TruPhone: Mobile VOIP service. Free US/Canada calls and a real PSTN number
Truphone brings VoIP to mobile phones. They have a downloadable setup wizard and software for E-series Nokia phones (you download it using your wifi connection) along with very detailed installation instructions on their website. I made several short calls and four long duration calls atleast 60 minutes long each, the voice quality is amazing, with no latency or voice quality issues. Calling US/Canada is free for now (until Dec. 2006).
They also give out a real phone number (I got a Washington area code 306 even though I’m in Canada). UK numbers are also available, but probably only assigned to UK/Europe residents? UK residents also get free calls to a lot of other countries too.
Incoming and outgoing have been working for me with no issues yet, apparently they use an RTP proxy to deal with NAT traversal issues.
I had a bit of trouble signing up but eventually it worked. While the signup was not working I e-mailed support and got a prompt reply with an offer to setup the account manually.
I also had a bit of trouble with setting up an AP with the wizard, but it was easy enough to set it manually.
According to their website N series support is coming soon too.
Check them out at http://www.truphone.com
Yes, it is a very good service. I am in India and call my friends in US through this. The call quality is amazing considering the slow internet connections here. I noticed no lag or dropped calls.
Vasanth | 12:23 am on the 10th of October, 2006
I tried downloading the beta for my E61, but recieved a message saying my handset was not supported yet. How did you guys download it? I’m trying to get it using my 3G connection (and not WLAN), perhaps that’s the reason, though it doesn’t make sense…
Kartik | 5:52 am on the 10th of October, 2006
hi i use the e61 in the UK and cant recommend it enough. I have a question for Vasanth, are there any voip providors which you know of that allow free calls to India landline numbers? thanks
Adam | 7:38 am on the 10th of October, 2006
The only thing I can say it’s really worth! The downloading procedure is definitely straightforward. When I made the first call (to a cell phone in the USA) I was struck by quality of the voice. Nothing to do with other well-kwon products (sk… etc). And the integration of this VoIP Client with the E61 is simply amazing.
Great job Truphone! Keep on doing in this way.
charlotte | 4:40 am on the 10th of October, 2006
What a great job? I can’t get the client and get registered, no respond. I’ve been trying to send sms, didn’t work, no cofirmation of delivery and looks like it’s a dead web site. Why it’s so complicated to get their client? What’s the point?
macalex | 9:42 am on the 10th of October, 2006
Awesome to know there’s other alternatives to the Gizmo Project! Thanks for the tip!
Have U.S. Nokia E61 owners gotten screwed with the recent release of the E62 by Cingular? Please visit my blog and tell me what you guys think about this.
http://feedingthefad.blogspot.com/2006/10/have-us-nokia-e61-owners-just-gotten.html
Razor1973 | 12:44 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
Razr1973, I read your blog, interesting observations, however, I bought my Nokia E61 because of the WIFI and the VOIP support, for me these were the most important features, the rest is all gravy. I think the E62 is overpriced without WIFI (I’d rather get one of the new RIM blackberry device). The USB charge port and the headphone port is nice, but not a deal breaker. Vanity dialing is something that can be fixed in the firmware and I don’t think it’s too big a deal, I can count the number of times I’d use this in a year on my left hand.
Just my 2cents worth!
Cheers!
syntron | 12:54 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
have we been screwed by the e61″…Nope. The e61 without wifi and VOIP is just another blackberry type fone with additional features. If it wasnt for the wifi this phone is not worth the 350 i paid. Also again today if i had the choice E61 and E62, i would get the E61 cause i dont want cingular, second even if i got it, its a 2 YEAR CONTRACT…am i nuts to even sign that? plus they make u pay 150 !!!!!
Heres how cellphone companies work …for every new contract they give a 250$ discount to the enduser and thats 1 year. Every 2 yr they give a 320$. Now think of taking that money instead and buying yourself a E61????
WHY NOT!!!!
Also so all ppl who think E61 is not supported in the US, hence insured. I called nokia today, after the complete release of the E61 in the US, the nokia will also support E61 for repair. SO WE nolonger have to ship it to Soudi arabia(in my case) to have it repaired…..if it breaks ofcourse. And we all know that E61 really deserves the tittle, built strong…
E61 will screw the E62…..**** cingulars E62.
ihavenone | 12:29 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
HI,
I was wondering what trouble exactly you had setting up truphone - I can register fine, but I can’t seem to make or receive calls with truphone.
