Gizmo Project makes all VoIP to landline calls free. Forever.

Skype ruffled some feathers in the internet telephony world earlier this year when they announced they'd be offering free SkypeOut calls to the US and Canada for the rest of 2006. We weren't too interested since it came off as little more than a promotion, and we typically skip over promos (for obvious reason). But we're kind of left wondering how Skype -- deep eBay pockets and all -- intends to compete with archrival Gizmo Project's latest tactic: free Gizmo-to-landline calls anywhere, anytime, any amount, forever. We'll probably be spending a while trying to make heads from tails of their business plan which pretty much totally gives away the shop, but who's really going to be reeling here is the rest of the VoIP telephony industry that's currently clawing desperately to monetize on landline phone replacements. Not everything's free with Gizmo Project, however; even though you can all over Europe, Asia, and the Americas (to 60 countries and counting), if you want your pals to call you on Gizmo from their landlines, you're going to have to buy a Call In number. (Fret not though, since those cost as little as $3 a month.) Also, in order to call them up they need to have a number registered to an active Gizmo account, which increases the barrier to entry by a bit. But what started with Captain Crunch's 2600Hz whistle may now end with Gizmo Project's capture of the biggest voice trunk of all time; if this is any sign of things to come, we'd say the free voice revolution may finally have a proper flagbearer. So let the free phone wars begin.

[infinitespecter @ Jul 20th 2006 5:23AM]

This makes me want to run out and get one of those WiFi phones now! Man... free unlimited calls forever... awesome!

[Jordan @ Jul 20th 2006 5:29AM]

Unless I'm reading this wrong then calls aren't technically free. To make free landline and mobile calls, you need to get your friends to register with gizmo as well and they add their numbers to their profile. You can then call their landlines or mobiles for free - but if you want to call your mum or dad who may not be on gizmo then you still have to pay.

I think that they are hoping those who register their numbers will probably start using gizmo software to talk to each other...

[rabbit_ @ Jul 20th 2006 5:44AM]

would it be possible to make accounts for your friends you want to call, using their landline numbers?

[MattyMattMatt @ Jul 20th 2006 5:46AM]

The good ol' fine print.....

*The All Calls Free plan applies when both call participants are registered and active Gizmo Project users. A person is considered active when they are making phone calls with Gizmo Project on a regular basis. We reserve the right to limit call length. In countries where free phone calls are not available, when calling a non-free number in an All Calls Free-listed country, or when calling a non-Gizmo Project user, calls are subject to our regular low rates.

[Xavier @ Jul 20th 2006 5:50AM]

What a coincidence, I was just reading about Jobs and the Woz.

Captain Crunch, man that guy is a real phreak.

[MauiMacMan @ Jul 2nd 2008 7:52PM]

Me and Crunch go way back from Creativity Cafe to the phreak days in NYC all the way to the shores of Berkeley, and on down to LA, then and around the world (in the span of a day) the world a very small one at that), and getting smaller all the time while the Net gets fat!

http://creativity.net/blogs/ccafe/2008/03/various-media-ink-visionary-artists.html

[David @ Jul 20th 2006 5:59AM]

Jordan has it right, but also they require you to be an "active user" and reserve the right to limit the length of your call (OMG my network dropped my call!!!)

[OlivierB @ Jul 20th 2006 6:09AM]

Very cool but wengo.com and voipcheap.com already offer free calls to pretty much the same list of countries *without* the need for the number to be registered with Gizmo.
Now that's something!

[Gogh @ Jul 20th 2006 6:14AM]

Hmm... Just tested:
Install gizmo, make two accounts. Give them both the same landline-number. Swap between them to keep them in "active-status" so you can call that landline number like forewer whatever the number is.

[Keith L. Dick @ Jul 20th 2006 6:41AM]

Someone somewhere will figure out a way to "make You Pay"..

"It's The Human Way of things"...

[TZK @ Jul 20th 2006 6:55AM]

LOL, I love it when engadget blows a story open, then someone like "OlivierB" comes along and kills it.

Hahahaha, nice one!

[WARik @ Jul 20th 2006 7:13AM]

TZK own yourself :)

LOL !

I'll install this programm in a few days.. and see, what it is

[musti @ Jul 20th 2006 7:30AM]

The All Calls Free plan applies when both call participants are registered and active Gizmo Project users. A person is considered active when they are making phone calls with Gizmo Project on a regular basis. We reserve the right to limit call length. In countries where free phone calls are not available, when calling a non-free number in an All Calls Free-listed country, or when calling a non-Gizmo Project user, calls are subject to our regular low rates.

