The Truphone Blog

Merry Christmas from Truphone

The time has come to sign off 2008, and look forward to all the excitement ahead in 2009.

This year has been memorable for us, with the launch of new Truphone apps for the iPhone, iPod and BlackBerry, and many other innovations.

2009 plans to be another really big year, and we hope you come along for the ride. You can stay up-to-date with the latest Truphone news by visiting this blog regularly (you might even want to subscribe to it), following us on Twitter, joining our Facebook Fan page, or just by paying a regular visit to our website.

Thank you to everyone who has used and supported Truphone this year. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and a safe and festive New Year, and look forward to hearing from you in 2009!

New Truphone pricing plan launched - to save you even more

There has been lots of feedback and comments from you, our users, saying that Truphone has great call rates, but can we make them even cheaper?

We are happy to say that we can, and as of today, we have!

As well as our incredibly cheap standard rates (which we have from today renamed as the TruStandard rates), we have now introduced an even cheaper set of call rates, known as the TruSaver rates.

With TruSaver, you can save up to 60% on international calls compared to our TruStandard rates. International call costs are now as low as 1.2p / 1.8c a minute to key destinations.

Getting access to the TruSaver rates is very easy - simply select TruSaver from the Auto Top Up section in My Account. It only costs £2.50 / $4.00 a month to join, and you can cancel at any time.

As an extra bonus for everyone, the monthly fee will only come into effect at the start of February, meaning that you can try out the TruSaver rates for FREE until then.

So, if you are interested in making even more savings on your international calls, the TruSaver might be the answer. You can read more about TruSaver, and compare the TruStandard and TruSaver rates, or look at the terms and conditions, at the Truphone website.

Call landlines and mobile phones with your iPod touch

The blogosphere and the news world have been buzzing about the release of Truphone for the iPod touch.

To keep the excitement going, today we have launched a brand new feature.

2nd generation iPod touch users can now make cheap international calls* to any landline or mobile phone around the world, when in Wi-Fi.

This new feature means that not only can you keep in contact with other Truphone users, but anyone you like.

If you haven't downloaded the app yet, you can do so now for free at iTunes.

There will be more new features coming very soon to Truphone for the iPod touch, so stay tuned!

*Truphone for the iPod touch does not yet enable you to receive calls for landlines or mobile phones

Truphone on the iPhone now works without Wi-Fi

As you know, Truphone for the iPhone is a simple application that provides significant savings on international calls from your home country by routing outbound calls over the internet using Wi-Fi.

But now, it is even better.

Released today is the enhanced version of Truphone for the iPhone. Two of the best features of the new release are that you can:

Make calls even when not in Wi-Fi.

You can now make international calls through the internet, even when you are not in a Wi-Fi zone. Enjoy our amazing international call rates from your home country without the restriction of having to be in Wi-Fi*.

Receive inbound calls, and call other iPhones, for FREE.

When in Wi-Fi, you can now receive calls for free from other Truphone users when you have the Truphone application open. This also means that you can now free-call Nokia users, and other iPhone users who have Truphone open, provided you are both in Wi-Fi.

The enhanced Truphone for the iPhone application is now available. If you have the application already, you can update it via the App Store on your iPhone. If you have not yet downloaded it, you can do so for free on your iPhone from the App Store or from iTunes, on from iTunes on your PC/Mac.

*Utilises your GSM network, so additional charges may apply

ITSPA name Truphone as Best Consumer VoIP finalist

The Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association (ITSPA) has announced the nominations for the 2008 ITSPA Awards, to be held and announced on December 11.

Truphone has been nominated as Best Consumer VoIP, and will be up against some tough competition, including the Tesco Internet Phone.

Eli Katz, Chairman of ITSPA, said: "The purpose of the ITSPA awards 2008 is to foster excellence and to recognise and reward achievement."

Wish us luck!

If you would like to read more about the awards, have a look at the ITSPA website.

UPDATE - We just missed out on the win this time, but next year we will be doing our best to make sure it doesn't happen again!

Turn your iPod touch into a phone

Described by Apple itself as the ‘funnest’ iPod ever, the iPod touch may now be the ‘useful-est’ too thanks to the release of Truphone for the iPod touch, which effectively turns one into a mobile phone.

The application is free to both download and use, just in time to save precious cash when making those Christmas calls to friends and family.

Once installed, and with the addition of microphone adaptor (which you can get from the Apple Store, or from us very shortly), an iPod touch owner can make free calls - no matter where they are in the world - to other iPod touch owners, to customers of Truphone’s Internet telephony service, and to users of the Google Talk™ instant messaging service.

Truphone for the iPod touch will become a one-stop-shop social hub with the following features coming soon:

·        Making and receiving calls to and from landlines (PSTN) at low cost (simply set yourself up with a Truphone account)

·        Instant messaging to Skype and MSN (free)

·        Calling to Skype users (free)

·        Calling to MSN users (free)

·        Check and set facilities for Twitter (free)

·        Check and set facilities for Facebook (free)

Truphone for iPod touch is easily downloaded from Apple’s App Store in exactly the same way as any other iPod touch application.

The application uses the iPod touch's Wi-Fi connection to carry calls over the Internet to its destination. There is no monthly line rental, no subscription or other hidden charges.

So, what type of calls can you make?

·        iPod touch to iPod touch

·        iPod touch to Truphone (some Nokia handsets)

·        Truphone (some Nokia handsets plus iPhone) to iPod touch

·        iPod touch to Google Talk PC user

And what do you need, to make these calls?

·        A second generation iPod touch (i.e. current model)

·        A headset and microphone like those for the iPhone.  These may be bought at high street electronics retailers or from an Apple Store

·        Friends also using Truphone!

So, if you want to start impressing people by calling them without using a 'real phone', why not download Truphone for the iPod touch now. We look forward to hearing what you think of it.

Truphone is on Twitter

If you are on Twitter, and want bite-size pieces of Truphone, why not follow us?

We are using Twitter both to chat with users, and tweet about the latest Truphone news.

p.s. the Twitter graphic above was made by Randa Clay