It’s rare for me to make a Saturday post on this blog! I normally try to post new articles on Mondays through Fridays, then take the weekend off to spend more time with my family. But, I wanted to make a short post today about an experience I had this morning, and to spread a little “link love” because of that experience. I even have a list of topics that I want to post about on my desk here, but this topic is fresh, and also something that any ex-pat living here in the Philippines will be interested in, so I wanted to post about it while it’s still fresh in my mind.
When I woke up this morning and fired up my PC, I started downloading my e-mails, as normal. I had a number of e-mails from Pete, who is a regular participant here. It seems that Pete had been infected by the “VOIP bug” and was really getting into using VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) with his new cellular phone. He had been e-mailing me information on how to call him on his VOIP connections (Skype, Fring, Truphone, etc). Well, I have been using VOIP for years over my Vonage phone service. However, just 3 weeks ago, I purchased a new cellular phone, a shiny new Nokia N95. It seemed the perfect opportunity to put the WiFi capability of the N95 to use.
I already had Fring installed on my N95, since I was trying it out the other day. It works great for calling people on Google Talk (and other services). I had been using G-Talk for some time, so the Fring made sense for that. One e-mail that I got from Pete made it obvious that he was very excited about a new service called TruPhone. They had support for my phone, so I downloaded it and installed it on my phone. I had a few little glitches (I couldn’t quite figure out the interface at first), but soon I was on the phone, making internet calls all over the world! Now, when I am making a call on my cellphone, after dialing the number, or selecting it from my contacts list, it asks me if I want to make a GSM call on the cellular network, or an Internet Call through TruPhone. Wow, such flexibility! And, I can call any other TruPhone user and talk as long as I wish for FREE! In addition, I can call any number, anywhere in the world, even if they are not on TruPhone for a small cost.
Great thing is that just last night I bought Feyma a gift – a new Nokia E65 cellphone, which is also WiFi capable, and is compatible with TruPhone. Now, we can talk to each other for free through our cellphones, on the WiFi!
Do yourself a favor, go over to Pete’s blog and read his latest article about ExPats using VOIP services to stay in touch on a low budget! Pete has been really involved in this, and he knows what he is talking about! I talked to Pete this morning for probably about 20 minutes or so over the TruPhone network! It was great to speak with you, Pete! Catch you again soon on the VOIP!
Hi Bob, yes it was a great first for us this morning, it was great to hear your voice and to chat with Feyma, next time we will make a call from Scotts appartment using his wireless network, and then we can all chat, that is Rhodora, Gina and the both of us, its great for the future of http://www.mindanao.com.
Why do i say this, because the worldwide community of "Friends of Mindanao.com" will be able to keep in touch mobile to mobile for nothing, as you have said Bob, I will be writing a peice on my blog about the Truphone innovation this weekend, and I will be talking about the benefits, plus the advantages against the disadvantages, also I will be discussing the GSM Network against the Wi-Fi network calls, and how they will compete in the future, so send all the guys over to take a look, I will answer any questions if I can, and just to mention Bob, Scott is actually the driving force behind this, since he introduced me to serious VOIP
Yeah, we need to figure out how to do conference calling, so we can get everybody on board at the same time! Enjoyed the conversation, Pete!
Hi Bob, I just joined your community, and I must say it has been very helpful for me and my wife who is from Lapu Lapu City. I do have a quick question about Lingo, am I right in thinking it works the same way Vonage does. I can just sign up for the service here in the states, and then just send it to my in-laws in Lapu Lapu so my wife can call anytime she wants, and vice versa.
Hi smokey136 – Welcome aboard! I'm happy to know that you've found the site helpful! Yes, with Lingo, it works just like Vonage. Just send it here to the Philippines, and you're in business!