[Mikami @ Jul 20th 2006 8:23AM]

MacBook Test:

Installed it on OSX and registered. Then installed it on XP in parralells, registered with a different username. On the XP profile, I played around with the numbers, changing them to people's I wanted to ring and Voila, free calls to anyone I want. Also noted, that if the member is offline, but is on your contact list, you can still call them for free. Obviously the only issue here, is having two computers, and logging in to one of the clients to change the number, for the contact you wanted to ring.

The quality isn't too bad, when ringing a house phone it seems pretty clear according to the person on the other side. However, they can hear themselves and a slight echo. Mobile phones are a little worse, but that's to be expected, really.

In conclusion, it is well worth it, considering it's all free =)

[robin @ Jul 20th 2006 8:39AM]

Has anyone tried the .co.uk version ?

http://www.gizmoproject.co.uk

hehe

[quahogian @ Jul 20th 2006 8:58AM]

Well it's true that sooner or later we end up paying, but that's the real world for you. What, did you expect to live in socializm or something? Somebody's gotta pay after all, maybe it's free now, but you sure will pay for it somehow later.

[Nick @ Jul 20th 2006 9:23AM]

So I'm trying to figure out their business model.

I wonder if they let you make free calls to friends in order to data-mine and then later sell your phone numbers to marketers.

I say it's possible.

[OlivierB @ Jul 20th 2006 9:24AM]

LOL TZK, I really enjoy being a party-pooper.

[yet another Matt @ Jul 20th 2006 9:42AM]

VOIP Stunt have been doing this for ages. No real sign up or anything, no idea how they make their money. I imagine theyll sell those numbers to advertising companies. There is no free mobile calls, and the free countries is limited, but a good range. Sound quality was pretty dire tho, but that was what my mum said.

[y @ Jul 20th 2006 9:52AM]

What's next? Being paid to make phone calls?

[tiuk @ Jul 20th 2006 10:00AM]

While I wish it was unrestricted, the only person I really call during the day is my girlfriend, so getting her registered won't be a big deal. After 6:00 PM my cell phone is unlimited, so I really only need voip for during the day.

[Chad Smith @ Jul 20th 2006 10:01AM]

This is a promotion - nothing more. It's not like I could call Dominos for free - unless Dominos was a Gizmo user. Same thing for any business, or any person for that matter. This story, reported as SPAM. Oh, wait. This isn't DIGG.

[ima9rd @ Jul 20th 2006 10:11AM]

Actually TZK, any research into OliverB's comment would have proved that both sites are a "gimmick" as well, meaning that they only give you a certain amount of minutes and begin charging you, or are only for PC to PC calls.

[chenry @ Jul 20th 2006 10:31AM]

Gimzo is letting you call land and mobile lines in about 60 countries for free, but the person you are calling must be a registered Gizmo user.

[David @ Jul 20th 2006 11:00AM]

What's next? Being paid to make phone calls?

Posted at 9:52AM on Jul 20th 2006 by y [ ! ]

Yes, theres actually a provider that does this.
TRX Telecommunications
http://www.trxtel.com/

[dellfanboy @ Jul 20th 2006 11:02AM]

Business Plan:

1) Offer unlimited phone calls for free
2) ???
3) Profit!

[OlivierB @ Jul 20th 2006 11:02AM]

ima9rd you are partly right partly wrong.
Wengo doesn't charge you anything for call to their "star destinations". I know this because I use their service. Alot. Only thing is they don't guarantee this will be the case forever.
Voipcheap gives more insurance that this will always be the case but you are limited to 300 mins per week of free calls. That's plenty enough for me.

[Kreg Steppe @ Jul 20th 2006 11:30AM]

They DO offer the 775 area code where people can call you on your Gizmo Client, and it is free also.
http://www.gizmoproject.com/area775.html

[Canuck @ Jul 20th 2006 11:37AM]

Once again Voipcheap is also a gimmick since you need to have "credit" in your account to have calls longer then 1 minute. This credit is a minimum of 10 euros and only stays valid for 90 days, hence you are paying 10 euros for 3 months of service!

"To counter misuse of our network we have limited these free calls to a maximum of 1 minute for our trial users. If you want to enjoy UNLIMITED FREE CALLS* to these destinations, you have to become a fully registered user by topping up your account. This credit deposit will stay untouched as long as you are calling the free destinations and remains valid for 90 days after your last purchase (unless stated otherwise)."