I’d appreciate some information -I’ve asked for help from truphone support, but haven’t heard from them in 2 days.
Thanks!
Sid
Sid | 2:45 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
I have Nokia E 61 and i am using tru phone with wi-fi .Surprisingly there is no latence and sound quality is clear.
It is amazaing.
Great work tru phone…..
Satya V | 2:47 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
The only thing is it says on Truphone’s site that you need the latest firmware on the E61 (2.~) whereas on my damn T-Mobile unit, its 1.06~ and NSU won’t update it - says its uptodate. T-Mob say its their own firmware blah blah but can’t tell me whether its been updated or anything at all. Totally useless.
Mambo | 12:39 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
that’s power!
i’m used now this technology!
perfect!
merqlove | 6:07 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
truphone has been working really well on my unit.. i had issues getting it running but their support is outstanding at helping out.. quality of calls is outstanding too.. i love bypassing my carrier whenever possible lol
sam | 6:08 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
Hey Guys,
TruPhone is incredible! I needed to make a couple minor adjustments to my Nokia E61 upon initial setup, but nothing too technical.
I have my own 360 area code number (Seattle area) and I’m in Canada as well. My girlfriend lives in the US part-time and she calls my 360 number w/ her unlimited evenings/weekends and I have unlimited incoming minutes on my Rogers plan. I don’t even need to be on a WLAN connection when she calls me (I don’t get caller ID in this instance). I do need to be on a WLAN to make an outgoing call. BTW, how in the heck can they do this without charging? How can they hand out free phone numbers? I’m amazed at the technology. I love my Nokia E61.
Ed | 10:32 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
This is an incredible service. For those in India it does not work if you send the sms and wait for a reply. They have a good support team, and all I did was sent a request to their support giving them my number, cellular provider & my number. They immediately responded and gave me a password & a username and asked me to download the setup software.
I use the service not just on WiFI but also with GPRS using Airtel Mobile Office and there is no difference in quality.
For people like Ed you just need to change the access point in one of their sip profiles from a WLAN to a GPRS access point. As said try this out, there is no change in quality
One aspect which really is different from all other providers is the call forwarding. In case I am not registered on their service then people calling on the US number they give are directly connected to my cell phone via cellular. This is the paid component of their service.
A good business model and the paid forwarding facility is also worth it, they just charge as much as other SIP providers charge for PC 2 Phone. And when this working in India it should work in most other European and American countries
SSA | 4:52 am on the 10th of October, 2006
Truphone is the only service that work perfect on my E61 via WiFi. Perfect fast answers to questions also. I tried them all. iSkoot for Skype is not working, installed in phone or memory card no difference. Other services like VoIPBuster entered manually at different ways nothing. Voip via my E61 through via my pc worked as well but who needs that on the road?
Go Truphone!
Ron | 7:21 am on the 10th of October, 2006
I am from Canada with a Washington number. To dial USA/Canada do I dial “1″ first preceeded by area code then the 7 digit number? Therefor, 1 416 xxx-xxxx? To dial international do I dial 011 (country code) (7 digit number) St up in my E61 is awesome. Just compare their screenshots instructions with your cell phone downloaded and the rest is a breeze. They are spoonfeeding us, unlike other VOIP providers. Truphone is truly the leader in mobile VOIP communications. It’s the way to go.
megatravel | 12:57 pm on the 10th of October, 2006
Great software and works like a champ on my E61i. Kudos to the team
venkat | 10:04 am on the 10th of October, 2006
Hi everyone, im from Monterrey, Mexico and im a new truphone user, this is a great software, makes my life more easy, I just call mi cusin from Houston and we talk for about 30 min free of charge, I have relatives in canada but I can’t make the call dialing with the prefix
+1 (416) and the 7 digits, if anyone can give a hand with this please send me a email at jalexz77@yahoo.com.mx thanks and happy holydays
Alex | 1:43 pm on the 10th of October, 2006