Bobsled has two separate services – Calling and Messaging. As the names suggest, Bobsled Calling allows you to make voice calls and is available for all browsers, iOS, and Android; whereas Bobsled Messaging focuses on messaging (including group messaging) and is available for browsers and Android (with an iOS app coming soon). We will focus on the Bobsled Calling service for this post as the Messaging service is very similar to the Facebook Messenger.

Virtually anyone can use Bobsled Calling – it is available for your browser as well as both Android and iOS devices. So, go ahead and get the appropriate version right now…

To start using the service, just log in with your Facebook account and you are good to go. You will see Facebook contacts and you can chat with them, call them, or leave a voice message. You can also use your address book or the dial pad to call any regular landline or mobile phone in USA, Canada, or Puerto Rico.

You can also use Bobsled on your browser, allowing almost everyone (even those without access to smartphones or tablets) to use the service. You may be required to download and install the Bobsled desktop app to use it on your computer. 

The following video provides a detailed walkthrough and should clarify any doubts that you may have.

Overall, Bobsled is a fairly powerful service. The voice quality is great and the app is relatively stable. I would have loved to see an option to use the service without a Facebook account, but it is not a deal breaker.

More importantly, it is nice to see a wireless operator extending the benefits of VoIP to consumers. Let us hope that other operators learn from T-Mobile and provide such services to their consumers.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, LocalPhone is giving away unlimited free calls to China for 4 days. Here are the details:

1. All calls to standard Chinese landlines and mobiles will be free.
2. If you do not have an account already, you can create a new LocalPhone account  here.
3. Free calls can be made between 16:00 GMT Saturday 21st January and 16:00 GMT Wednesday 25th January (midnight to midnight in China). Check your local times here.
4. There are no limits to the number of calls that you can make or the duration of each call.

You can make calls from your mobile, landline or computer using their different calling options. You can even download their free iPhone app to make calls on the move.

Alternately, if you are in one of the following countries, you can assign local numbers to your contacts and connect straight with them.

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

If you are not in one of these countries, you can use any SIP softphone (e.g., x-lite, Blink) or VoIP compatible device (e.g., OBi110) to make free calls.

Meanwhile, here’s wishing you all a very happy 2012.

Sherman Scholten, VP Marketing at Obihai Technology, was kind enough to take his time out and respond to my questions. Sherman has an impressive background in the telecommunications area. Prior to joining Obihai, Sherman was the Director, Product Marketing, VoIP CPE at Cisco, He also served as VP of Marketing at Sipura Technology and Product Manager at Lucent Technologies.

Here are the excerpts of the interview (AS – Alok Saboo; SS – Sherman Scholten):

About Obihai Technology:

AS: What was the objective behind starting Obihai?

SS: Obihai was founded by experts in VoIP system design and consumer-electronic grade communications hardware manufacturing. Obihai have taken the emerging opportunities in the cloud-computing and cloud services technology domains and applied their vast experience in PSTN and VoIP communications to arrive with a product line and surrounding service approach that is truly unique amongst its peers.

Never before has a product in the classification where the OBi device and applications reside, been able to switch calls with an “any-to-any” architecture involving both physical phone and line connections as well as logical VoIP services utilizing different signaling protocols and mismatched media encoding algorithms. What’s more, devices and applications are able to register and provide their users with service in extremely hostile Internet networking conditions comprised of VoIP unfriendly firewalls and real-time media restrictive IP networking environments.

Obihai Technology strives to serve both the privateer; bring your own device customer as well as the service provider who requires rock-solid premise equipment that supports mass-deployment, remote provisioning and management. Possessing the agility to adapt quickly to the rapidly changing, highly-competitive telecommunications equipment and services landscape given the many new and critically influential market forces coming from the social networking and collaboration communication domains gives Obihai an edge over its competitors. And probably the most important element to providing a great user experience with its products, Obihai regards giving world-class customer service is paramount to operating a successful business.

AS: Can you provide some details about the company, the people behind the company, offices, number of employees, etc.?

