniuses and able to tackle web conferencing like a knife through butter, but there will inevitably be those who struggle with the perceived complexity of it.
I do think that there are image issues with web conferencing. It has a reputation of being difficult to setup and use, when in reality that is mostly an unjustified stigma. So what makes a good web conferencing service?
I like to think that web conferencing should be simple as in, elegant. Easy to use. Feature rich but not bloated. Navigable even for uninitiated users. Compatible with a variety of operating systems. Now obviously many web conference services won’t tick all these boxes (and there’s nothing to say that even if it did it would be the best) but these are the many facets of a good service.
If I was asked right now to recommend a business video conference service for use in an office where there are varied skillsets, here are the services I would feel happiest using. They’re the simplest and the most elegant. They’re also the ones that should mean less time on the phone with tech support!
Read the rest of this entry »
