Comunicano

VOXBONE SUPPLIES THE NUMBERS AND NETWORK ACCESS BEHIND “TRUPHONE ANYWHERE”

Voxbone’s DIDs load into Truphone’s handset software for automatic entrée to free or low-cost calling from 34 countries – without WiFi

BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 28, 2008 -- Voxbone, a leading provider of local telephone numbers and VoIP transport to communications service providers and businesses worldwide, today announced that it has been tapped by Truphone to provide the access numbers for the mobile VoIP company’s new “Truphone Anywhere” service.

“Truphone Anywhere” is the latest addition to Truphone’s mobile VoIP handset software. It will work like an all-knowing, international calling card – without the card. When the Truphone-running phone is dialled and senses the presence of a WiFi network, it will convey the caller’s voice as data via the Internet.

Invisible access to the IP network
“Truphone Anywhere” enters the picture when no WiFi LAN is detected. In that case, the mobile phone determines the country in which it is currently being used. From there, the phone chooses the appropriate Voxbone local access number from its own internal database and dials it behind the scenes to the nearest Truphone server.  That server takes the user-entered digits and completes the call to the called party via the Internet. 

The Truphone Anywhere call has actually begun on the cellular network, switched to VoIP at the access number/gateway, and converted back out to the PSTN on a far-end gateway to reach the given PSTN number. By circumventing the PSTN for all but the first and last miles, the service has reduced costs from 25/50 cents or more to a few pennies per minute.  It saves the most where the caller incurs little or no charge for the domestic call made to the access number.

If no access numbers are locally available or are prohibitively expensive to dial, Truphone users have another option in “call-back” connectivity.  Here, the handset sends an SMS containing both calling party and called party numbers to Truphone’s server.  The Truphone server initiates a call back to the handset and once automatically answered, calls the called party and connects both calls together.  All this happens in the background; the user has simply dialled the number he wishes to reach, as usual.

An integrated feature in the latest (4.0) version of the Truphone service, Truphone Anywhere can be downloaded at the Truphone Web site or by sending an SMS message with the word ‘Tru’ to 202 683 8200 (from North America) or to +44 7978 88 11 11 (from everywhere else).

“Between the automatic WiFi usage of our VoIP software and the automatic access-number dialling across the cellular network, our domestic user never has to pay international calling charges,” says James Tagg, CEO, Truphone.  “Even users abroad stand to save.  While many solutions and services are available, they usually address only one type of calling scenario. The Truphone philosophy is different.  We believe that people should be able simply to dial and save.”

About Voxbone
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Voxbone provides worldwide DID numbers and toll-free phone numbers over its own private intercontinental VoIP network. The all-IP architecture of the Voxbone core network enables customers to rapidly deploy new communications services with local presence, while simultaneously reducing costs. Voxbone leases international DID numbers and toll-free numbers via VoIP to organizations in North and South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions. It delivers high-quality call origination and provides the global infrastructure that enables its customers to expand to international markets quickly and efficiently. Using these numbers, Voxbone customers may receive inexpensive, locally dialed phone calls from 43 countries. Founded in 2002, the company is privately held.

About Truphone
The first true Mobile Internet Network Operator (MINO), London-based Truphone allows users of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones to make and receive regular telephone calls and to send, and to receive SMS text messages, using only a Wi-Fi connection and the Internet. Although still in beta, it has already attracted tens of thousands of users in 149 countries. For more information, visit www.truphone.com and www.truphonepressoffice.com.

Truphone is the trading name of Software Cellular Network Limited.

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TRUPHONE INTEGRATES CALL-BRIDGING CAPABILITIES WITH ITS MOBILE INTERNET TELEPHONY SERVICE

Tuesday 27th May, London, UK: Truphone will tomorrow add call-through and call-back functionality to its mobile Internet telephony service, enabling its customers to make low-cost calls even when not connected to the Internet. The combination resulting from the existing Wi-Fi calling and the new call-bridging functionality will mean that customers only need Truphone to benefit from Internet rate calls, wherever they are.

