vB Easy Archive - what services other than skype can you suggest?

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what services other than skype can you suggest?
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Posted by: Lufodel

what services other than skype can you suggest?

that also for landlines calls.

thanks,

Posted by: miriallia

It depends on what you are looking for. What do you want to do with your Skype replacement? If you just want to make outgoing calls, there is Earthcaller. It is web-based, but you have to install an active-X control. They are offering free calls to Canada & U.S. Go to

www.earthcaller.com

Posted by: Lufodel

thank you, i will check this.

one of the reasons i've wanted alternative is because skype is big company.

and i want to see what other programs there is on the market.

what other programs allow to make skype calls?

Posted by: Lufodel

and i actually want to make international calls all over the world.

what options do i have?

Posted by: baxide

I recommend Manifone. They will give you a set of local "alias" numbers that you can point to any international destination that you often call. This simplyfies things and eliminates the usual hassle with voip (PIN, callback, two-stage dialing, etc). You won't need internet to place calls, just your phone.

This direct dialing thing makes it actually very practical, because you can call these numbers from your mobile phone, and save big time versus your cell provider's international rates. And since these direct dial aliases are plain landline numbers, they will be available from all networks.

If you don't find direct dial numbers in your country request them! They added Austria when my sister asked them, so it's worth a try!

Read more here:
http://www.manifone.com/en/minutes/

Posted by: Lufodel

thanks you,
anyway i thought about something similar to skype credit.
what about other softwares that just support skype? which there is? how good they are?

Posted by: miriallia

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, there is no other software that can make Skype calls.

You can get a 90-day free trial from Freecall. You can make free calls to a selection of developed countries. There is a limit of 300 minutes per week. After the 90-day trial period, you can buy credit and you will still get free calls to their list of free destinations. Be warned, that this list of free destinations changes every week. Something to consider before you spend your money. You can download the client at www.freecall.com

There is also Gizmo Project. You can get free calls to certain countries, but only if the person is also a Gizmo user on your contact list. So if you get your friends to register on Gizmo, and add them to your contact list, you can call their phone numbers for free when they are away from the computer. There are so many more things that Gizmo can do that Skype cannot. Check it out at http://gizmoproject.com

Hope that helps.

Posted by: Churner

Quote:

Originally Posted by miriallia

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, there is no other software that can make Skype calls.

That's correct. Skype is a closed system. They don't let any other VoIP providers call their system for free.

Quote:

There is also Gizmo Project. You can get free calls to certain countries, but only if the person is also a Gizmo user on your contact list. So if you get your friends to register on Gizmo, and add them to your contact list, you can call their phone numbers for free when they are away from the computer. There are so many more things that Gizmo can do that Skype cannot. Check it out at http://gizmoproject.com

I second the recommendation of Gizmo Project. It's a much more flexible service than Skype, it works on many more hardware devices and it is cheaper to use for calling landlines and mobiles in the US than Skype's unlimited plan if you're not a heavy user.

Posted by: squirrelcop

www.magicjack.com

Posted by: baxide

I just noticed that manifone now offers free test calls on their site. It's only available in 6-7 countries though. Anyone succeeded testing? http://www.manifone.com/en/

Posted by: phrawg

By far and away a voip service called Packet8 blows all of them
out of the water. Both for quality of service and bang for the buck.
More features that really work than anyone else in the race and
extremely good quality. I use Earthlink as my ISP and they deliver
it to me through comcast (ex time warner ) in houston tx. I take basic
entertainment cable ande I use packet8 voip service connected through
my cable internet connection. Nothing but top class service for
last almost 3 years and 2 address changes. Highly recommend
Packet8. Phrawg

Posted by: AnyoneAnywhere

I've had good luck with both Voxee and Voipjet. Both are somewhat more focussed toward the business/call centre user. Therefore, support is somewhat crappy, but it also means that they aren't aggressively trying to market. Also, they have priced their services at what they can afford to, rather than at less than cost in hopes of making up for it on volume (read: unstable/unreliable)

Posted by: PINHEAD

If you can find any of the Nokia E-series devices or N-series devices, you can use Truphone, which is really impressing me so far. It is FREE for calls pretty much all over the world until the end of the year. The voice quality is better than my mobile and calls are made just like on the GSM network. no extra effort on my part. The best part is that if I am not on Wifi with my phone, and thus not connected to Truphone, my calls are still forwarded, for free, right to my mobile line.

Posted by: arizonajay

i just started using truphone as well (with my n80) and i have to admit its really nice. up to now ive been putting up with fring->skype and truphone is pretty much walking all over that noise.

free forwarding when your offline is fantastic.

big question : what happens with truphone rates at the end of the free year?

Posted by: massradius

Quote:

Originally Posted by PINHEAD

If you can find any of the Nokia E-series devices or N-series devices, you can use Truphone, which is really impressing me so far. It is FREE for calls pretty much all over the world until the end of the year. The voice quality is better than my mobile and calls are made just like on the GSM network. no extra effort on my part. The best part is that if I am not on Wifi with my phone, and thus not connected to Truphone, my calls are still forwarded, for free, right to my mobile line.

I was thinking of getting an e50 but it wasn't listed as a supported device on truphone's site...any idea if the e50 will work?