SS: Founders

• Jan Fandiranto – President/CEO – University of California Berkeley, Stanford (MS)
• Sam Sin – VP Engineering – University of Massachusetts, University of California Irvine (PhD)
• Size (employee numbers): Not Disclosed
• Location: Campbell, CA (Silicon Valley)

AS: What are the challenges that you are facing as company trying to compete with the Cisco’s of the world?

SS: Being a young company in a marketplace with heavy weight brand names is probably the most challenging. With this, we have found that launching great products that are immediately useful to the end-user helps establish Obihai in the market as a vendor that both end-users and service providers can trust. The excitement that comes from seeing us move quickly to adapt to market and technology opportunities as well as customer demands also lends itself well to meeting the challenge of not being a long-established brand.

About Obihai products:

AS: What are the products/services that Obihai has to offer? What is the fundamental problem that you are trying to solve? Why do you think any of the existing products not meet the requirements that you are trying to address?

SS: OBi100 – 1 FXS Phone Port Telephone Adapter and Voice Services Bridge

OBi110 – One FXO Line Port + 1 FXS Phone Port Telephone Adapter and Voice Services Bridge

OBiON iPhone, iPad, iPod touch – App for use on select iOS devices to enable OBiTALK communication and bridging to other voice services via an OBi device

OBiON PC (formerly OBiAPP) – Middleware app for use with a SIP soft phone to communicate with OBiTALK endpoints from a PC

OBiTALK Calling – Free calling between OBi device and soft clients which can be further leveraged using an OBi device as a bridge to the PSTN.

OBiTALK Circle of Trust and Trusted Caller Authentication – Provides OBi users with the ability to share services with trusted friends and phone numbers

OBiTALK Cloud Services (web portal for device management, configuration)

In the world of VoIP services and cut-rate calling plans, there has typically been a choice/trade-off the user has to make between convenience and cost. The more convenient the greater the cost and the less costly route requires a less than convenient user experience.

Obihai is giving users the convenience of using whatever device they choose to be the most convenient for the application and a way to use it in the most cost efficient manner.

AS: Who is your target customer?

SS: Obihai is focused on VoIP endpoints for consumers and small business. Obihai designs, manufactures and markets hardware phone adapters and software applications with a cloud-service based device management system. The global market for telecommunications services is over one trillion dollars. With that, there are hundreds of millions of people making calls every day with all types of phones and over all kinds of networks. VoIP endpoints and services that run on/in them are more-and-more, becoming the way that most international and domestic calls are made. Many people have realized that making calls to family, friends and colleagues using their in-house (or small business) broadband Internet connections can save them hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year compared to what they currently use.

AS: Why should someone come to you rather than your competitors, e.g., Cisco?

SS: Obihai poses quite a few “reasons” why we are a preferred provider for VoIP communications endpoints and device management solutions:

• Ease-of-Use for BYOD / Non-Technology Savvy Users
• Any-to-Any Service Routing
• Support for Multiple VoIP Protocols
• On-Board / Integrated and Customizable IVR
• Cloud-Based Device and Feature Management
• Integrated Apps for Android and iOS Devices
• Live Support / Customer Care

AS: How do you see these products evolve in the near/distant future? Do you have any new products lined up?

• OBi202 Device: 2 FXS ports with high-speed Ethernet router/switch and USB port.
• OBiPLUS: Small Business Phone System
• 3rd Party and Specialized Application API

AS: What is the possibility of companies like Cisco to introduce some of the features that you currently have in their products? How do you plan to address that challenge?

SS: Everything is possible. Speed to market, execution and innovation are critical to competing in any domain. The icing on the cake is providing great customer service.

AS: What are some of the challenges that you are facing with these products? What are some of the steps that you are taking to mitigate these challenges?

SS: There are many applications that can leverage the OBi platform. The main challenge here is to support critical applications that lend themselves to providing the user with a satisfying experience, but also enable the platform to be extended to new applications not yet conceived to operate in this particular environment.