Core facts

1. Truphone Anywhere is of most benefit to customers making calls to international numbers while out of Wi-Fi range. It is of particular advantage to people making international calls from their home country who have a deal that includes bundled or low-cost minutes for domestic calls. Typically this includes North American mobile users, monthly contract customers and many prepay customers with minimum top-up amounts. European pay-as-you-go customers and those with international discount packs should check their tariff to determine how they can make savings.

2. UK example: to make a 10-minute call from the UK to an Australian landline:
- price with Orange Pay Monthly: £0.50/min x 10 = £5.00
- price with Truphone Anywhere: £0.03/min x 10 = £0.30
- how: an in-bundle call to Truphone’s UK server, plus a £0.03/min Truphone call to an Australian landline.

3. US example: to make a 10-minute call from the US to a Chinese landline:
- price with AT&T International Dial Standard rates: $3.49/min x 10 = $34.90
- price with AT&T World Connect (additional $3.99 per month): $0.15/min x 10 = $1.50
- price with Truphone Anywhere: $0.06/min x 10 = $0.60
- how: an in-bundle call to Truphone’s US server, plus a $0.06/min Truphone call to a Chinese landline.

4. Truphone’s 'Tru Zone' pricing means call charges are always predictable and low, without any additional calling plan or change to a contract.

5. By default, Truphone Anywhere is set to ‘always ask’ for domestic-to-international call-through only. However, a customer may also choose to make Truphone Anywhere the default calling mechanism in other call scenarios. Depending on the customer’s tariff with their usual operator, Truphone Anywhere may also save money on international calls made when roaming abroad. 

6. From a technical perspective, Truphone Anywhere works through a combination of GSM calls and techniques known as call-through and call-back. Respectively, these mean:
- the first leg of a call is made to Truphone’s server and the second leg is a Truphone call via the Internet to the called party.
- standard call initiation is suspended and, instead, an SMS containing both calling party and called party numbers is sent to Truphone’s server. The Truphone server initiates a call back to the handset, a Truphone call to the called party also from the server, and connects those calls together at the server.

7. Truphone Anywhere is an integrated feature in the latest version of the Truphone service, 4.0, and works on handsets that are already compatible with Truphone. New and existing customers can get or upgrade to Truphone 4.0 at the Truphone Web site or by sending an SMS message with the word ‘Tru’ to 202 683 8200 (from North America) or to +44 7978 88 11 11 (from everywhere else).

8. Truphone is a mobile operator for the Internet age, delivering a UK-based service accessible from around the world. All Truphone customers can make free and low-cost mobile VoIP calls over Wi-Fi and the Internet. Truphone-to-Truphone calls are always free. A Truphone customer may opt to make any call over GSM rather than via either Truphone or Truphone Anywhere, if they prefer to do so.

Quotes

James Tagg, Truphone’s chief executive officer, said:

• “Saving money on mobile phone calls can be extremely complex; there are many solutions and services available, but often they address only one type of calling scenario. The Truphone philosophy is different and we believe that people should be able simply to dial and save.”
• “To deliver this we have integrated two clever and sophisticated solutions into a single, easy-to-use service.”
• “With our friends and business contacts scattered everywhere and often only snatched time in which to call them, low-cost international calls - on the go, and without having to think about how to make them - become very attractive.”

Links to further media resources:
- Truphone press office
- Truphone Web site
- Truphone-supported handsets
- Picture: James Tagg, Truphone CEO
- Truphone blog
- Truphone Facebook group
- All Truphone pictures
- All Truphone videos

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TRUPHONE ANYWHERE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION ON ALEC SAUNDERS' SQUAWK BOX

Truphone's James Body and Tom Carter join Alec Saunders on the Squawk Box podcast to talk about Truphone's just-announced Truphone Anywhere service, which lets users make calls at low-cost Internet rates--even when not connected to the Internet. Join James, Tom and Alec here.

TUNGLE MEETING COORDINATOR NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE 5.4 MILLION iPhone™ USERS

iPhone™ users  can now easily enjoy fast and easy Tungle meeting coordination

MONTREAL,  May 28, 2008 – Tungle, the free business-class meeting co-ordination service that eliminates the wasted time and frustration of scheduling meetings among many busy people, continues to increase its network of users with the release of it new interface for iPhone™ users. Apple has so far sold 5.4 million iPhones worldwide, based on data from the end of Apple's fiscal second quarter, which ended in March.

