The Truphone Blog

Truphone Slashes Mobile App Calling Rates

As from 1^st September, we're cutting our prices in a big way to offer you Truphone’s most incredible calling rates over Wi-Fi and 3G to date.

International calls from just 1.3p/2.1c per min!

We looked at our 37 most popular calling destinations and have reduced those call rates by at least 50%, which means you'll be able to talk for longer, for less.

So now you can call USA, UK, France, Australia, Canada and many more countries, for just 1.3p/2.1c* per minute!

And of course, you'll still be able to call Truphone, Skype and Google Talk users for free over Wi-Fi and 3G, anywhere in the world, from supported devices.

Upgrade to TruUnlimited and never worry about the time again

We've also reduced our TruUnlimited bundle to just £7.99/$12.95 per month which lets you call 38 countries for as long as you like, without having to worry about how much it's going to cost...

We're also saying goodbye to our TruSaver tariff as it's no longer the same great value it used to be. TruSaver customers will receive an email informing them about the changes.

Find out more about our new pricing now

Happy chatting,

The Truphone Team

p.s. If you have any questions, you can visit our support page within your app or by going to www.truphone.com/support 

* A connection fee of 3p/4.8c applies to each call made. Charges to premium rate numbers may vary.

Mobile VoIP - what does the future hold?

For a few years now, we have been producing mobile VoIP applications. 

At the same time, we have been keeping a close eye on the growing interest people around the world have for what we think is a pretty clever (and cost-effective) way to make calls.

In the past few days, a couple of articles came out writing about the future of mobile VoIP.

This one about a study that showed that over 100 million people will be using mobile VoIP by 2012.

And this one discussing whether mobile VoIP is about to become mainstream.

Well worth a read if you get the chance.

Of course, we are very positive about the future for mobile VoIP (naturally!), but what do you think? Do you think it is going to be a mainstream way for people to communicate? Or remain a little edgy and different?

Mobile News write-up on Truphone

There was an interesting article about European roaming rates and Truphone Local Anywhere yesterday in Mobile News, which called Truphone the 'new-model traveller MVNO' and said that our service was 'allowing customers to operate freely abroad without watching their telephony spend'.

Read the article online here. 

Truphone appears in Google's keynote speech

As we mentioned in a previous post, we had a short cameo in the intro video of Google CEO Eric Schmidt's keynote speech at the recent Mobile World Congress.

Here is the keynote speech in its entirety - be sure to look out for us at about 2:25.

Smartphones make travel easier

 

An article in USA Today recently showed how people are becoming more and more reliant on their smartphone when away from home.

"Beyond online maps and travel guides, travelers are turning to their phones to look up aircraft seat configuration, track taxis, reply to early hotel check-in requests, order room service and locate nearby colleagues."

Read the full article here.

In the past, people have tended to leave their phone off as much as possible when overseas to avoid roaming charges. However, as more and more people see their phone as a vital tool when travelling, we realised a solution was needed to make sure you can keep the convenience of using your phone overseas without spending too much to do so. 

So if you are one of the "growing army of tech-savvy travelers whose smartphones are transforming their travel habits" don't forget to check out our new Truphone Local Anywhere service before you leave!

(image via USA Today)

Eric Schmidt's a fan of Truphone

Amid all the fanfare yesterday at Google's keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where Eric Schmidt talked about 'mobile first' and 'mobile technology being fundamental to human existence', one thing was missing from the reporting of the press conference which we wanted to highlight - Mr Schmidt's inclusion of Truphone in the video of applications for Android handsets that was shown as part of his presentation!!

iPod Touch is now also a phone

The 3 network in the UK has started selling an iPod Touch and a 3G Wi-Fi modem bundle (left, image courtesy of CNet). It’s on a £24 (about $40/26€) per month contract and you get the iPod Touch for free.

This provides iPod Touch with a constant Internet access and with some clever magic the almighty iPod can be easily turned into a (nearly) full-featured phone. And because iPod Touch will think it’s connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, rather than a 3G network, most of the applications that are currently restricted on 3G should work, including Truphone, BBC iPlayer and others. 

Only thing that’s missing on an iPod Touch is a microphone so if you’re not a fan of one-way communication, you can get one of the iPod Touch microphone adaptors from our shop. It’s only a few pounds and we’ll also give you an extra £5/$5 calling credit when you top up £5/$5.

If you haven't downloaded Truphone for the iPod Touch yet, why not download it now for free.

Truphone - a first alternative to Skype or Gizmo5

 Yesterday we received a lovely review from Crenk.com, who had been looking at alternatives to Skype and Gizmo5. You can look at it here at Crenk Blog.

Only thing we’d like to add to this article is that our iPhone, iPod Touch and Android apps already support full Skype functionality, so anyone switching to Truphone neither lose any of the previous functionality, nor have to keep two apps installed. Smart stuff.

Keeping things simple

A poll conducted recently of UK consumers found that over half were confused and overwhelmed by their mobile phone charges (read the article here).

That is why at Truphone, we try to keep our pricing clear and simple.

• No lengthy contracts - just pay as you go
• The same call rates, wherever you are in the world
• No peak/off-peak rates - you pay the same great rate, any time of the day or night
• 3 great pricing options. Our TruStandard rates, our even-lower TruSaver rates, and TruUnlimited, our unlimited calling plan

And best of all, Truphone to Truphone calls, when you are both connected to Wi-Fi, are completely free.

Clear and simple!

Truphone on iPod given fantastic 8/10 review!

Smartphone & PDA Essentials magazine has just released a full-page review of our Truphone application on the iPod Touch.

And we are pleased to say that they liked it!

So much so that they gave it a score of 8 out of 10, saying that the app "integrates very impressively with the system", describing the app as an "all-round messaging system", and "found the call quality to be surprisingly good".

Read the full article here.

(Incidentally, the article mentioned that Truphone on the iPhone can be used over 3G, which may be a breach of network contracts. We would like to highlight that Truphone does not use data over 3G. It uses the GSM network to connect the call, which is not a breach of network contracts.)