The Truphone Blog

Call to say 'I love you' this Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day we want to help you share the love.

How?

With free Truphone calls all-day!

Even if you are on opposite sides of the world there is no reason not to call your special someone and say 'I love you', with free calls all day on February 14 to landlines in 30 countries (and mobile phones in 5 countries). See the list of countries here.

It is open to Truphone customers*, wherever you are in the world, and there is nothing you need to do to take part, apart from make calls on February 14.

Find out more here.

*Apart from TruUnlimited customers (who get unlimited free calls anyway!)

Tweet the love and win!

Spread the love this Valentine's Day for your chance to win £20 of Truphone calling credit in our Twitter competition.

Enter by following @truphone, then tweeting the pet name you give to your loved one (no need to disclose their real name!) and including hashtag #trulove.

We will draw two winners at random on February 15, who will each win £20 of Truphone calling credit. Good luck!

P.S. If don't have a pet name or it's too embarrasing, then simply retweet this message.

New Twitter features added to Truphone for iPhone and iPod touch

Version 3.3 of our iPhone and iPod touch (2nd Gen) applications has just been released in the App Store, with some fantastic new Twitter add-ons to give all Twitterers an even better experience when using Twitter on Truphone.

The upgrade includes:

• Integration with yfrog and Twitpic, so you can post photos to your Twitter account
• Integration with bit.ly, so you can shorten links you want to tweet about
• Full Twitter search tools
• The ability to view direct messages as complete conversations
• The ability to follow and unfollow, and read the profiles of other Twitterers
• The ability to change your location, add map links and geotag tweets

This adds to the long list of great features already available, including free calls to Truphone, Skype and Google Talk users, and low cost international calling on the iPhone even if you aren't connected to Wi-Fi.

Upgrade now to take advantage of all the new features, or download if you don't have the application already, via one of the following.

Download Truphone v3.3

Download Truphone for iPod v3.3

Truphone the first to offer Wi-Fi calling on Nexus One

We are pleased to announce that as of today an update to our Truphone for Android application (v3.0.2) means that we are the first to offer Wi-Fi calling for the new Nexus One device from Google. 

There were many questions about compatibility with the Nexus One when we announced our new Android application a couple of weeks ago so we're really proud to have found a solution so quickly. 

The new version of the application also introduces compatibility for the T-Mobile Pulse and is available now to download free in the Android Market.

Find out more about Truphone for Android here.

Truphone Local Anywhere is now available!

We are thrilled to announce that Truphone Local Anywhere, the one smart SIM that saves you money and keeps you local home and away, is now available. 

When in a Truphone country with a Truphone Local Anywhere SIM you can:  

• Pay what locals pay for voice, text and data


• Add phone numbers for each Truphone country so friends there can reach you without paying for an international call (even if you are not in the country) 


• Receive calls for free* on any of your Truphone phone numbers 


• Pay less for international calls - from 8p/min 

And when you travel to one of 185 non-Truphone countries, get low cost roaming – from 25p/min in EU.

Our first Truphone countries are the US and UK and we’ll soon be adding others such as Australia, Hong Kong, Spain, The Netherlands and South Africa.

The Truphone Local Anywhere SIM works in nearly any ‘unlocked’ mobile phone, and is available to buy from £14.99 ($24.99). To find out more, and buy one now, click here.

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*Apart from countries where standard operator charges to receive calls apply, such as the USA.

VoIP calling over 3G, from a Truphone perspective

The recent release of our new Android application, which offers VoIP calling over Wi-Fi, has generated a lot of discussion about offering VoIP calling over the 3G network.

To add to this discussion, I would like to share our thoughts on this topic.

Whenever we create a new Truphone application, or upgrade an existing one, we listen to your thoughts and suggestions, and add more of our own. Then we look at what is technically possible, and from there, we work out what the application should include. Then we build it.

During this process, there is one thing that we keep at the forefront of our mind – quality. And unless something we add is going to be top quality, and give our users the best possible experience, it will not be in our application.

This brings me to VoIP calling over 3G.

There are two main reasons stopping us from offering VoIP calling over 3G across our range of applications.

The first is that although a small number of networks, such as AT&T in the US, allow VoIP calling over 3G, this capability has not been approved by most operators, and has not been opened up across all handset manufacturers, such as the iPhone. As of today, iPhone applications that offer VoIP calling over 3G would not be approved by Apple for release into the App Store.

The second relates to quality. Although it is technically possible to offer VoIP calling over 3G on devices such as the Android, the relatively low bandwidth of 3G compared to Wi-Fi means that those calls are very often of a poor quality.

So unlike some of our competitors who have made VoIP calling available over 3G, we will not be doing so until we have developed a solution that will give our users a level of call quality that we are proud of, and will give our users the best possible Truphone experience.

We do have a solution today in all of our applications (apart from the iPod touch), to allow you to keep making high quality international Truphone calls from your home country, even when not connected to Wi-Fi, by using your local phone network to make a local call to a Truphone server in over 40 countries around the world (see the full list here). Find out more about calling out of Wi-Fi here.