Tungle is a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that empowers users to coordinate meetings with anyone, across platforms – including iCal, Google Calendar, Lotus Notes, the BlackBerry and now the iPhone – as well as across organizations, time zones and even individuals not using Tungle. 

“Smart phone users have demanded a rich interface, real-time information and easy access to their busy calendars.” says Marc Gingras, Tungle CEO. “Tungle is a great fit for this audience. Extending our interface to iPhone™ users means they now have a simple to use and powerful tool to coordinate meetings quickly and efficiently anytime, anywhere away from their computer.”

With Tungle’s new iPhone interface, those checking email on their iPhone device can receive a Tungle meeting invitation with a link.  A click on the link launches a browsing session to the Tungle scheduling site formatted for their device.  There, they update their availability.  Once the meeting is booked, they receive a booked meeting confirmation, formatted for their iPhone calendar. 

The Tungle Beta Pilot

A free service, Tungle has been in open beta since April 16, 2008. Anyone who wants to start using Tungle, including the BlackBerry service, can simply visit www.tungle.com to download. The recently launched Tungle Outlook plug-in takes less than 30 seconds to install. It automatically synchronizes with users’ Outlook address books and calendars, eliminating any configuration or complicated setup. This information is kept secure and locally on the user’s machine, and is not uploaded or shared with anyone else or with Tungle. Its IM-like user interface makes it easy for users to understand and to start using within seconds.

About Tungle
Founded in 2006, Tungle is the company that makes meeting coordination fast and easy. It dramatically reduces the amount of communication required to find a suitable meeting time among many users, allowing anyone to share calendar views of availability without exposing preexisting meetings.  Tungle is the first meeting coordinator to work across organizations, independent of the calendar or groupware system(s) used. Its inherent speed, privacy and native communication with groupware clients makes it an ideal, free alternative for mid and small offices that don’t have the desire or resources to invest in an Exchange or Domino server.  Headquartered in Montreal, Tungle is funded by leading Canadian investors.  For more information, visit www.tungle.com.

Tungle and the Tungle logo are the property of Tungle Corporation. The iPhone and Apple families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Apple Inc.  All other names and brands are the property of their respective holders.

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TUNGLE REVIEWED IN FINANCIAL TIMES

Financial Times writer Paul Taylor has some very nice things to say about Tungle, which he says is his favorite meeting scheduler service. Paul notes that among its many attributes, "Tungle's instant messaging-style user interface makes it easy for users to understand and use straight away." Read the full story.

TUNGLE'S MARC GINGRAS ON ALEC SAUNDERS' SQUAWK BOX

Marc Gingras, CEO of Tungle, spoke today with Alec Saunders about Tungle's meeting scheduling service, now available on BlackBerry. Catch the Squawk Box podcast here.

TUNGLE MEETING COORDINATOR OPTIMIZED FOR BLACKBERRY

The Free, Business-Class Meeting Coordinator Reaches BlackBerry Users,
Making Scheduling Meetings with Busy, On-the-Move Professionals Easier Than Ever

MONTRÉAL–May 20, 2008—Tungle, the free business-class meeting co-ordination service that eliminates the wasted time and frustration of scheduling meetings among many busy people, has released a new version of its plug-in. The newest version of Tungle allows users to easily coordinate meetings for perhaps the very busiest people:  professionals on the go who don’t have time to open their laptops. Owners of BlackBerry® smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM), in addition to notebook and desktop users, can now easily manage and schedule meetings with Tungle.

Tungle is a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that empowers users to coordinate meetings with anyone, across platforms—including iCal, Google Calendar, Lotus Notes and now BlackBerry—as well as across organizations, time zones and even with people who are not using Tungle.

With Tungle’s new BlackBerry interface, professionals checking e-mail on their BlackBerry devices can receive Tungle meeting invitations with a link. A click on that link launches a WAP browsing session to the Tungle scheduling site, formatted for their devices’ displays. Once there, users can update their availability. After the meeting is booked, the user will receive a meeting confirmation, formatted for his or her BlackBerry calendar—all without having to open a laptop.