About the VoIP space in general:

AS: What do you think are the fundamental challenges plaguing the VoIP space?

SS: Ease of use and freedom of choice and ease of use – including making it easy for the customer to get support.

AS: How do you see the industry evolving in the near future?

SS: The ASP (Application Service Provider) hyped in the year 1996 will become a mainstay in the vast landscape of telecommunications. Over the top communication and application access will become a normal way for a company (new start-up or established F500) to offer its customers a valuable service (as well as a lot of useless ones).

AS: What are the few key trends that you have noticed in this space?

SS: Internet Security; Cloud Computing; Social Networks; and Cloud Services

AS: Who are the key players to watch out? Who do you look up to for inspiration?

SS: Amazon – Commerce, cloud computing, adaptation, practical application of technology; Twitter – Community, Cloud service, communication, leverage technology, focus on the user; Google – Given a highly complex application / problem, Google are masters of delivering powerful, precise results quickly and at a massive a scale.

Final Thoughts

It would not be an understatement to say that Obihai Technology is off to a phenomenal start. With a proven platform, Obihai is well placed to take on the Ciscos of the world. Although promising, the future is challenging. They need to protect themselves from their larger rivals (who will be ready with their responses), get their supply chain in order, set up a support structure, etc. 

Here’s wishing them the best for future…

p.s. Don’t forget to check out the VUC podcast with Obihai on some of these issues.

Theodore Levitt, in a classic article in 1984, argued that companies often fail because they are myopic – focusing too narrowly on current products and not on customer requirements. Railroads failed, not because the need was filled by others (cars, trucks, airplanes, even telephones), but because it was not filled by the railroads themselves. Railroads defined their industry incorrectly as railroad-oriented instead of transportation-oriented.

Quarter century later, mobile operators are yet to learn a thing or two from others’ mistakes. Mobile operators are at the center of mobile revolution, but instead of facilitating the movement and positioning themselves at the heart of this revolution, they are trying their best to stifle innovation and tick their customers off. AT&T’s customer satisfaction score has dropped to 66, its worst since 2006; T-Mobile’s ACSI score (70) is at its 5 year low (no prizes for guessing who is the worst of the lot – AT&T). If they do not change course, operators’ fate looks eerily similar to railroads and several other organizations who were left standing on the wrong side of history.

Let us look at some of the things that consumers have to deal with:

Texting Charges:

1. We do not have to get into a lengthy discussion, but suffices to say that text messaging is probably the biggest rip off with a markup of over 6500 percent. We are not even talking international messages.
2. Even receiving text messages is not free, even if you do not want to receive one. Telcos can happily block a number if you are willing to pay them. Further, unlike most countries where the sender pays for the message, in the US both parties are required to pay. 

Voice Charges:

1. Despite the technological advances, an international call can easily run into a few dollars per minute.
2. International roaming is a permit to extortion.

Cell Phone Data Plans:

1. No unlimited data plans.
2. No rollover data, i.e., you cannot rollover your unused data to next month
3. No shared data plans, i.e., each person in your family needs to pay separately for data.
4. Separate charges for tethering even if you are not consuming more data
5. Most carriers force a data plan if you are using a smart phone on their network, even if you do not want to use their data network. If you are in a Wi-Fi zone for the most part, you may not want to pay extra for the data, but unfortunately that is not an option. This is true even if your device is not subsidized by your carrier.

It is nothing short of a miracle that mobile operators can get away with such restrictive policies. Not surprisingly then, consumers are not too happy with their carriers and are looking for ways around them.

Much like the railroads, mobile operators are focusing on their existing products (cellular communications) instead of their customers. By focusing on their existing products, mobile operators are not catering to the needs of their customers – desire to stay connected – and the consequences are there to be seen.

Messaging apps such as JaxtrSMS, Heywire, Global.AQ, TextFree, TextNow, and TextPlus, among several others are already eating into carriers’ revenues. While carriers charge an arm and a leg for texting, these apps typically offer unlimited  worldwide text messages (SMS) for almost FREE. Similarly, VoIP services such as Viber, Skype, Google Voice, and Voxox are offering ultra low-cost (or even free) calls and eating into the long distance revenues, bread and butter of telcos. The rapid proliferation of smart devices has bought such services within reach of millions of consumers who otherwise had to pay through their noses.

