Skype Launches App Directory

We already use Facebook, Apple and Android apps on a day to day basis to simplify our life. Skype has now opened its doors for some third party apps to enhance your skype experience.

It seems after Microsoft took over Skype, it's on a roll. They bought several related tech companies in the last few months and they are ready to enhance their VOIP offering by allowing third party companies to build apps on top of Skype. Although, the add-ons were available in the market for a long time, there wasn't a official App directory untill now

Skype App directory works just like Apple App Store. You download and install the add-on. Since the Skype app directory is fairly new, there are only about 50 odd apps but this would grow very quickly.

Some of the TOP Free Apps you must download include,

1. Pamela For Skype: This app will let you record and save your skype conversation. Very helpful if you want to go back and listen to it again. Girls, record what your boyfriend commits on skype and you can't go wrong :-)
2. iDroo: Awesome app and a absolute must. A great alternative to those costly screen sharing apps like GotoMeeting etc. This will let you hold a Video conference over skype with your PC/Laptop screen sharing. Supports upto 10 people at a go, its live and real time sharing.

Lets hope more and more companies bring valuable Apps to the Skype app directory in near future.

Unlimited Calls to India from UK

Do you live in UK? Yes, then don't miss this post or you will regret later. We found a great way to make unlimited calls to India landline and mobiles from UK.

Millions of Indians live in UK and literally millions of minutes of calls are terminated to India per month via different providers. , most VOIP Providers require you to use PINs and lengthy toll free numbers. Today, we look at a way to literally replace your local landline (like BT Phone) with a Phone which will not only be able to make unlimited calls to India but also gives you unlimited calls to any UK phone. Double magic :-)

The VOIP Provider am talking about is none other than Vonage UK. Vonage has come out with some awesome plans to make unlimited Calls to India and other countries from UK.

The Unlimited India Calling plan also inlcudes calls to over 35 countries. Which means with this one plan, you can literally call half of the world. You can also make Unlimited calls to mobiles (and landlines) in five countries: India, US, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.

You can also ship the Vonage Phone back to India and keep calling your girfriend 24/7 :-). Seriously, this is a massive value right here.

All this costs a mere £18.99 per month. Trust me, even using a cheapest calling card to India from UK, will easily costs you around £25-30 for 1 month of calling. With Vonage India Calling Plan you get unlimited calls to India + 35 countries at only £18.99 per month.

On top of this, Vonage also offers some awesome features which comes bundled with their phone service mainly Anonymous Call Back, Call Number Block, Simulring (ring your mobile at the same time) and over 30 odd other features.

With Industry leading support from Vonage is available 24/7, you don't have to worry about it. A few of friends in UK are already using this service and they are extremely happy with the call quality and cheaper cost than calling cards or other VOIP service.

Don't miss this. Signup today for Vonage Unlimited Calls to India Package and lock in on the promotional rate.

Free 30 mins Calls at Rebtel

Our friends at Rebtel is now offering Free 30 mins calls anywhere in the world *. Don't miss this post or you will regret.

Rebtel, one of the oldest and cheapest international call providers to India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and many other countries have generously offered another smashing offer exclusively for VOIPGuides readers. Yes, there is always a benefit to be associated with us

When you signup at Rebtel, you will get Free 30 mins of talktime to anywhere in the world (excludes a few countries like Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia etc). This works for almost 95% of countries worldwide including the most popular destinations like India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana etc.

You can make a new account if you wish to use this special offer. Click this link to enable 30 mins of Free Calls

Again, Dont forget to tell your friends and family about this offer. You are free to distribute the link anywehere you like as long as you keep the link intact, because it won't work otherwise.

Don't miss on this offer because this offer can go down anytime. As long as you enable it, you will be able to use it. Lemme know if anyone face any problems or issues, I can ask Rebtel to look into it.

truroots.com Truroots Calling Card any good

today we look at Truroots Tru1India Calling plan. Can Truroots compete with other cheap international call providers? If you are already using Truroots or plan to use, Read before you use them again.

Truroots international calling service is a VOIP based cheap international call service by Tata Communications, one of India's biggest telcos. However, most big telco companies are notorious for charging enormous rates to their customers. However, truroots seem to get it right this time around

Truroots recently anounced new plans with free credits but they are laughable. Let me show you their current calling plans to India and then let you decide.

Truroots offer a True1ndia Calling plan @ 1 c/min (Local Access) & 3 c/min (Toll Free). However, you need to buy a $9.99 per month plan which only gives you 600 minutes because there is a hidden subscription charge @ $3.99 per month. That means if you are using a Local access number to call any India number, you will get a effective call rate of $1.66 per minute which is very competitive. However, for toll free access its a whooping 5 cents per minutes which you should just avoid at all costs.