“Road warriors are probably the biggest scheduling challenge,” said Marc Gingras, CEO of Tungle. “They are rarely in front of their computers and are hard to reach when coordinators are trying to fix meeting times. If they carry BlackBerries, they can now quickly and easily respond to Tungle meeting invitations when they are on the go, in a matter of seconds.”

The Tungle Beta Pilot

A free service, Tungle has been in open beta since mid-April. To start using Tungle, including the BlackBerry service, users can visit www.tungle.com to download.  The recently launched Tungle Outlook plug-in takes less than 30 seconds to install. It automatically synchronizes with users’ Outlook address books and calendars, eliminating any configuration or complicated setup. This information is kept secure and locally on the user’s machine, and is not uploaded or shared with anyone else or with Tungle. Its IM-like user interface makes it easy for users to understand and to start using within seconds.

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Tungle and the Tungle logo are the property of Tungle Corporation. All other names and brands are the property of their respective holders.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

About Tungle

Founded in 2006, Tungle makes meeting coordination fast and easy. It dramatically reduces the amount of communication required to find a suitable meeting time among many users, allowing anyone to share calendar views of availability without exposing preexisting meetings. Tungle works across organizations, independent of the calendar or groupware system(s) used. Its inherent speed, privacy and native communication with groupware clients makes it an ideal, free alternative for mid-and small offices that don’t have the desire or resources to invest in an Exchange or Domino server.  Headquartered in Montréal, Tungle is funded by leading Canadian investors. For more information, visit www.tungle.com.

VAPPS ADOPTS NEW BRAND: ‘HIGH-DEFINITION CONFERENCING’

Drops ‘High-Speed Conferencing’ to Better Reflect High-Quality Audioconferences

HOBOKEN, N.J.–May 14, 2008—Vapps, Inc., provider of affordable, flat-rate audioconferencing services with lifelike, in-the-room sound quality, today announced it has adopted High-Definition Conferencing (HD-C) as its new brand to better reflect the crisp, crystal-clear audio fidelity of its audioconferences via Skype™ Internet communications. High-Definition Conferencing replaces Vapps’ previous brand, High-Speed Conferencing, effective immediately.

“We want to let everyone know Vapps is raising the bar on sound quality in audioconferencing because we’re the only conferencing company able to give users a ‘high definition’ audio experience through Skype, while still admitting participants on any kind of phone,” said Vapps CEO Ben Lilienthal. 

“When we speak, our voices produce sound in the 20 Kilohertz (KHz) range and our ears hear 20 KHz, but the copper wiring of traditional telephone networks supports only 3.5 KHz. Our High-Definition Conferencing operates in the 16 KHz range for Skype audioconferencing, a quality difference you can easily hear. At the same time, we conference in traditional telecom users, so that no one is excluded.

“We believe it’s definitely a tool for improved productivity because High-Definition Conferencing participants tell us the clarity they’re experiencing lets them better understand everyone speaking, especially those with foreign accents,” he said. “It stands to reason that people who can hear each other more clearly will work together more efficiently. This is especially important for very large group meetings with more than 100 participants.”

Lilienthal said Vapps has a newly redesigned Website for users to learn about and sign up for High-Definition Conferencing:  www.hidefconferencing.com.

Vapps recently updated its Skype Extra, a plug-in that launches the full feature set of its Web-enabled service from within Skype. Those on Skype may click on the “Do More” menu option to open the HD-C plug-in, which will now appear and operate in Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Polish, in addition to English.

From that interface, they can start meetings on the spot, inviting fellow Skype users by sending automated chat messages. (Should Skype contacts be caught with their headphones unplugged, the chat invite offers a telephone phone number for joining the conference as well.) They can also click on the interface’s “schedule” button, auto-logging into the HD-C site, to schedule meetings of as many as 500 attendees and send e-mail invitations to others, as well as their Skype contacts. 

About Vapps, Inc.