[Daniel W @ Jul 20th 2006 11:38AM]

In order to make free calls longer than 1 min voipstunt, wengo, voipcheap etc. require you to deposit $10 on your account there, and the credits disappear after 90-120 days. I would hardly call that "free". Gizmo project however seems to have another kind of business model.

[Bob P @ Jul 20th 2006 1:13PM]

Deja vu all over again. Free Dialup, Free DSL, were not sustainable business models. Neither is free VOIP. It's a game of market share "chicken". Acquire as many customers as you can and hope like hell you can figure out what to do with them.

[bobby @ Jul 20th 2006 4:53PM]

look what someone posted in the comments of this digg story.

-----------------------------------------------------

Sounds like a marketing Gimick at Gizmo!

Both need to be users, and when you dial on the softphone how do you know IF the other fellow is still an "Active" regular user, does it warn you that your account is now being charged.

Seems like a desparate way to gain sign ups.

And where does it say "forever"?

Here is what I am doing at the moment

www.skype.com for free USA calls to any number, must use their softphone with a headset.

http://www.voicestick.com They have a free incoming phone number and voice mail.

I get my incoming calls with voicestick (on a regular phone as I got the Analog Phone Adapter) and take my voice mail there as it emails me with my voice mail (I love that part)

Also they sell you for ZERO a $29 Plantronics headset if you are a signed up customer (And I use the headset with my free Skype.

They also give you a $5 account credit with the free 'next to nothing' incoming line.

Now if I could just get the wife to use Skype and the headset.

[giovanni m @ Jul 20th 2006 5:34PM]

This really works, just downloaded the gizmo program, registered myself then logged out, registered another account with my mom's telephone number then logged out again and added the new account as a contact, called the line and talked for 9mins for free. Im in Brazil and my mom in The Netherlands.

[a_Nobody @ Jul 20th 2006 6:31PM]

excellent comment dellfanboy

[bob arctor @ Jul 20th 2006 6:36PM]

Don't forget that the man behind Gizmo is none other than Michael Robertson who created mp3.com and turned into a $360 million pay day for himself. Not bad for a site that catered exclusively to a bunch of whining bedroom artists. Robertson revels in being a shit stirrer and flying in the face of the establishment. Gizmo is his newest pet project (Linspire is another of his that is doing quite well) and should not be underestimated. He will make so much noise and piss of the big guys so much that they'll have no choice but to buy him out. Once that happens, bye bye free calls.

[tekdroid @ Jul 22nd 2006 4:06AM]

cheapvoip =
sounded very choppy and cut off unexpectedly. Worthless for free calls, IMO.

Wengo =
sounded good to me. Person I was talking to said they heard their own echo (even though I was using a headset and they were using a regular phone). Otherwise good. However, they give you a small amount of free credit when you download and register as a new user, but that credit is used up on each 'free' call (you only get free calls to their "star destinations" if you actually purchase Wengo credits (or as they call 'em, "Wengo's"). Truly free without paying anything? No. More like free trial -until the initial credit runs out.

Gizmo =
sounded worse than phone on the conversation I tried, but otherwise good and quite livable. A cut-off after about an hour talking or so.. reminder message told me my time was running out several times before cutting off. Calling back worked fine. Seems to work reliably, but raises privacy implications as to what they will do with your number and those of your contacts. (quite easy to obtain all your info when you give them phone numbers). Both you and the contact you are calling must be Gizmo users (or you can create two logins). You must have the ppl you want to call on your contact list in the program in order to make calls to their landlines for free. Killer feature of this client is the dead-easy recording function; a feature everyone on Skype seems to want is simply and seamlessly integrated with the push of a button here, with a message telling the other party that they're being recorded as soon as you hit record). However, pressing Mute or Hold (don't remember which, possibly both) stops the recording - rather than pausing it and resuming the recording when you press it again. Overall, Gizmo is worth using if you aren't concerned about the privacy implications of giving away your number (and potentially a whole lot of personally identifiable info) - and being targeted by faceless marketers.

[Jason Droege @ Jul 22nd 2006 4:49AM]

we are not selling people's phone nums to marketers. we will never do that.

we are just offering a program that rewards our users for using our products and recommending our products to their friends. we have terms and conditions bounding usage because we don't want fraudsters ripping us off or people generally abusing the program.

hope you all enjoy the free calling! the program has been a great success for us so far.

best,
jason (president of sipphone)

[Steve @ Jul 22nd 2006 11:03AM]

The free calls are not quite free when it comes down to it, but they're competitive enough with the low cost routers here in UK, and they're certainly competitive with Skype on this basis in the UK.

