Google Voice extends Free Calling for another year

Google Voice has been a saviour for many around the world and especially for US residents who can do some of the most amazing things with Google Voice and can save upto 60% on phone bills.

Now Google has officially announced the Free Calls to US and Canada will continue in the next year. This is a great news because if you have a Google Voice account, you can call anyone in US and Canada anytime for free and talk for as long as you can.

Google Voice which was formerly Grandcentral shot to fame a few years back mainly due to their number portability and call forwarding product. Even today, Many users under-utilize Google Voice product in many ways.

With proper call forwarding, you can save a lot of money on your mobile phone bills. You can check out the official announcement on Google Voice blog

Cheap Calls to Pakistan at 2 cents per minute

Pakistan is now more cheaper to call than ever before. Pick up your phone and start calling all your friends and family for as low as 2 cents per minute.

Localphone announced a new low calling rate of just 2 cents for Pakistan. You can call any pakistan landline or Mobile number at 2 cents only. This has to be one of the most cheapest calling rate available for pakistan. With Localphone's crystal clear call quality, this offer is unbeatable.

If you still need a introduction to how Localphone will work to make cheap calls to Pakistan, there here is a quick guide.

1) You can use Localphone from your PC. You can either download their softphone or use their SIP settings on your SIP softphone. If you are a novice user, I strongly suggest their softphone as its good and it stores your history with contacts.

2) Localphone also allows you to get a local number in your country for each contact. Once you call this local number, you will be automatically connected to your destination number. No more stupid PINs to remember. Just store this number on your mobile or landline contact book. This will also save you money because you will call a local number in your country instead of a high paying gateway or international number.

3) You can use a Localphone calling card wherever you go. How many VOIP Providers offer this service? Going on a trip to USA, no problem. Just go to calling card option and change the coutry to USA, you will be given a new calling card gateway number and PIN which you can use in USA. This is simply awesome and must have a for a person like me who is always on the move.

4) You can also use Localphone SMS to save money. SMS service is atleast 70% cheaper than your mobile operator.

Don't Procrastinate and don't be fooled by the bold promises of other VOIP operators who try to sneak in connection charges (betamax) or provide lower quality calls for the sake of cheaper rates.

Its your chance to switch to Localphone now and you know what, being a reader of VOIP Guide, you already qualify for FREE Minutes, Just signup at Localphone and top up $1 (use coupon code: VGFREE while topping up credit), you will get $1.50 credit applied to your account for free.

Download LocalPhone Android App

Woot! Finally its here. People screamed about this issue for a long time and we now have the first stable release of LocalPhone Android app.

LocalPhone Android app will work on all Android based phones. Now you can make calls from your android mobile without the hassle of remembering the local numbers.

The main features of the LocalPhone Android app are:

• See all your existing contacts on your phone and make cheap international calls in one click
• Add, edit and delete your contacts from wherever you are
• Look up localphone call rates and get a price in seconds
• Check your real time balance and see exactly how much credit you have
• Call or text your existing contacts through the Localphone app and save money

The Localphone Android app surely looks very similar in functionality to the iPhone app. I managed to download it from the Android market on my Samsung Galaxy S2. I also have this app on my iPhone 4 which works like a charm. Android version of this app also works exactly the same like assigning local number, sending SMS using localphone services instead of the mobile operator.

All Android fanboys can jump on this now since you guys have been really mad about this for a while. Do Let us know about any issues or feedback on the localphone android app.

Skype pressuring UK Mobile operators to lift ban

UK mobile operators are perhaps the most notorious mobile companies in the world, famously known to increase rates, shut down cheaper services or just make consumers life more difficult.

However, It seems Skype is finally taking a stand against the industry bullying mobile operators in the UK. VOIP has surely threatened these operators in many ways. Mobile terminations rates continue to remain high despite of the overall VOIP adaption.

At this very time, Skype is banned on Orange and T-mobile with Vodafone slapping a monthly fee to use Skype service. Only O2 and 3UK allow skype calls on their network.

With 3 major telecom providers blocking or slapping fees to use Skype, their service is pretty much flushed out. In fact, Skype has lodged a complaint with UK telecom regulator Ofcom last year, claiming its services were being hampered by mobile operators. Ofcom has now confirmed they will intervene in this issue.

Can ofcom pull this off in favour of Skype? In my opinion, Not so soon. The mobile operator lobby is really strong in UK and they will ensure that this gets delayed, dragged and won't happen soon. Till then, you unlucky UK fellas can try some of more awesome UK based VOIP services like Localphone.

Do let us know what you feel about this whole situation?