Vonage on Wednesday unveiled a new mobile app for the iPhone and Android smartphones that affords free calling and messaging along with cheap international calling rates. Vonage Mobile allows users to make free “high-definition” voice over IP calls among each other over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G data connections, and low-cost calls can also be placed through the app to any landline or cell phone globally. The New Jersey-based Telco says its international calling rates are 70% lower than rates from major ca...

Google on Tuesday announced that calls placed within the United States and Canada using Google Voice will continue to be free through the end of 2012. “This is our way of helping you connect with friends and family across the country,” Group Product Manager Vincent Paquet wrote on a company blog. Google stated last year that calls made within the U.S. and Canada would be free through 2011, but the company is extending the promotion through 2012 for reasons unknown. Google Voice was born from Goog...

A new breed of messaging services and mobile Voice over IP clients like Skype are already eating into carrier revenues according to a new study. Commissioned by mobile infrastructure solutions provider Mavenir Systems, interviews with 31 mobile network operators around the world found that one-third of carriers are already seeing voice traffic and SMS revenue decline as a result of the increased popularity of third-party solutions. Read on for more. (more…)

AT&T recently launched its new “AT&T Call International” VoIP application that, exactly as its name implies, allows its customers to place international phone calls from their AT&T’s phones using a Wi-Fi connection anywhere in the world. AT&T’s per-minute VoIP rates are cheaper than its international roaming plans and, judging from AT&T’s product page, calls placed to wireline phones appear to be more affordable than those placed to wireless phones. Customers ...

HP’s webOS is already tightly integrated with a number of services but now it appears that the OS will soon offer Skype integration, too. According to leaked screenshots, users will soon be able to choose to route their calls directly through Skype from the phonebook application, an option that will no doubt save international callers a big chunk of change. Similarly, users may also be able to place Skype video calls, allowing them to use the front-facing camera on the Pre 3 for video chats. It’s ...

Skype confirmed early Thursday morning that some users may experience connection issues signing into the service or making Skype calls. The company says it has identified the problem and has posted instructions for fixing the issue. The good news is it doesn’t look like the outage will be as massive as the one last December, which was later blamed on an overloaded cluster of support servers. If you’re experiencing issues now, hit the jump for some quick fix instructions from Skype. Just don’...

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it will acquire Skype for $8.5 billion in cash. The news comes just days after reports surfaced that Facebook and Google were both interested in purchasing, or at least creating a joint venture with the online video chat company. However, sources said Facebook was considering spending $3 to $4 billion on Skype, a fraction of Microsoft’s offer. The firm said Skype will be used to support Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and other Windows devices. Microsoft also said that...

Facebook and Google are in separate talks to enter joint ventures with Skype, Reuters reported on Thursday. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also reportedly been in clandestine meetings discussing an all-out purchase of the VoIP service. Skype’s IPO, which is expected to occur later this year, could be worth $1 billion, however, deals with Facebook or Google could bring in as much as $3-$4 billion, Reuters said. Skype 5.0 launched in October of this year and added tight Facebook integration, but...

T-Mobile announced Monday that it’s temporarily suspending its “Bobsled by T-Mobile” service, which allows Facebook users to call one another for free. Bobsled was unveiled less than a week ago, and it appears that T-Mobile is making the move in an effort to distinguish its own branding. The carrier’s full statement, posted on Facebook today, said:We are voluntarily and temporarily suspending the Bobsled service as we work with our partners at Facebook to address their design questions...

Despite leaked information that Sprint and Google would launch Google Voice integration services on April 26th, multiple sources have confirmed that the service is already being rolled out to users. Sprint and Google announced the partnership last month, and the new service will allow Sprint users to access calls and text messages, or place calls through Google Voice’s Web interface using their Sprint number. Alternatively, users can opt to have their Google Voice number replace their Sprint number on ...

Want to call your Facebook friends for free? Now you can. T-Mobile just took the wraps off of its “Bobsled by T-Mobile” brand, which the company says is its first big step into the IP communications business. The first application under the brand sports the same name — “Bobsled by T-Mobile” — and allows users to place free calls from their PC to Facebook friends. “Bobsled by T-Mobile takes our communications services innovation to a whole new dimension, bringing simple and co...

Last week, the FCC ruled in favor of AT&T in a complaint it filed against VoIP home-phone service provider magicJack. For those of you that don’t own a television, magicJack advertises — relentlessly, via infomercial — that its VoIP service will provide unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada for just $19.95 per year. Users are instructed to plug the USB dongle (pictured above) into their computer, connect any touch-tone phone to the dongle’s opposite end, and start dialing. AT&T has, h...

Viber, the popular iPhone application that allows for free calling to other Viber users, has been updated to version 2.0.1. After applying the update, Viber users will be able to send and receive free text messages to one another, complete with notifications. Viber has also been updated with a number of UI changes — the favorites have been moved, the calling mechanism has been improved and now shows the current state of any Viber call, and the application now has a deactivation feature. The update is availa...

Research In Motion has just announced that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Social Platform is now available in public beta. First announced during BlackBerry DEVCON 2010, BBM Social Platform allows developers to integrate their applications directly with BBM using a set of new APIs, and RIM is banking on developers to make BBM a more robust application. RIM hopes programmers will create multimedia apps, location-based services, games, VoIP services, and more, that can build on the existing BBM experience. HereR...