Feature Request: Please copy Packet8 MobileTalk
 

You have surely read about Packet8 MobileTalk:

Packet8 MobileTalk

I think that could be done much better: By using Voxalot and the Sipbroker break-in numbers we could have the same features, but it could be much cheaper than Packet8's $9.99 per month.

$9.99 is only a good price if you make more than 1000 callthrough minutes per month. We Voxalot / Sipbroker users could have that much cheaper if Sipbroker had a similar mobile phone application. It should have Sipbrokers break-in numbers stored and to complete the call we would use our own SIP providers that we maintain in Voxalot.

I guess MobileTalk from Packet8 works similar to the Wifimobile application (About) which sits in the background of your cell phone and only kicks in when you dial an international number. Only that Wifimobile tries to establish the call over Wifi while Packet8 establishes the call over callthrough. The callthrough numbers must be stored in the software, like it is at iSkoot.

It's a nice application. But soon somebody should launch something better where we could use our callthrough provider of choice. Something like the “Mobile Call-Through Manager” from Runningmobile (Running Mobile Shop), but better, with many different callthrough numbers stored.

Tpad and Sipbroker should have that, because they have really a lot of international callthrough numbers. Much more than Jajah Direct.

Don't you think thet the VOXCONNECT API could be used to develop something like this? I dream of an application that has callthrough numbers from all over the world stored in my cell phone and makes every call a local call.

As you know CallThru is already possible, although may require some work to get running. It allows for using any of the SipBroker/TPad access numbers and any others you can manage to add privately. (Placing VoIP Calls from any Old Regular PSTN Phone)

One downside of this is that there is no APP to do the following yet:
-Note you are calling Intl number
-Note your location and choose a local number corresponding to your location
-Place all such calls via such route

I think the idea of CallBack (Arcosoft Inc. VONaLink - DialBridge for Windows) solves the issue of "Knowing your location and choosing local number based on location",so only one more thing left, distinguinshing what should and should not be dialed this way.

Ideally, what I would want is something like the programming that UM+ or many Intl Roaming operators have on their SIM Cards, but as a side option so one can choose what numbers are dialed straight through (regular operator) and what numbers use the CallBack method, an automatic CallBack, so all you do is dial the number and wait to be connected...

Anyways, just my 2 cents

Great comments. Thanks for your 2 Cents, emoci. Let's gather more of these ideas! I am planning to write a blog post about the ideal callthrough application and hope that someday someone will develop it.

BTW: Why would I use DialBridge and keep my PC running day and night, when I have a callthrough number installed on my ATA anyway?

DialBridge does CallBack, that's what I was trying to point out

So with a combination of VoXalot, PBXes and DialBridge you can have all the basic features of Asterisk without installing Asterisk

I gather that some providers of global SIM or other roaming-targetted products are working on different variations of implementing this, either with multi-IMSI or similar multiple deals, for example some drop hints of moving away from callback ...

But anyway, the decision about whether to use callback or otherwise will depend on what local tariffs are like, either for callthough or direct dial.

For example in UK, 3 or 4 mvno providers have recently appeared with direct int'l call rates from 4p/min, and the main networks have several cheap options themselves, or a callthrough provider on T-mobile is from 3p/min. These rates are all cheaper than UK-bound calls.

And in Germany, until not so long ago very expensive for prepaid mobile calls, the 2 cheapest mvno rates to foreign landlines are now 5 or 9 cents a minute, lower than or equal to local rates.

I thought Sweden was the cheapest place for this, but others are catching up

Very interesting. But I don't want to switch my MVNO again. I would like to stay with my habitual cell phone provider + Voxalot + Tpad + Betamax. But I would like to make better use of them by squeezing it all in a mobile phone application. So that every call is a local call, also when I am abroad and buy a cheap local SIM from that country. Some kind of Truphone 3.0 (which automatically reconfigures the call forward from your Truphone number to the number of the new local SIM card), but with callthrough.

Sorry, I hadn't understood that. This way it's a great solution. We only should be able to install it on a server and use it together to save on electricity costs. :)

That sounds like a great idea but:

-If a server was run, it may as well serve many people.
-In that case Asterisk is a much better option
-If you let people have callback, then why not their own registered CallBack Numbers
-Then throw in some nice forwarding rules
-Then the perks of multiple outgoing providers

And all of a sudden we find ourselves recreating VoXalot.....:D

Clearly a reasonably priced VoXRoam service would make some dreams come true much faster.....

That all-in-one application though, I think it just got a few more things it needs to do:

-It needs to recognize International Numbers or preferably be set up to handle some numbers but not others based on some form of dial plans
-It then needs to identify where the phone is and what is the current SIM number
-Then adjust such that all calls are forwarded to that SIM number
-It needs to check for a local access number and be able to determine whether it is cheaper to use CallBack or CallThru based on the current location
-Once it's gone through that decision process, it needs to place the call be it via CallThru or CallBack automatically

Yeah...., figuring out how to unify all those services is definitely the future, for now though....it's a nice dream

You rock! Tpad finds the idea also quite interesting:

tpad.com :: View topic - Feature Request: Please copy Packet8 MobileTalk

Later this week I write a blog post about this dream application.

Truphone, Gizmo Project and Wifimobile should make Sipbroker a part of their mob. app
 

Truphone, Gizmo Project, Wifimobile and the like should simply make the Sipbroker Callthrough numbers a part of their mobile applications to make them usable outside of Wifi.

I guess that's already it.

People would always only pay a local call and the international part goes over the respective VoIP provider. The mobile application should always "sense" in which country the cell phone is situated and choose the local Sipbroker number to establish the call.

We need a small cell phone application for callthrough
 

I have ordered my ideas in a new blog post:

Markus Göbel's Tech News Comments: Packet8 MobileTalk could be done much better

Hopefully my ideas will inspire someone. One of today's fights between incumbent telcos and new companies like Voxalot is about bringing mobile phone users away from their usual cell phone networks and into the new VoIP networks. That's also a reason why Jajah introduced the Jajah Direct callthrough numbers. Although they are difficult to use, because they are up to 24 digits long when you make the first call.

What makes Voxalot (and Tpad) so different from all the other VoIP providers is your callthrough numbers: I am not lost when I am outside Wifi.

In lots of countries I can always call a local Sipbroker number and make my VoIP calls this way. That's cheaper than roaming and an important feature. That must also be the reason why Wifimobile recently introduced callthrough numbers, additionally to their super easy to use Symbian application. Although the callthrough numbers are difficult to use, compared to their super easy Wifi application.

To make Voxalot the coolest provider for mobile VoIP it would be helpful to make Wifi VoIP and callthrough a seamless experience. The way that Packet8 does it.

A small cell phone application which automatically decides whether to route a call through Wifi or through a Sipbroker number.