Compared to the horrible Reliance India Call, Truroots seem much better. I would really appreciate if the existing truroots can comment on their overall customer service and quality experience.

At this time Truroots look like a good competitive cheap international call service to India. Please let us know your feedback and comments about Truroots.

Cheapest call to Pakistan at 1.6 p per minute

If you call Pakistan regularly, don't miss this Cheapest call to Pakistan post. We reveal the cheapest calling rates to Pakistan at 1.6 p only.

Our friends at Localphone has further slashed their calling rates to Pakistan to a mere 2.1 pence per minute. Wait, That's now the new standard rate to call pakistan landlines and mobile. This is almost 50% cheaper than other competitor companies. Now let me tell you a secret to further lower the effective cost per minute to 1.6 pence (2.6 cents) only using our special exclusive Localphone Voucher code: LPVGSEP which will give you additional 20% credit. When you buy $10 credit, you will get $12 credit.

Pakistan calling market has grown tremendously in the last few years. I remember 2 years back call rates to pakistan were around 6-9 cents per minute but with as competition builds up, the rates are now falling every month. Localphone offers solid voice quality and cheapest calling rates to Pakistan. Do you know that you can buy as low as $1 in credit to use their service. No VOIP provider other than localphone offers such low cost option.

Stop using those expensive calling card to pakistan or VOIP Providers offering costly calling rates and switch to Localphone today. Don't forget to Claim your special voucher code: LPVGSEP for 20% extra credit.

Vonage Time to Call iPhone App Review

Vonage has released a solid iPhone app which lets you make cheap international calls right from your iphone without creating a account or buying call credits. Today, we review the Vonage Time to Call iPhone app.

Vonage as you might be already aware is one of the pioneers in the VOIP space. One of the first company to actually offer VoIP service in US back when 99% people didn't even know about it. They have been in this business for long to understand the potential of international business and it seems they are now in the right direction to take the company forward with their new focus on mobile and international expansion.

Earlier today, I spoke to Gavin Macomber , VP-International Products at Vonage to understand how this App actually works and whats in store for users like us. I am going to give you guys a few tips to maximise your money and a free calling offer you won't regret.

With the launch of Vonage iPhone App named "Time to Call", Vonage is literally offering you a mobile payphone. Its like you carrying one wherever you go. Vonage Time to Call app works very differently from other Mobile VoIP apps. Typically you have to get a account with the VoiP provider and then download their iPhone app (if they have any or else you are at the mercy of mobile softphone where you need to setup SIP). After all this, you will still have to buy calling credits from the Voip company.

All this changes with Vonage app, All you have to do is download Vonage iPhone app and start using the service rightaway, no need to signup, no need to add credits. You can make 15 minutes of call at a flat price.


Let me quickly explain to you How you can make calls with Vonage iPhone app.

1) You download Vonage iPhone App to your iPhone or from iTunes.
2) Launch Vonage Time to Call iPhone app
3) The app will ask for your country and mobile phone number. Enter details & Next.
4) Now it will ask you to select a country where you want to make a call. For Example, you select India, it will then show you the rate for making a 15 mins call which is $0.99 cents.
5) However, all new users can make 15 mins of free call once. Try it out! (Pro tip: usually if you don't talk for 15 mins, you will loose the rest of the talktime) but currently Vonage lets you talk for unused minutes, so try calling multiple people with this 15 mins to understand quality and service)
6) Vonage offers multiple tiers in the 15 minute call package, Fifteen-minute calls to 100 countries range from $0.99 to $1.99; more than 90 additional countries can be called for flat rates ranging up to $9.99. Most popular countries like India, fall under the cheapest tier.
7) Now the easiest part, you don't have to bother about paying money to Vonage using your credit card or entering payment details in the app. The vonage app automatically charges your itunes account. Please note during the 15 minutes free call promotion, they wont charge for that first call, its free.


A few points to note,

• Also note that, Time to Call is available for anyone to use, not just Vonage customers
• Time to call is available in over 87 countries via AppStore
• Vonage has confirmed that they are building a Android version and planning a release before year end.
• If you purchase a 15 minute call pack, but forgot to use it. you can use the same pack for upto 1 year. The expiry period is 1 year.
• For a limited time, unused minutes will rollover and can be used for another call (so, if you only use 5 of your 10 minutes, you can use the remainder of your 10 minutes at a later date)
• Consumers outside of the US can download and interact with the application using their 3G dataplan, but they’ll need a WiFi connection to place a call.

