Fring alternative for VOIP calls

Posted by BA on Jul 19, 2010 in Green Computing, Internet, Mobile Apps, Smartphones, Video Communication Apps, Voice Communication Apps | 3 comments

Skype is down on Fring and its not a good news. The way things are going, I don’t see it coming back to Fring at all, at least not in a few years to come. What do I do? If you are one of those lucky ones who have a phone that supports the native Skype client, stop reading here

If you were using Fring because you have no Skype option on your phone model, you have to look around for an alternative now. Nimubzz is the only alternative now that gives free voice Skype to Nimbuzz calls so that you can use your cellphone to make and receive Skype calls. I used Nimbuzz a couple of years ago and it was not impressive at all. When I installed it again today, it has grown up to be a stable application with several other cool features including voice calls to and from skype. The only issue I can see is the lack of video call capability (may be it’s my phone?).

Go ahead and install the app from Nimbuzz.com and don’t you forget to leave a comment below saying thanks if it works out for you

Green Computing Note

User your phone for voice and video chat instead of your computers. Phones take less power hence more environment friendly.

Skype vs Fring – Skype says Fring was being illegal

Posted by BA on Jul 17, 2010 in Communication, Internet, Mobile Apps, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunication, Video Communication Apps, Voice Communication Apps | 3 comments

As we’ve covered already, Skype calls and instant messaging is not available for Fring users anymore. Fring calls it a cowardly act by Skype. Skype on the other hand says that they have not blocked out Fring without any reason. According to Skype, Fring was using Skype API in a way it is not supposed to be use, hence violating the API use agreement. This is what official Skype blog says about it:

Fring was using Skype software in a way it wasn’t designed to be used – and in a way which is in breach of Skype’s API Terms of Use and End User License Agreement. We’ve been talking with Fring for some time to try to resolve this amicably.

However, over time, Fring’s mis-use of our software was increasingly damaging our brand and reputation with our customers. On Friday, for example, Fring withdrew support for video calls over Skype on iOS 4 without warning, again damaging our brand and disappointing our customers, who have high expectations of the Skype experience.

Whatever is cooking between Fring and Skype, its turning out to be a nightmare for a lot of Fring users. Some believe its a move  by Skype because they are now coming up with their own Skype client on many mobile platforms, so they are trying to keep Fring’s competition at bay. Whatever is the case, all those users are suffering real bad who have been using them on mobile phones which do not support the native Skype clients and they are left without the capability of making or receiving skype calls on their phones.

No Skype on Fring anymore

Posted by BA on Jul 14, 2010 in Mobile Apps, Nokia, Smartphones, Video Communication Apps, Voice Communication Apps | 3 comments

This has been a shock for me. I have been using Fring for voice and video calls for years now and all my Skype calls simply land on my mobile. Skype has suddenly stopped working on Fring and I was wondering what happened? Just a simple search and I find all Fring users ranting all over the web about this latest change.

How Fring describes it is a cowardly act by Skype. This is what a post titled “Skype Cowardly Blocks Fring” on Fring Blog says about the recent development:

we are very disappointed that Skype, who once championed the cause of openness is now trying to muzzle competition, even at the expense of its own users.

I’ve been using Fring on Nokia and then on Android. Why I use Fring+Skype is the lack f the native Skype app on my favorite handsets. Well, Skype has been developing clients for the new platforms but we still have a big gap between supply and demand of this app on different platforms. Skyp is still not available on my BlackBerry 9700 and its not available for another number of handsets running on Android and Symbian while Fring was filling up this gap quite well.

Now this is what you call pulling the plug. I’m an unhappy fring+skype user

p.s: Do you have an alternate app in mind that will let me make and receive Skype voice and video calls over data networks. This is really frustrating

How to watch a cricket match without electricity? Mobilink TV – a life saver

Posted by BA on Sep 27, 2009 in Uncategorized | 4 comments

Pakistan vs India cricket match is always a popular event to watch not only in these two countries but everywhere else cricket is played, understood and liked. I was also very excited about the match on Saturday but was also afraid of the possible power failures. It went great for the initial hours but when the match reached the climax at midnight, power company employees showed their dutifulness and switched the power off for an hour.

Now what?

Quickly I tried a few options. First of all, I tuned into a good old FM radio channel that was quick and convenient. At least I could get live score and updates. In addition, I had a few other options for live score updates, for example:

• Cricinfo.com on my mobile browser (http://m.cricinfo.com)
• Cricinfo.com widget on Snaptu, a mobile app that is much more cool than a website.
• Mobilink cricket companion that is a J2ME app for your phone
• Cricinfo’s own J2ME app available from Plusmo

All of the above are text based cricket score tools and eventually were much slower than that of FM radio. I was still missing the TV as I knew that the power is not going to be available. Then I recalled a service that I tried several months ago. Yes, Mobilink TV. I simply directed my browser to Mobilink TV’s wap site and launched the sports channel on my phone. Within a few seconds I could watch the match live. That was the best thing that happened to me in several days

It was an amazing experience. I watched the match for almost 45 minutes. But I must warn and inform you about a few facts here:

• The service is very expensive but at that time, it was worth it. It costs Rs. 6/megabyte plus tax. According to a careful calculation, it must have costed me around Rs. 100 or more for these 45 minutes. (I’ll post the exact amount once I get my bill)
• The TV transmission sound was crystal clear but you need external speakers for better experience.
• The quality of video for a 3 inch screen was moderate. I could hardy read the score at the bottom of the screen but could clearly understand what’s going on in the game.
• Like any other internet video solution, there were points when video got stuck for data buffering. May be a few seconds pause every couple of minutes.
• There was around 25 seconds delay as compared to normal TV or radio’s live coverage.
• And yes, there is a specific set of compatible handsets that runs this service. Not all smart phones are compatible. Even the BlackBerries are not
• Last but not least, there is a separate access-point setup needed to access these TV streams. Make sure to get the settings by calling the helpline.

In short it was fun to watch cricket without electricity. Lets see how much fun it will be to pay for it

Please share your experience if any.