A new version of Truphone, a VoIP application for S60 phones, is nearly finished and is available now in free beta form from the Truphone blog. The new version, Truphone 3.0, includes the ability to make VoIP calls over a 3G connection, better managing of multiple WiFi access points as well as the ability to have your incoming VoIP calls forwarded to your standard mobile number when you don’t have access to a wi-fi point.
Bear in mind that pretty much all operators are a bit cold on VoIP so be sure to check that using the application won’t get you banned from your network. Also, if your network does allow VoIP applications, make sure you are packing a flat rate data tariff before you fire it up, otherwise you may be looking at a figure at the end of the month that looks more like your phone number than your bill.
(Truphone via All About Symbian)
I have been using Truphone from the beginning and have found it pretty revolutionary in my world.
What follows is a note I wrote to friends about my experience with Truphone (version 2. something mind you…)
I live in Indonesia, Rp. 100.000 is about $10.
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Fired up the 3G VoIP on my handphone at lunch today. Called my sister’s house in France, we spoke for an hour as I had lunch and as I also walked about two miles through outdoor markets and side streets.
Data counters on my phone at the 60 minute mark were 21.4 megs total, about half upstream and half downstream.
So on my 3G plan from ProXL, Rp. 100.000 for 250 MB/month; the hour-long call cost me less than a dollar.
My VoIP provider gives me free calling to all landlines in 40 countries until July. And free calls to all cellphones in 40 countries that aren’t using the caller-pays-cellular model. USA for example…
I had stereo earphones in the whole time; connection was rock solid. Was nice to just let my sister ramble on as she had her morning tea and as I had lunch and wandered around.
Standard international long distance outdial from Indo is Rp. 6000/hour or about $40/hour. My call cost 8560 Rupiah for the hour. A multiplier of about 40.
Voice quality was as good or better than the normal international long distance. Only equipment used was a Nokia E70 handphone and some stereo headphones. You don’t worry about the cost of the call, you think about battery life on the phone.
For comparison, the cheapest call one can make from a household telephone in Indonesia, calling to another local residence, is Rp. 275/minute plus Rp. 150 per minute thereafter. So hourly, the cost is Rp. 9125 – about a dollar an hour.
So the VoIP to France from a handphone turns out to be cheaper than calling across the street with a landline.
3G VoIP has the power to erase per-minute calling charges – local, long distance, or international.
Once you have experienced SIP, you too will have the epiphany about what a huge waste of money cellphone minutes are. I forget how much minutes back in USA cost now, but it has to be over the 85 cents an hour my data plan costs me to call USA via Truphone over 3G.
If I were in USA, I’d simply set default call type to Internet call on my E70 and have no cellphone minutes at all to worry about. Everything would go over Truphone and the call setup is frankly faster anyway.
Once you set it up, you may feel like you have a “chipped” phone you bought in a shady neighborhood - how else can you have unlimited international calling for free? 40 countries anyway, nothing to sneeze at.
Maybe they should have named it SIP-piphany ?
can I use this app on wifi? i mean through my wireless router using my home ISP? im
Yep, it’s designed to work over wi-fi.
Hey Ben,
I’ll be coming back to Indonesia next week and would be interested to meet up with you. How can I reach you?