Vonage is working to make the application available for international users via 3G. I strongly recommend you download Vonage time to call iPhone app today and make a 15 minutes of free call. Let us know your feedback on the app.

Google Voice Calls now available in 38 Countries

Google Voice finally went international in 38 countries. After years of offering the free calls service in US and Canada, now people outside of US can enjoy this amazing portability service which lets you connect and receive calls via a single google voice number.

Starting today, if you use Gmail you might see an Call button under the chat list on the left side in your gmail. Try logging in and check if you see it enabled. I believe you still need the Google Voice Plugin which needs to be installed. (I already have it so am not sure if its directly connected to gmail voice calls). If prompted, then you must download it.

Although Gmail Voice calls are extended its not very clear whether the Google Voice service and one number portability is available outside of USA. You can try if you actually get an access to it. From the Google Voice blog post, it seems its only a gmail voice calling feature and doesn't actually give you access to Google Voice features.

However, its not a free international calling service as you still have to pay charge per minute. They have lowered the calling rates to over 150 destinations around the world. For example, it’s now only $0.10 (or €0.08) per minute to call mobile phones in the U.K., France or Germany (landlines are $0.02/min), $0.15/minute to call mobile phones in Mexico and $0.02/min to call any phone number in China and India.

Please note that if you live in US or canada, you can continue to call US and Canada for free but people outside of USA, will not be able to call free to these countries. All calls originated from outside of US, will be charged at 1 cent per minute to US & Canada.

Google voice has certainly gone international but we are surely looking for those awesome Google Voice features to invade the world. Till then, Lets make calls via Gmail Voice.

Skype for iPad is a Must Download

Skype finally released the much awaited Skype for iPad app which is specifically designed to use the bigger space on ipad for users benefit. In my opinion, its one of the t apps for iPad so far.

I installed it the moment i knew of its release and made a few video calls. Whoa the screen size + Video clarity is awesome even on 3G. I am yet to try the Wifi (at home connectivity) to see if that gives the app an edge over 3g when it comes to streaming video.

Skype official blog says, "The large iPad screen is perfect for bringing Skype video calls to life, in either landscape or portrait view, and because it is on the iPad, Skype video calls can be made at the beach, in a car or even lying on a couch"

Here are some awesome features of Skype iPad App:

1. Two-way video calling: Call skype user anywhere in the world and have a big FAT Video calling experience on your smooth iPad screen.
   
2. Instant messaging. You can even instant message during a video call on your iPad, with emoticons to personalize your message.
3. Simple to view contacts. Contacts are now displayed in a grid on Skype for iPad, showing large avatar photos - making it easy to find your contacts and conversations.
4. Easy navigation. Find your recent Skype conversations and history at the touch of a button making searching simple.
5. Simple SMS texting. An SMS text message can be sent by simply opening a contact and selecting SEND SMS or by opening the dial pad, typing in the number you wish to SMS and then typing your message.

As usual, If you wish to make calls outside of Skype means to any landline or mobile numbers, you can always buy a Skype subscription package which literally start for as low as 89 cents per month of unlimited calls.

During my initial test, Skype for iPad app has been fantastic and I am afraid i might get addicted to it soon :-) especially the video calling is all worth it.

If you got a iPad, don't even think for a minute and Download Skype for iPad App today.

Localphone Voucher Code August 2011

Localphone has extended their extra credit offer again. This time its exclusively for VOIPGuides reader. You get Extra 20% Talktime with this Localphone Voucher code. so Don't miss it.

LocalPhone is currently one of the most used VOIP service to make calls to India, Pakistan and other asian countries. With their low rates and reliable service, they have won many customers from their competitors who either couldn't keep up with the service or just closed shop.

LocalPhone has happily extended the current 20% Extra Credit Voucher code for all VOIPGuide readers. Thanks for the great response to the July Coupon code post. You might find another coupon on other copycat blogs but its only 10%, so don't fall for it.

The Localphone Voucher Code for August 2011 is LPVGSEP.

If you still don't know, Localphone offers one free call when you register and also offe the lowest funding option of 2 GBP to start using their service. Most VOIP services ask for a minimum $5-$10 to use their service. You can't go wrong with Localphone. With recent addition of Localphone iPhone client, its so easy to make calls.

Its time to kick your existing VOIP service and start using Localphone!
. Remember to use Latest September Coupon code: LPVGSEP. We are also working directly with Localphone on many exciting vouchers, coupon codes and offers to give you the best deal.