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iPhone App Enables GSM To WiFi/VoIP Switching
alias420 writes "You can save on long distance and air time with the new 3G iPhone. iPhone Hacks has the scoop on an upcoming iPhone 2.0 App named 'iCall', that will let you switch between VoIP and normal GSM calls anywhere in North America. You can check out their recently released video proof of call switching in action . This software requires no hacks and will be completely official. Here is a little quote from the developer: 'We are part of the Apple iPhone developer program. This is not an application for you naughty jail breakers ;-)'"
From what they showed, they are not actually switching the call, they are establishing a parallel voip call, then dropping the cellular call. This is unlikely to work seamlessly the other way around, since if you are on voip and walk out of wireless range it will take some time before a cellular call can be dialled to replace it.
There's an official VoIP SDK for the iPhone, so expect similar apps to follow from other providers. The only limitation is that you can't VoIP over the GPRS/Edge/3G data connection.
VoIP calling is only over Wifi, so the data tariff limitations are irrelevant - the SDK simply doesn't allow call switching over non-Wifi data connections.
GSM over wifi is nothing new.
When my crackberry is in UMA mode cals/data don't count towards plan minutes and while overseas the phone thinks its in the US and NO INTL ROAMING fees.
See www.umatoday.com
i suppose this is actually only "really" useful for americans. in other gsm coutries (at least in europe) we don't pay for recieving incoming phones calls. of course, making outgoing calls over wifi is pretty useful (especially considering the rates we pay for making calls outside of our own countries).
This would need you to take a new phone number, much like Grand Central.
Then, when the call arrives, the SIP Invite is forwarded to the application (if running), and the user is prompted to decide on delivery mechanism.
If the app isn't running, the call is connected. If at a later point, the user starts the application, the app registers with the service, and, if desired, the call is dropped from the mobile connection and sent to the VoIP link using a reinvite (probably).
This can be probably be done using Asterisk on the server side. The nifty bit is the VoIP client on the iPhone. Other than that, the service looks pretty bulk standard.
This definitely wouldn't need anything other than the standard APIs.
What they aren't doing is using the built-in Mobile Phone Application and intelligently re-routing outgoing calls based on the presence of a WiFi connection, the way that TruPhone was going last September.
I think they would have some pretty extreme problems constructing a business case around selling this through the AppStore. Apple's current billing and charging limitations pretty much kill it instantly.
They have. I'm a yank living in Germany and I get Telekom's "country select" plan to call home for about 3.5 cents/minute. However, you can tell that the connection isn't over the wire, its voip.....however they are still charging me more than skype.
Monstar L
yes, american minutes count up whether u made the call or not, if u are connected than it's counting the minutes.
sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
skype in all of this? Why haven't they even mentioned an iphone app? With dozens of millions in this potential market, can they really leave it to fring et al? since there are obvious network effects going on in VOIP, skype should try to lead in the iphone space, but as of now they're just silent. Does anyone have any info I'm missing here?
i guess this is only news because its for the iphone, while other phones have done this for a long time. i have been able to use my n95 SIP client to make free calls over the 3G connection for a long time now. ATT doesnt seem to block that data traffic here in the states. unfortunately truphone promo finally ended so calling cell and landlines is no longer free. but for the last year i could do 100% of my calling totally free, as data, and not use 1 cell minute from my plan. rack up those roll over minutes:)
If anyone has used ATT in southern california, you've probably noticed that it needs all the help it can get. It would be wonderful if I could use my wireless internet to make calls out of my apartment. As it is now, I have to run outside whenever my phone rings. More bars in more places my ass!
Your carrier may make VoIP over data connections against the ToS. I know O2 in the UK do.
As it is, I have an E51 and use WiFi for VoIP calling. I may drop the tarrif altogether and get a PAYG sim just to keep the phone active, and for when out of WiFi range.
If I can't use the data connection I pay for without limitations, they don't get my money. Simple as.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Actually, first hand experience of making calls over 3G (HSDPA) packet data connections using Fring on Three shows that call quality is terrible. Admittedly this was in central London, where cells may be quite heavily contended, but once people actually start using 3G you can quite regularly see bursts of latency - causing the throughput to go through the floor.
You get a guaranteed QoS with a proper voice call. You do not with packet data. In fact, Three's own "Skype" service is based on iSkoot, which does uses packet data for getting the contact list, setting up a call etc - but it actually carries calls over a proper voice channel.
Several possible reasons
1) Americans/Canadians pay to receive calls.
2) When roaming, you can pay insane charges to receive a call, even on "caller pays" networks.
3) VoIP calls can use higher bandwidth codecs, resulting in better sound quality.
4) Coverage. If your carrier doesn't have coverage where you are (in a mall/building/airport), but you do have WiFi, you can still make and receive calls.
Having just come from the US and Canada, their GSM coverage was amazingly bad (compared to NZ/UK). I was in San Francisco, and I kept losing the signal!
I don't see why any of what you said is relevant as this software only works on WiFi and NOT on 3G connections??
Have you actually read the article?
From TFA:
"It promises seamless call switching between VoIP via WiFi and regular calls. "
and
"Apple has explicitly stated that VoIP is allowed, just not over Edge networks"
I'm not sure therefore, why you've been modded as insightful when your post is totally wrong - unless I'm missing something??
When I was at WWDC I didn't want to pay the $2.70 per minute(roaming) to call home so I tried fring with my skype account. It worked but the latency was terrible and the quality was only OK, not good. I was using the free public wifi at the conference and there were probably 2000 iPhones or more there so who knows, it could have been interference or something. I did however, try it at home and the call quality was still pretty bad. Latency was still kind of high as well but I was behind NAT in both situations.
The reason it's disabled over EDGE is because EDGE is very high latency and low data rate. It would be terrible to try VOIP over it. Actually I remember when the iPhone voip app called fring first came out, the people at tuaw tried a call over EDGE and it was complete garbage.
As a testament to the inability of current Slashdotters to trollspot, your comment is +4 even though you gave them a free and obvious trollclue.
iTMS is not available over the carrier's data connection, only WiFi. Even people who don't read articles, summaries, or headlines, should have known that coming in. So you left a clue for us normals AND for slow learners, and it was still missed by most.
I have an N95, and Gizmo. If I want to make a call that would be expensive on the cell side, I just find a WiFi hot spot and use the Gizmo Voip program.
It works great, especially while traveling in areas where the the AT&T roaming charges would stagger a billionaire.
Not news, just iPhone news.
* Carthago Delenda Est *
If they were sold with flat-rate data, there would be pretty much no reason to require call switching. At least in the US, the few areas that have 3G coverage have reliable signal. If you've got the bandwidth and you've got the reliability, why add in an additional point of potential failure?
I suppose something that would automatically re-route incoming cellular calls over the VOIP/data connection would be of use, but at that point you should just be giving out your VOIP number and avoid that whole problem.
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
There is a technology available called UMA (Unified Mobile Access) which, with the right handsets, will seamlessly switch from cellular to VOIP over WiFi. It is what is used by the T-Mobile "Hotspot @ Home" plans in the US. The phones have cell and WiFi, and if you are at home or on another WiFi connections your calls (in and out) are VOIP and don't count against your cell minutes if you pay the $10 or $20/month. I use it because our building at work seems to block GSM cell signals, so I use WiFi to get signal at work. I also use it at home where the cell signal is a bit iffy.
The iPhone seems to have all the hardware required, but you can bet your life that AT&T won't be offering this any time soon, because their customers might actually like it...