Finally, many companies are targeting the last hurdle – last mile access that gives mobile operators a huge advantage. Google has made no bones about its intention to use white spaces – the empty airwaves between broadcast TV channels – to offer “Wi-Fi on steroids” that could seriously undermine carriers’ advantage. Alternative technologies such as WiMAX that can wirelessly deliver high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas and growth in companies offering Wi-Fi hotspots (e.g., Boingo, GoGo) can threaten operators’ hegemony.

Wireless telephony is ripe for disruption and all the signs indicate that telcos may have to pay a heavy price if they fail to adapt. Companies such as Nokia and RIM are paying a price for losing sight of their customers’ requirements.

Wireless operators may be next in line…

Robert Scoble debunked the idea and claimed that “iOS is the king” and that Eric Schmidt is “wrong and will continue to be wrong”. Robert makes some great point and is definitely right in saying that iOS platform has the virality coefficient (that Android lacks currently). In a related posts, RWW and GigaOM note that three out of four developers are writing for iOS first.

Clearly iOS has a huge appeal and the current trends favor iOS, however, I am not sure if iOS will continue to remain developers’ first choice (and even if it does, it may not mean much). Here’s why…

Momentum: Apple reaped the benefits of being a first-mover in the smartphone space. Early entry ensured that developers, and in turn users, got hooked into the Apple ecosystem. Moreover, initial Android devices were nowhere close to Apple’s devices. The Android OS itself was buggy and lacked standardization, further cementing developers loyalties towards Apple. Early inroads by Apple, created switching costs for both developers and early adopters, resulting in the virality factor for iOS.

The virality factor may have been a strong reason for developers to develop for iOS first, however, developers cannot ignore the momentum that Android has developed. Look at the chart below (source Gartner):

There are no doubts that Android now comfortably leads the smartphone space, at least in terms of market share. Android’s accomplishment is even more impressive considering that it appeared almost a year after the first iPhone was unveiled.

Even in terms of app sales, a proxy for developer and consumer interest in the platform, Android is doing very well. To give you some figures, Apple App store that was launched on 10 July 2008 had over 500,000 apps and around 18 billion app downloads by December 2011. Android market, which was unveiled on 22 October 2008, has already passed 10 billion app downloads by December 2011.  

Please note that unlike Apple that only has only app store, Android has at least 4 major stores (Android Market, Amazon App Store, GetJar, Appbrain, etc.). So, the actual app downloads over Android platform is likely to be much higher.

While iOS growth is plateauing, Android seems to have seized the initiative and is growing at a very healthy rate.

Maturity of the platform: It would be safe to say that at least until now iOS was (and probably still is) superior in terms of ease-of-development. The multitude of devices and the lack of standardization led to the fragmentation of Android, making development far more difficult for Android than for iOS, which only has a few devices to support. It is amazing that Android achieved the kind of growth despite these issues.

Google has acknowledged the fragmentation issue and is working aggressively to eliminate that in the future. The latest release of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, seeks to put an end to the fragmentation issue with increased standardization across devices. Early reviews have been very positive and looks like Google is moving in the right direction. Google is also exerting more control over the platform, requiring manufacturers to get Google’s approval of their plans to eliminate fragmentation and inconsistencies. All these factors should significantly ease development and encourage developers to work on Android.

Growth Prospects: Developers are essentially interested in making money and they will invest resources where they will have the maximum impact. While iOS has been the clear winner in the past, the decision may not be obvious in the future. Android has the momentum and is clearly leading in numbers. Android has lot to offer and the number suggests that many users prefer Android over iOS. Further, Android devices are competing across the price spectrum – there are premium devices competing against Apple as well as the more affordable ones. Even if Android users spend less on apps, the absolute number may justify the choice. Amazon’s entry in the Android space provides additional opportunities for developers to work on Android. Finally, given the open nature of Android, there will be lot more devices running Android, offering more potential for developers to make money of it.