There's absolutely no need for the third parties to be registered with Gizmo before you call them - that's simply wrong!

My experience has been good so far and so I'm really happy to continue using it. I'm also happy to proselytise to family and friends on Gizmo's behalf, which I guess is the best way for it to gain real presence.

Steve

[tekdroid @ Jul 22nd 2006 4:33PM]

Posted at 11:03AM on Jul 22nd 2006 by Steve [ ! ]
***
The free calls are not quite free when it comes down to it, but they're competitive enough with the low cost routers here in UK, and they're certainly competitive with Skype on this basis in the UK.

There's absolutely no need for the third parties to be registered with Gizmo before you call them - that's simply wrong!
----
Not sure what you're getting at here, Steve. Free Gizmo-to-landline calls actually are free - if both users are registered Gizmo users and added to your Contacts in Gizmo - with pertinent Home phone number. I have verified this. Payed nothing calling from Gizmo-to-landline.

Adding the other user to your Contacts *is* essential for free Gizmo to landline calls (and free Gizmo-to-mobile calls in selected countries). Not quite sure how to explain your experiences, except to say that maybe you haven't done this?

[Kevin @ Jul 23rd 2006 8:04PM]

Thanks for the comparison with Wengo and CheapVoIP tekdroid and for your comments Steve. As Jason wrote, our privacy policy states we won't sell or transfer information to 3rd parties.

In the final analysis, we think it's a pretty good deal for Gizmo users and for people who want to try Gizmo. It was also important for us to design a program to be sustainable in the long term, not just a short-term "promotion."

We're working on some additional client feedback and FAQs that will continue to clear up any confusion or mis-interpretations about the program or our intentions.

Thanks,
Kevin (vp marketing, SIPphone)

[jason @ Jul 24th 2006 3:03PM]

Article states that Call In numbers are fee-based. This is true, but they also offer a free Nevada-based # called Area 775 (Area Code 775). It doesn't matter to me where my Call In number is since they don't offer local numbers where I live...-

http://www.gizmoproject.com/area775.html

[Darko Ivanov @ Jul 26th 2006 1:22PM]

I have no money.
I live in poverty.
Please give me free callnumber

My E-mail [e-mail]

[AShok @ Jul 28th 2006 3:55AM]

I have try in your soft wear , but i not able to talk with any persion, even i have register and also other persion .

Please give me one month number in free.

[Captain Crash @ Jul 29th 2006 10:13PM]

Hey, it works & it works OK for the buck! That is... their is no buck! The free service is a great idea for them to promote their products & we should take advantage of the deal while we can. No gimmick here, just business. Use it while it lasts. The bigger issue is that from an overall basis, it is helping to finally produce a cheaper, eventually free voice system throughout our world. Small steps, yet big results!

[E85 Fuel @ Aug 14th 2006 12:45PM]

Forget Gizmo project. I registered, got a friend to register. Added them to my contacts but I still couldn't get the free call to work.

Just found out about jajah.com
no need for my friends' computers to be on, no downloads, no headsets, free calls between registered users

Great!

[destiny ukeje @ Aug 14th 2006 2:47PM]

dear, gizmo project i reserve my comment to be like this, pls i will like you to help me with free credit,
and also show me how to get to your registration book.i believe you will wecome me with free credit number.

[marco scotto @ Aug 21st 2006 3:59AM]

I agree 100% with Bob P saying:
"Deja vu all over again. Free Dialup, Free DSL, were not sustainable business models. Neither is free VOIP. It's a game of market share "chicken". Acquire as many customers as you can and hope like hell you can figure out what to do with them."
And the guy that can't call his Dominoes Pizza Store. This is a pipe-dream. Can't happen long term. Note that even television service moved away from free (cable) and radio is doing same (satellite radio).

[Peter @ Sep 24th 2006 12:50PM]

I don't get how this works. Let's say I wanted to call someone in Australia. When I do that, it charges money (the 25 cent credit they give you). What do I need to do to call for free?

[esam @ Oct 6th 2006 7:48PM]

no comments

[Vinay @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:52AM]

Gizmo is really cool and innovative concept. I personally feel Gizmo will be bought by bigwig this year.

You guys into VOIP, then you might wanna check out more such FREE calls offers at http://voipguides.blogspot.com/