Developing a solution is something that we are actively working on, as we realise that it is something that you want (we want it too!). Keep visiting this blog or the Truphone website for updates.

Happy chatting,

Karl Good (Truphone’s Director of Applications)

p.s. the exception to the rule is our Truphone for Nokia application, which currently offers great quality VoIP calling over 3G

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POST UPDATE (19.1.2010)

We will continue to test VoIP calling over 3G from a quality perspective and keep a watchful eye on the mobile network operators for a change in stance on allowing Vo3G on their networks. When we believe both of these points have been resolved then we will look at releasing applications that allow our customers to make these types of calls.

In the meantime, all our customers, except those on the iPod touch, can make calls when out of Wi-Fi using Truphone Anywhere.

Truphone for Android Release 3.0

Following the launch of our new VoIP application for Android last week, we’ve been carefully monitoring the Android Market for feedback from you .

Whilst many of you are enjoying using the app, we have heard that some of you are disappointed that the application doesn’t work on the Motorola Droid/Milestone.

When we announced on the 7th January, we tried our best to make it clear that the application is currently only compatible with the HTC Hero, HTC Magic and HTC G1. We certainly didn’t want you to waste any time downloading it only to receive a note saying that your device wasn’t yet supported - so we really are very sorry for any inconvenience.

We promise that we are working very hard to complete compatibility for other handsets, including the Droid/Milestone and the Nexus One. Please do keep checking on our website for updates, and we’ll update the blog as and when we have more information. 

On another note, many of you have left questions and comments for us within the Market. Please note that there is currently no mechanism for us to respond to you directly, so if you have a problem that needs fixing please call Customer Services directly on: +44 20 7100 6860 or +1 347 694 5000. Alternatively, post a comment on the blog and we will respond – and please do keep them coming so that we can continue to improve our services!

Truphone shortlisted for Top Ten Mobile Apps Showdown at CES

Things are hotting up over at CES in Las Vegas!

Following our post last week about having been short listed for the Top 20 for the Mobile Apps Showdown at CES, we are delighted to discover that we are now down to the final ten!

The voting closes today, but thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite VoIP application J The Apps Showdown takes place tomorrow, Saturday 8th January at 12.30pm PST at the North Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Centre, CES. 

Have a good weekend everyone!

Wi-Fi calling now available on Truphone for Android

After much anticipation, we are thrilled to announce that the latest version of Truphone for Android (v3.0), available in the Android Market from today, includes free Wi-Fi calling!

That's not all though. Here are just some of the highlights of Truphone for Android 3.0

Free Wi-Fi calling

VoIP integration means you can make and receive calls from other Truphone users, as well as Skype and Google Talk users, free of charge, whenever you are both connected to Wi-Fi.

Tru Friends presence

See if your friends are online so you can call them for free, with the Tru Friends feature.

Simplified IM and Twitter integration

IM for Skype, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo, MSN and Twitter integration has been made even more user-friendly

New look and feel

The overall style, and usability of the Android application has been dramatically improved

Get the new version now from the Android Market on your phone for free and let us know what you think!

How to get the new version for free today

• STEP 1: If you are a current Truphone on the Android user, delete your current version of the application (Go to 'Settings', then 'Applications', 'Manage Applications', select 'Truphone', then 'Uninstall')
• STEP 2: Go to the Android Market on your Android and search for 'Truphone'
• STEP 3: Select the Truphone application (there will be only one, as this version has replaced the previous version)
• STEP 4: Download and install this version (for free!)

The new Truphone Android application is compatible with the HTC G1, HTC Magic and HTC Hero. Compatibility with other Android models with firmware 1.5 or above, including the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One will follow soon.

Looking back on a big 2009

2009 is drawing to a close, and taking a look back, a lot happened this year at Truphone.

We launched our Android application, made some great upgrades of our apps, were shortlisted for a lot of awards, introduced plenty of new features, including Instant Messaging and had a lot of fun hearing about your experiences with Truphone.

2010 will be another big year for Truphone, starting with the upcoming launch of Truphone Local Anywhere early in the new year.

Thank you to all of our fantastic Truphone users, and we look forward to an exciting 2010.

p.s. Don't forget to make some free calls this New Year. Find out more here.

Help us win the Ballot Box!

Following on from our recent success winning the BIMA Award, our iPod touch app has been short-listed in the Top 20 for the Mobile Apps Showdown at CES.

But to actually win, we need the help of all of our Truphone family (including you!).

To help, all you need to do is:

• Go to the Showdown website (you can click the logo on the right)
• Vote, vote, vote for Truphone (we are in the bottom left corner)

Everyone gets 25 votes, you don't need to register or give any details to vote, and it will take less than a minute to do. 

Voting closes on January 7. Thanks to everyone that votes.

As you may know, we have just released a great update of Truphone for the iPod touch into the App Store. New features include speaker phone support and an in app tour guide. Find out more at the App Store.