Posted by: xkknet

Skype is perpetrating a scam on it's users. Someone at skype who has access to the skype database of user accounts, passwords, email addresses ect, is just going into the account and changing the password and changing the email addresses. This locks you out of the account completely. Then the scammer has complete control of your account, and you can not even change your password back, and can not log in. They then use up all your credit making calls to Skype's most expensive destinations like a machine gun, usually never connecting but you incur a charge of about $1 per call. Sometimes they will connect and let the call run costing you 20-30$ per call. They will drain your account of 2/3rds of it within a few phone calls ($100 Euros). If you don't have this much money in your account, they simply bill more money to your card on file or your paypal account. You get ripped off. Skype has not responded to HUNDREDS of users who they have done this to, you can find them complaining all over the web on dozens of different sites. Imagine how many more have not gone on to blog or forum about this, there are probably tens of thousands of skype users who have been scammed by skype in this way already. Skype typically does not respond to these users who have been frauded at all, or they take 3-5 weeks for their initial response. Then they simply lock the account and do not let you back in, typically ever. This forces the user to open a new skype account, and no refunds have ever been posted online, not one out of the hundreds of complaints I have seen already. Skype merely will blame YOU, the customer for the problem citing that it must be your security that caused the problem. This however is obviously not possible as in order to change the email address on file, a hacker would have to be able to get into your email address as well to get the token to change your password. Skype has never provided the email addresses that these accounts have been changed to, and refuse to do so. It is obvious why. Skype continues to put no email notification/token registration process or security measure to change a password by doing an email verification so that you are safe from skype insiders hacking your account...It again is not a surprise why. Skype/skype personell is clearly stealing money from customers, probably to the tune of millions of dollars. When asked for their corporate physical addresses, skype refuses to respond and just ignores the question altogether....again, no surprise here. When asked for direct call in numbers, again, no response or a denial of phone access. When all of this is posed to skype, they go cold with no response to the customer whatsoever, for weeks on end after repeated attempts. Skype might very well be or becoming the biggest fraud/pack of fraudsters of the 21st century. Wikipedia shows that Skype has been bought by ebay and have offices in several countries including the USA in San Jose California. The address/phone numbers in any directory? Unavailable. Again very typical for the average con men. Countless skype victims have posted online about being scammed for $100 euros having their password and email address changed, locking them out of their account completely. This could only ever be done if #1. someone had access to skypes database, or #2 someone had your computer keylogged and got access to BOTH your skype account, AND your personal email account, logged into your skype account, then requested to change your password, then logged into your personal email account to get the token from skype, logged back into skype and entered the token, changed your password, and then changed your email address as well. Also they would have to delete the token email from your personal email account as well as the confirmation email that skype sends once you change your password. The scammer would also have to delete the emails from your deleted box or mail server. This has not happened, proving Skype/skype personnel to be the center source of the fraud.
Skype has 400 million user accounts as of recent, and are adding 10 million a month. If they steal just 4 million accounts = a mere 1% of their users, at 100 euros each, they are stealing 400 MILLION Euros or more right now. This company needs to be shut down world wide, its executives jailed and investigated, and national campaigns on every form of news media carried out to keep users from using skype and being sucked into this obvious total fraud.

Please email me as I am building a database of victims and contact information for class action lawsuit and police collaboration on this matter.

I started this action when I too, was scammed by skype in this same very way, I started doing my research into it, and it's not just me, there are hundreds of new victims posting all over the internet every month, thousands are being scammed, maybe even millions. Spread the word, tell your friends, and Just say no to Skype.

Posted by: Billradio

We put together a list of what we think are the Top 7 broadband phone providers, including Vonage and Skype. There are also some other LD alternatives. We too have heard from unhappy customers with MagicJack and don't include them.

Posted by: mch

I'd consider callcentric and future-nine. Both have good reviews on dslreports, have cheap pay as you go plans, and support bringing your own device.

I've personally been very happy with callcentric. Works nicely with my Nokia E71 SIP client.

Posted by: migo

I recently signed up with voip.ms and it worked very well. Their customisation options are impressive (admittedly I don't have much of a point of comparison), call quality is great, as are their prices.

Posted by: brokerdelete

Is this VoIP? http://www.google.com/voice
It's WAY cool what ever it is

Posted by: mwlcarter

I just got an account with freephoneline.ca, and I'll probably be porting my land line number to them on Monday.

Basically, they're just like Skype In, except they offer Canadian numbers, and they're free. I got a free local number from them and tested incoming and outgoing calls, and it worked fine. So I'll probably pay them $80 for a converter box to make my regular phone work with them and to port my phone number.

Just need to call them and see what happens when my Bell line is ported... will I also have to call Teksavvy and tell them to put me on dry DSL, or will Bell just automatically do that? I'll find out on Monday when I call them.

Posted by: mwlcarter

Following up on my freephoneline.ca post last night... further testing reveals call quality that is really crappy compared to Skype. Oh well, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, I guess. Good concept, and it worked well in terms of incoming calls from phones coming to my computer, with working call display and voice mail... the sound quality just wasn't up to par.

Posted by: a in yul

was the sound quality sub par on the computer or when u transferred to a mobile or landline when away from the computer?