Vapps, Inc., based in Hoboken, N.J., provides managed audioconferencing solutions to the SMB, enterprise and service provider markets using its patent-pending, wide-band audioconferencing technology. Founded in 2003 by Ben Lilienthal and Jerry Norton, Vapps' flagship service is its High-Definition Conferencing (HD-C), the first and only high-definition, flat-rate audioconference offering that can conference together a mixed-participant group of PSTN phone and Skype users.   

For Skype-using participants, HD-C transmits a much richer, more “in-the-room” voice quality than can be achieved with traditional phones, dramatically improving the productivity of team collaboration. Vapps’ fees for an unlimited number of conferences and conference minutes start at a fixed $25 per month for 10 attendees and scale with the number of participants.  For more information, please visit Vapps at http://www.vapps.com.
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MOBIVOX LAUNCHES ITS SERVICE IN MANDARIN CHINESE

Mandarin Speakers at Home and Abroad Can Now Easily Reach Each Other For Free or at Low Cost Per Minute From Any Phone

MONTRÉAL–May 13, 2008—MOBIVOX, the international calling service that connects family, friends, business associates and Skype contacts around the world for free from any phone, announced today the launch of a Mandarin Chinese version of its acclaimed voice user interface and Web site. The newly localized service will bring Mandarin speakers a simple-to-use Web site for initial registration, and an easily understood interactive voice response (IVR) application that recognizes callers and asks for the desired number to reach, all in their native language.   

Mandarin-speaking users in over 40 countries need only call their local MOBIVOX access number to reach the IVR and enter the number they want to call.  They can also enter the name of a registered contact using the phone’s keypad, if they have previously entered the name on their Mobivox registration site. Chinese-written names can be entered through Pinyin.

Registered users in China, where there is currently no local access number, can also benefit from free or low-cost calling by using MOBIVOX’s SMS or Web Call Back features. Users will first receive a call from MOBIVOX, which will then connect their call to the contact or number of their choice.
 
Registration to MOBIVOX is free. Calls between registered MOBIVOX members are also free to more than 40 countries, and calls to non-members start at 1.9 cents per minute. 

“I’ve tried many phone services over the years—various calling plans, phone cards, and Internet calls,” said Lin Li, a state government employee from the Sacramento area who emigrated from China in 1993. “But I just tried MOBIVOX recently, and found it the best by far. I am impressed with its convenience, voice quality and extremely low cost. Now I can call my mom in China whenever and wherever I want, using my home phone or cell phone. Even better, if we’re both registered with MOBIVOX, the call is totally free. I am going to tell my friends to try it!”

MOBIVOX worked closely with Welocalize, a globalization firm based in Frederick, Md., for the English-to-Chinese translation and localization of the service.

According to Darren Yaphe, director of marketing at MOBIVOX, China is one of the four most popular destinations for MOBIVOX callers, along with Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. “China exchanges huge volumes of telecom traffic with widely dispersed émigré communities and individuals,” he said. “Considering the spread of these populations and the reach of our network, we knew we’d lower costs for the greatest number of people by making Mandarin Chinese the first language to be added to our English-language interface.” 

The Mandarin interface will also enable the use of many MOBIVOX voice-driven services, including free conference calling, said Yaphe. “Mandarin-speaking members in Vancouver, New York, London, Malaysia and Shanghai will find it incredibly easy and inexpensive to all meet together over MOBIVOX.”

A Mandarin version of this release can be obtained here: http://comunicano.typepad.com/bam/2008/05/mobivox-launche.html.

About MOBIVOX 

MOBIVOX is an international calling service that makes it possible to call friends, family, business associates and Skype contacts around the world for free from any phone. Calls between members are free to more than 40 destinations and all other calls to non-MOBIVOX members start at 1.9 cents per minute.

MOBIVOX is headquartered in Montréal with a satellite office in Boston. For more information, visit www.MOBIVOX.com.

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MOBIVOX 将推出中文服务 (Mandarin translation of release)

A Mandarin translation of the press release is available as a PDF file here:Download finalmobivox_chineseivr_mandarin_pdf.pdf.

还可根据请求提供本新闻稿的 Microsoft Word 格式. sue.huss@comunicano.com.