Are we asking the wrong question?

Despite this debate on Apple iOS vs. Google Android, we need to answer – so what? Individuals make choices all the time and often (as in this case) the choices are not mutually exclusive. Even if iOS continues to dominate, developing for Android is a must. As Sachin Agarwal suggested that one cannot ignore the growth and developer-friendly environment of the Android platform.

Finally, we need to keep in mind that the mobile space is huge and both iOS and Android have enough room to grow without eating each other’s lunch. Does it really matter if a developer starts developing on iOS instead of Android or vice versa. As long as there are users on Android (or any other platform), developers will serve it.

Please note that I am not suggesting that there will be no differences across the two platforms. They are different by design and these differences will manifest in various forms, but such differences will increasingly be marginal.

Apple and Google have different utility functions and have different objectives; why evaluate both of them with the same yardstick…

Ad-supported calling is not a new business model. We have already seen FreePhone2Phone, CallArc, and CallingAmerica that rely on the similar premise. FreeTring is a similar offering with some nifty features.

After you create an account on FreeTring, you can start earning credits that you will need to make calls. You can earn credits (100 credits = $1) by taking up any of the promotional offers or referring your friends. For every friend you refer, you can earn 5% of the credits that your friend earns at FreeTring for 1 month. FreeTring has several offers that you can take up to earn credits, e.g., filling up surveys, signing up for credit cards, watching videos. The number of credits that you can earn depends on the offers. For example, you can earn up to 2975 credits if you apply for a credit card or 2 credits just to watch a video. The offers are neatly categorized for you to easily pick the ones that you may be most interested in.

Once you have accumulated enough credits, you can start making calls. Unlike other ad-supported VoIP providers, FreeTring offers several ways to make calls.

You can make calls using the web-callback, SIP softphone (e.g., Blink, x-lite), or using a Local Access Number. In case of web-callback, you enter both the numbers and FreeTring will connect your calls. Please note that you will be charged for both the legs. To use FreeTring over a SIP phone, you can use the following SIP settings:

SIP Port: 5060

Username: SEE YOUR DASHBOARD

Password: Your login password

Server: sip.freetring.com

You can enter the same information in any of the mobile SIP client (e.g., Media5-fone) and use FreeTring on a smartphone. Finally, if you are in the US, you can use the local access number (currently only 1 access number available) to make calls. You can find out the rates for various destination here. To give you an illustration, here are the call rates for some of the popular destinations:

Country	Rate (US Cents)	Country	Rate (US Cents)
India	1.6	Pakistan	3.2
Bangladesh	4.3	Russia	3.1
China	1.1	Australia	1.9
Brazil	2.4	Philippines	11.2
Canada	0.2	Colombia	3.1
USA	3.4	UAE	15.6
UK	0.6	Japan	2.7

Admittedly, FreeTring is not for everyone. If you hate the idea of filling up surveys, sharing your details with advertisers, or watching promotional materials, FreeTring is probably not for you. But, if you want to save some money in these tough times, you may want to take a look at FreeTring.

Till next time, happy calling!!

Not to miss out on this opportunity, Rebtel is offering one of such crazy deals this season. If you create a new Rebtel account today and add $10 to your account, your account will be credited $30. That is, $20 in FREE international calling credits.

To get $20 in free calling credits:

1. Click here to go to the Rebtel Black Friday Special page.
2. Create a new account. Please note that this offer will work only with a new account.
3. Make sure you enter tripleup25nov in the voucher code field.
4. Login to your account and add $10 credit to your account.

That’s it, if you have followed the above process correctly, you should see $30 in your account. Please note that this offer is valid for only one day, November 25, (Nov 24 18:00 EST – Nov 26 06:00 EST) and only for new customers.

