One of our favourite VoIP applications, fring, has just announced a pre-release version of its mobile VoIP software for the iPhone - hip hip hooray.
With the SDK now thoroughly out in the wild stirring up all sorts of development interest, a slew of mobile VoIP applications are sure to follow soon. Most of those however will not have the industry experience behind them that fring does, having spent the last couple of years commanding a very dedicated and growing userbase.
We like the fact that fring has made such an effort to continually update it’s software alongside technological hardware developments, so it’s no surprise to see that the company is quick off the mark with an iPhone version. The pre-release version has been developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology and the thinking behind launching so soon with a pre release build is to get feedback from the community.
So if you are an iPhone user who up until now has had a mobile VoIP shaped hole in your life, today is your day. Hit the jump to see a video of the application in action on Apple’s must have handset.
Continue reading ‘fring arrives on iPhone’
Just before all of Easter’s festivities kicked off, and we became so overcome by the heroic consumption of chocolate eggs that we lost the ability to move, we were asked by the good folks over at fring to pen a guest piece on a topic of our choosing. The result, ‘Is fring the missing link for mobile online storage services?’ can be read by clicking here. Enjoy!
Fring is a service that we have ceased to explain each time we write about it, we have come to expect that what it is, is a given to our readers. Perhaps that is a slightly lazy/premature attitude to take towards a technology that is barely a household name (mobile VoIP) but either way it doesn’t matter now as Fring has won itself enough recognition to justify a Wikipedia entry, surely a yard stick of success in anyone’s book.
Indeed the company recently revealed to Pocket Picks that it is gaining 100,000 new members every month. Not the sort of figures one sniffs at we think you will agree. In any case if you are not one of Fring’s new, existing or soon to be customers and have no idea what we are talking about, you can find out about the call cost saving application in our archives or of course by giving good old Wikipedia a poke.
Fring has made a pretty big announcement today with the release of version 3.30 of its mobile VoIP application. Fring users will now be able to send music, pictures, video clips and other files via Fring, over WiFi or 3G, from mobile to mobile and mobile to PC.
This means no bothersome Bluetooth or infra-red searching, no cables and more importantly, no MMS or data charges beyond what you are already paying for an unlimited data plan (which is pretty much an essential if you plan to use any mobile VoIP program including Fring).
At the moment the function only works from Fring to Fring, from Fring to MSN and vice versa but support for other services is promised soon.
Version 3.30 also includes an updated Chat function and increased multi-lingual support. So far only Nokia S60 users can make use of the newest version but apparently support for other handsets isn’t far away. Just one more very good reason to embrace mobile VoIP if you ask us.
(Via Fring)
Foreign languages are not a strong point for the British public (apologies to those of you who are fluent in a second tongue), so GoogleTalk’s new IM translation bot is sure to come in handy for many of us.
The translation bot automatically translates IM conversations so that even if you and the recipient are not linguistically compatible, you can still chew the fat, blether, blab or whatever you want to call it to your heart’s content. For those of you that don’t know what a bot is, the Google Talkabout blog describes it as “a piece of software that acts as a chat contact and provides some fun or useful functionality.”
But ‘where’s the mobile angle?’ we hear you cry. Well if you are a user of Fring (as in the clever mobile VoIP client) you can use the service via your mobile as GoogleTalk is one of the supported services. All you need to do is add @bot.talk.google.com with the correct preceding code for your chosen language (for example, for an English to French translation you would send [ en2fr@bot.talk.google.com ]) as a friend in GoogleTalk and send it a message. Very clever stuff indeed, hit the jump for a full list of the supported language codes.
Continue reading ‘Talking your *IM* language with GoogleTalk and Fring’
If you have finished groaning at the pun in the title of this post, you might be interested to know that Fring is now a certified darling of the telecoms industry evidenced by yet another award. Following the company’s triumph at scooping the prestigious DEMO award in Germany and then being given another pat on the back from Nokia by featuring the mobile VoIP app as its application of the week twice in one year, Joiku are now getting in on some Fring praise.
But who or what is Joiku? We’re glad you asked; Joiku is a site dedicated to cataloguing links to the best free mobile applications out there with an emphasis on top notch content. Not exactly a huge name but what is important is that these guys know mobile applications like Bill Gates knows the crisp firm feeling of a freshly minted $100 note, so their endorsement is not to be scoffed at.
The specific gong won is the ‘Joiku 2007 Prime Quality Award’ which is judged on quality of software (duh), user ratings, ease of use, feature richness, and market demand in terms of Joiku.com user downloads. Looks like Christmas has come early for Fring.
(Via Fring)
Fring just can’t seem to stay out of our news bag just now. The latest is a new application called fringMe that allows the hip young things of social networking to stay up to date with everyone’s Fring status.
Essentially fringMe is a widget that can be embedded into any (or most) web pages allowing users to check if you are online, in a call and chat via that widget with anyone using Fring on their mobile. Unbelievably that isn’t even the coolest part; users will also be able to see your exact location in real time via Google Maps.
Did you get that? It all sounds pretty awesome in a slightly scary big brother sort of a way. Obviously we will be looking to take this service for a test run as soon as we can so look out for a more full report soon.
(Via Fring)
The team behind Fring have plenty to celebrate at their company Christmas party this year, as the mobile VoIP application has just been voted Nokia’s application of the week at the official S60 website for the second time in twelve months. This comes on the back of having won the prestigious DEMO award in Germany just last month making 2007 quite a successful year for the company.
Such an obvious show of support from the biggest handset manufacturer in the world to an application that essentially circumnavigates the need to pay network providers call fees is perhaps indicative of an industry sea change.
It really does look as if, ‘if you can beat them, join them‘ will be the attitude that the big networks will have to adopt in the not too distant future if applications like Fring continue to penetrate the market so successfully.
(Via Fring)
Nokia’s Nseries website has recently added a glut of cool programs (many of which are favorites of ours) to its applications section, meaning that Nseries users can browse loads of the cool apps they can use for their phone all from a single location.
The applications include Fring, EQO Mobile, Jaiku, Jott, Moblog: UK, Truphone and loads of others. Although to some these sorts of applications are very much a part of daily life, some people are still not entirely up to speed with adding functionality to their phones via application downloads - the likes of Fring or EQO Mobile which are accompanied by terms like ‘VoIP’ and ‘IM client’, user friendly though they are, can be a little daunting for those who are less than tech savvy.
To these sorts of users, the appearance of these apps on the official Nseries site should only solidify their reputation as safe and reliable programs that can dramatically improve the functionality of your handset. On the downside it does mean that we are going to have to work harder from now on to make sure we get to tell you about them before Nokia do *grumble*.
(Via Darla Mack)
Fring users just got one more addition to further sweeten that already very sugary pill of mobile VoIP goodness. The new Auto-roam feature finds and automatically logs in to wi-fi hotspots as you come into range of them.
Now this is not some sort of carte blanch to completely ignore your 3G usage, but if you are not already on an unlimited data plan (which if you are using Fring, you really ought to be) this little feature could certainly take some of the sting out of your monthly bill.
You will need to have used each wi-fi connection before for you to be automatically logged in. So basically as long as you are using the service whilst going about your day to day business in the areas you frequent the most often, this should certainly come as a benefit. Remember folks, always check with your carrier before using any mobile VoIP app on your handset, some of them don’t like it.
(Via VoIP Guides)
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