NetTalk
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NetTalk updates Android application with fresh UI, new in-app features
Some members of the Android crowd have been able to happily make gratis calls throughout the US and Canada with NetTalk's app offering for a while now, and today the calling service is pushing out a new version in hopes of improving the all-around user experience. For starters, NetTalk's stuffed a revamped UI inside v2.1.1, while there's also the addition of a couple of in-app features that let folks buy credit to make international calls and sign-up for an account straight from within the application. As NetTalk's CEO, Anastasios Kyriakides, assertively points out, the Android app's "the perfect complement to the NetTalk DUO" -- which, if you recall, touts itself as being the one to help you Fire Your Phone Company. All talking aside, the NetTalk freebies are yours to grab now from Google Play, link is just down below.
NetTalk joins forces with LightSquared, enters the cellular arena
MagicJack rival NetTalk is planning to crawl out of the infomercial doldrums and launch its own, branded LTE wireless service with the aid of LightSquared. See, when the cellular wholesaler is done taking out GPS signals it plans to sell space on its network to other companies who will then market it to consumers -- and NetTalk wants to be one of those companies. Obviously, offering mobile voice and data is new territory for the VoIP provider but, as always, more competition on the cellular scene is quite welcome. It's still too early for details like pricing, features, or devices, but we do have some lovely PR after the break.
NetTalk TV to deliver à la carte HD television programming?
NetTalk hasn't exactly made it easy for the world to believe in all of its claims, but things are just getting loco at this point. The NetTalk TV has been introduced here at CES, touted as a companion device to the Duo that provides ultra-low cost digital TV service. Reportedly, the bantam box offers HDMI / S-Video / composite outputs, Ethernet and WiFi, and it'll enable consumers to receive only the standard- and high-definition content that they want. According to the company, this allows individuals to detach themselves from the high-priced cable packages that force you to pay for 50 channels (when you only need three), but here's the kicker: there are no details whatsoever provided in the press release after the break. Not even a price. We're told to expect shipments in Q3 of this year, followed by undoubted disappointment as you begin to understand that it won't be NetTalk to finally convert the à la carte dream into reality.
TUAW holiday grab bag giveaway: Everything for the Apple fan
Can you imagine waking up on Christmas morning surrounded by a pile of accessories for the Apple devices in your life? Or even better, giving someone a pile of fun gifts? TUAW and the Max Borges Agency want to give two lucky readers the chance to win some holiday grab bags full of fun gear for the Apple fan. You'll have to enter by midnight tonight (ET) to be eligible, because the goodies will be express-shipped to your homes to arrive on Christmas Eve. To see what each of the grab bags contains and find out more about the giveaway, read on. Photo credit: Julia Freeman-Woolpert, sxc.hu
MagicJack announces software for completely free internet-to-phone calls, places femtocell on hold
For $40 (plus $20 per year), MagicJack's USB VoIP dongle will let you make free unlimited telephone-to-telephone calls, but this week the company's announced MagicTalk, a piece of software for internet-connected phones and computers that will waive even those upfront costs. The Associated Press tracked down one of our favorite ruthless salesmen, MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow, who described a service much like Google Voice and Skype, number portability and all -- except it adds the whole allowing-free-calls-to-regular-ol-telephones bit by charging the companies that carry incoming calls. The service will reportedly be available on Windows and Mac next week, with iOS, Blackberry and Android by October, but speaking of promises, Borislow said plans for the company's legally-ambiguous femtocell are now on hold -- the device can't legitimately muster up enough power without a cellular carrier on board. In other news, NetTalk announced last week that its pair of competing VoIP boxes now support free video calls. We imagine the timing (and naming) of MagicJack's new service isn't making 'em feel too good.
NetTalk reveals the Duo, we await MagicJack's response
If you've never heard of the NetTalk TK6000, you're certainly not alone -- suffice it to say it's an as-seen-on-TV product that converts a standard ethernet internet connection into a VoIP telephone cord. And to be clear, the new NetTalk Duo doesn't seem to offer anything different than its predecessor, only a shiny bullet case, but that just makes it the perfect salvo across incumbent MagicJack's bow. We can hardly wait to see how the latest chapter in the infinite long distance call saga will play out. However, on the off-chance you've been looking to Fire Your Phone Company®, don't wait, act now -- peep the press release after the break for your ten percent discount.
NetTalk responds to MagicJack founder's comments
MagicJack founder Dan Borislow certainly didn't mince any words in tearing apart his latest competitor in a recent interview, and it looks like those comments unsurprisingly didn't go unnoticed by the folks at NetTalk. In an (expletive-free) official statement just released today, the company says that contrary to comments made, "our company is founded and run by a staff of seasoned executives with decades of experience who firmly attests to and stands behind the high quality of netTALK's policies, customer service practices, network and product development activities." It further goes on to note that the TK6000 device offers "more convenience, flexibility and functionality" than "others on the market," and that it is, in fact, a "best-of-all-worlds communication device." Head on past the break for the complete statement.
NetTalk challenges MagicJack, gets slammed by MagicJack founder
Air enough annoying late-night commercials and you're bound to attract a few imitators, and it looks like MagicJack now has its first courtesy of upstart NetTalk. Same basic idea here: buy a VoIP box (for $100, in this case), plug in your phone, and make all the long distance calls you want. Of course, MagicJack's outspoken founder Dan Borislow wasn't about it slide by without notice, and he fully lit into the company in a recent interview with Laptop Magazine. Head on past the break to check out the choice quote for yourself -- but first, a word of warning, it's a bit salty.
