New Vonage Mobile apps offer free smartphone to smartphone calling

Rich Fiscus
9 Feb 2012 14:26

Vonage has released new mobile apps for iOS and Android offering free voice and texting throughout the world.
In 2010 Vonage expanded into Skype territory with a Facebook app to offer free calling to other Facebook users. Their new Vonage Mobile apps take this a step further by combining free app to app calling on iOS and Android with prepaid calls to other phones.
Voice calls and texts between Vonage Mobile clients are free, potentially allowing people who have dropped home phone service to save on wireless minutes. Calls made through mobile data connections will still count against your data plan. Of course you can avoid that when your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Vonage Mobile works with your phone's existing address book. It will show you which contacts have Vonage Mobile accounts, and there's a SMS powered Invite feature (see the video below). To call a phone directly, instead of from app to app, you will need to buy credits. When you select a contact it will show you the per minute rate before you make a call.
Calling credits can be purchased directly within the app and go through the iTunes Store or Android Market. According to Vonage, their rates are "on average 70% less than major mobile carriers and 30% less than Skype2." Calls to Vonage home phone numbers are free.

There is a lot to like about Vonage Mobile, but they are taking on a formiddable competitor in Microsoft owned Skype. On the other hand, Vonage has a history of beating the odds. Since 2007 they have survived massive losses in patent lawsuits, competition from broadband provider VOIP offerings, and a radical shift to wireless in the telecom industry, while also weathering the worst economic climate in nearly a century.