The promotion reduces the already low Rebtel calling rates by a third. The table below indicates how long can you talk for $10 (under the current promotion) to some of the popular destinations:

Country	Duration (min)	Country	Duration (min)
India	167 min	Nigeria	43 min
Philippines	27 min	UK (mob)	300 min
USA	200 min	Russia (L)	157 min

You can find the exact rates to your destinations here. You definitely cannot get better rates than this. So, hurry up and do not forget to share this great deal with your friends and family…

p.s. You can still enjoy Localphone’s Thanksgiving deal – unlimited free calls to USA.

Localphone is offering unlimited free calls to USA over Thanksgiving to connect you with your loved ones. You can make free calls from 5:00 a.m. GMT 24th November through 5:00 a.m. GMT 28th November (check your local time).

You can call for as long as you want and to as many people as you want without being charged a penny. Localphone offers variety of calling options for you to choose from. You can make calls from your mobile, landline or computer using their different calling options. You can even download their free iPhone app to make calls on the move.

Localphone also offers local numbers in several countries. If you are in one of the following countries, you can assign local numbers to your contacts and connect straight with them.

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

If you are not in the above countries, you can use any SIP softphone (e.g., x-lite, Blink) or VoIP compatible device (e.g., OBi110) to make free calls.

So, go ahead and connect with your loved ones and let them know how you are. Also, do not forget to let your friends and family know about this great deal.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

JaxtrSMS – Free Mobile Texting

JaxtrSMS is a mobile app that allows you to send unlimited free text messages (SMS) to anyone across the world. JaxtrSMS works on both WiFi and 3G and the app is available for almost all platforms – if your phone is capable of running apps, chances are that you should be able to run JaxtrSMS on your phone. So, go ahead and install the app on your device (client for Windows Mobile is coming shortly).

The best part is that the receiver need not have the JaxtrSMS app installed on their phone. If the receiver does not have the app installed, the message will be delivered as a regular SMS. This will work even if they do not have data-enabled device. If, on the other hand, the receiver has the app installed, the message will show inside the app. Please note that if the other person does not have the app installed, they may have to pay for receiving text messages.

You need to register your mobile number to start using the app. You will receive a confirmation  SMS on your mobile. 

The app itself is pretty bare-bones, allowing you to send, receive, and delete text messages. You can also send messages to multiple parties at the same time.

The most important part is that you use your own number, i.e., the message is delivered from your number and not any random number (as long as the regulations permit).

The video below will walk you through the necessary steps:

JaxtrSMS is different from the other texting services (e.g., TextFree, TextPlus or TextNow, or Heywire) as it is the only app that works across the world. “JaxtrSMS wants to replace your SMS”, mentioned Yogesh Patel, CTO Sabse Technologies. JaxtrSMS is currently in beta, but Yogesh seemed very excited about the traction that it has already generated. Students are using the app to keep in touch with their families. Travelers around the world can now both send and receive text messages without paying the astronomical roaming charges. While the app and the basic services will continue to be free, the company hopes to monetize the service through value added services (e.g., premium numbers, ringtones).

I have been testing the service for a few days and the app truly lives up to its tall claims. I tried sending text messages to several parts of the world and all the messages were delivered almost instantly.

It definitely is a must have mobile VoIP (mVoIP) app. Happy texting!!

p.s. Please leave a comment if you face any issues with the app or delivery of messages; the developers will appreciate your feedback.

We are sorry to inform you that due to the rising cost of operations, we have been forced to discontinue the Voxalot VoIP service. This change will be effective from December 31st, 2011.

While it is unfortunate to see pioneering services such as Voxalot bite the dust, such events are necessary for the long term health of the industry. While VoIP has been associated with low cost, we must realize that offering such services do not come cheap. Providers need to incorporate these cost elements into their product offerings. Similarly, consumers must be willing to pay for innovative services.

Now that Voxalot will not be around, here are a few alternatives that you have. For a free SIP account, you may consider GetonSip, Sip2Sip or IdeaSip. To manage multiple VoIP providers, you can look at SIPSorcery.

It definitely is an end of an era!!