VoIPWatch

Gizmo Adds My Space IM Support

One of the news items last week that I liked was Gizmo Project adding Instant Messaging support for MySpace IM. It's good, but I wish they had the kind of privacy features SightSpeed added in 2007 that keeps things safer. TechCrunch's Duncan Riley has a nice recap today.

The safe IM part aside, what I like here with the GizmoProject move to add MySpace IM is that it puts it far more in a war with Fring than with other Mobile VoIP plays like WiFi Mobile, Truphone, Vyke, etc. It shows me that GizmoProject is also more focused on the presence concept and with AOL and Yahoo now having issues could emerge as the standard based IM player at the end of the day. Since GP has realized that interoperability is the key, it doesn't matter what the person on the other end is using, meaning the gang at SipPhone has figured out that half the conversation being on their client is better than none.

Markus Goebel on CallThrough

I applaud Markus for his critical analysis of the benefits of call through. He has identified the core reason why Call Through is a big benefit to consumers.

In making his analysis Markus takes on pal Dean Bubley, who has a slightly different perspective. My view is that VoIP is present in both arguments, but that VoIP plus existing end points makes it easier for people to use it without the pain of knowing the are switching.

Client and friend PhoneGnome CEO David Beckemeyer makes a similar point on termination, of calls over the PhoneGnome network. While he calls it minute stealing, I call it termination diversion.

Microsoft Wants To Buy Yahoo

Is 44 Billion dollars the right price? Well, the acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft would certainly help MSFT a lot in the quest to stay in the online world battle against Google.

The two do fit nicely together. Both understand content, advertising, entertainment. There's a lot of complimentary benefits. Here's why. Yahoo which has a very big audience that has stuck to it, tons of community aspects, and lots of digital and intellectual property assets would bring a lot to Microsoft and vice versa.

In my mind, only a Time Warner-Yahoo combo would be better.

Jingle Jangl Go The Daters

There's a conference in Miami this week focusing on the concept of Online Dating, while up the street is another on adult dating. One of the people hanging out and making news there is Jangl CEO and founder Michael Cerda who tells VoIPWatch that Jangl "let’s them practice safe dating. Online daters love Jangl because it gives them privacy, mobility and control, and choices as to how they want to communicate. We suit a fast, mobile world by connecting the lives we lead online to the ever-present mobile device.

At the conference Jangl announced that the world's largest free online dating site, PlentyofFish.com will use Jangl's SMS, calling and voicemail service to reach PoF customers. So like PoF itself, Jangl's service there will be ad-supported making it a first for Jangl.

Unlike some of the other ad supported, VoIP powered plays out there, this one sort of makes sense. It gives the daters the ability to save money and spend money on what they need to focus on the most. There dates.

MaxRoam Makes Improvements

When I was Europe and the UK, Israel and Spain recently I was carrying a few devices, my local SIM equipped Nokia N95, the 3SkypePhone (UK) and my Nokia E61i with a MaxRoam SIM.

Back in December during Les Web pal Pat Phelan had slipped me a MaxRoam SIM. When I went to Spain I added some credits, grabbed a Spanish number and used the service a lot for international calls, while using my Spanish SIM equipped phone to receive calls that were going to it from a combination of call routing I had set up using both GrandCentral and Junction Networks's OnSip platform's forwarding features..

With MaxRoam and my USA number, I can point the calls to the USA number, and they roam to whatever number I have active as the MaxRoam SIM carries multiple country numbers. That saves a few steps for me. It also saves me a lot of money, plus the ability to top up over the net means I'm never far away from a recharge. Now it seems Pat and his pals have taken some steps to improve what is already a great service and made it better. As they have added full real time billing, had their local number list expanded, applied reductions on cost on local numbers, added free call forwarding of your MAXroam numbers- zero cost roaming and now provide the ability to send a global SMS from your MAXroam account for only 5c.

Pat also reports that:

· Sales are 120% over targets for first Qtr.

· 5 new global carriers interconnected

· Connectivity running at 81% for QTR

· Full customer service hub opened

· Large upgrades planned for next two Qtr’s

You can see more from Pat on his blog.