Cheap Mobile Calls, Even Overseas

By JOANNA STERN

Recently, my parents returned from Italy with a few bottles of Chianti and $750 in AT&T calling charges. Buon giorno!
Racking up exorbitant mobile charges is easy to do if you are not careful about using your cellphone internationally. AT&T charges 99 cents a minute to use your phone in Italy (rates vary by country), and that is if you pay for the carrier's international calling plan. If you do not, the charge goes up to $1.29 a minute.
What my parents did not realize was that they could have nearly eliminated those charges if they had set up their (in this case) iPhone and BlackBerry to take advantage of mobile Internet calling services: That $1.29-a-minute charge would have gone down to a much more reasonable 2.4 cents a minute (or nothing at all if they were on a Wi-Fi network).
The Internet has been used to make calls for some time. One of the largest providers of the service, Skype, was founded in 2003 and has more than half a billion user accounts. And while many people gather around the PC to talk to far-flung friends and family, new apps and services can replicate that experience (and that savings) on cellphones.
To transform your mobile phone into a device capable of making cheap international calls, you need to consider a few things. Ideally, you have a smartphone that can access Wi-Fi, like an iPhone or a Droid. Wi-Fi ensures the best call quality, since it's carried over a high-speed Internet connection rather than through third-generation, or 3G, cellular networks.
But if you don't have a Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone, you are not out of luck. There are calling services that use local phone numbers rather than wireless data connections to place calls, making them compatible with a wide range of devices. Applications can dial a local access number as if you were placing a regular call; and your call is routed over the Internet at similarly discounted rates.
There are also free calling mobile applications, each with its own layout, feature list and call quality. In my tests of more than six different applications by calling friends in Europe and Africa, these stood out:
SKYPE FOR MOBILE Like the program for Mac and PCs, Skype Mobile lets you make free calls and send instant messages to fellow Skype users. You can also call non-Skype landlines and cellphones using Skype Credit, a fee-based service that charges pennies per minute for international calls.
Skype offers several mobile versions, including Skype for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Skype Lite for Java and Android phones, and Skype for Windows phones.
The application for the iPhone and iPod Touch most closely resembles Skype's familiar desktop program. Though I could send text-based chat messages to my Skype-using friend in Belgrade over AT&T's 3G network, I needed to connect the phone to a Wi-Fi network to make a call. (You currently cannot make Skype or other Internet-based calls on the iPhone via AT&T's 3G network, though that could change soon.) After a simple tap of the call button, I could clearly hear his familiar accent without any noticeable lag or choppiness.
Similarly, a call I made to a friend's cellphone in Senegal using Skype Credit was crystal clear in sound and connected in only 15 seconds. We chatted for 10 minutes, which cost me only $2.40. That same call on AT&T, even if I signed on to its international calling plan (which costs $4 a month), would have cost $8.80. Without the international calling plan, the fee would have climbed to $27.80.
For those without iPhones or Windows Mobile devices, Skype provides its Skype Lite application. Skype Lite cannot make calls over Wi-Fi or 3G networks, but instead routes calls through a local cellphone number.
It isn't as complicated as it sounds: when using a MyTouch 3G phone, I selected a Skype contact in London. The application started the phone's dialer and automatically routed the call to a local number. My British pal came through clear and static-free.
One thing to remember is that while calls made with Skype Lite are local and your carrier won't exact a long-distance fee, you are technically making a call. So those calls will count against the minutes in your calling plan.
FRING Picking up where Skype Mobile leaves off, Fring provides an even richer experience on more phones. It supports calling over Wi-Fi and 3G on Android and Nokia devices; iPhone 3G calling is on the way. In addition to free calling to Fring members anywhere in the world, the service connects to Skype, Google Talk and MSN Messenger contacts.
After installing the Fring application from the Android Marketplace on Sprint's HTC Hero, I tapped into my Skype account to call my Belgrade friend over Sprint's network. Since I didn't need to be in a Wi-Fi hotspot, I made the call while walking down a noisy New York street.
Unfortunately, because 3G data networks weren't built for packets of data as fast-moving as a cellphone call, the connection was weak and kept fading in and out. When I was standing still, the call was slightly clearer but like a dialogue between in-studio anchors and on-the-ground news correspondents, there was a noticeable lag in the conversation.
That all disappeared when I connected the Hero to a Wi-Fi network; we talked for five minutes with no interruptions or delay.
If you are a fan of Skype's desktop video-calling service, you may be wondering when it will be appearing on its mobile app. Fring's already beaten Skype to the punch on this feature. The company recently updated its iPhone application with one-way video calling. "One-way," because the iPhone doesn't have a front-facing camera — so you can see your caller but your caller can't see you.
TRUPHONE Truphone, which works a bit differently from Skype and Fring, is available for a number of devices including the iPhone, the iPod Touch and Android, Nokia and BlackBerry handsets.
Truphone doesn't have a 3G calling option, but offers calling over Wi-Fi for Android, Nokia and iPhone handsets. The company offers Truphone Anywhere, a service similar to Skype's Lite application that routes long-distance calls first over a local number and then via the Internet for lower rates.
Though Truphone permits you to sign into your Skype account and call Skype users, you can also make free calls to other Truphone users. When I called a Truphone friend in London on his cell using a Wi-Fi network, call quality was decent and there was no background hissing.
Blending the functionality of both Fring and Skype, I discovered the true beauty of Truphone when I ventured outside of Wi-Fi territory and was able to automatically call Truphone users and international numbers by using my phone's own dialing capabilities. Although I needed to buy Truphone credit, the call was routed over a local number and then to Truphone's network.
What's the benefit of that, rather than it switching to 3G like Fring? Much better call quality. Just as with Skype Lite, when I dialed my friend in Israel, Truphone called a local New York City number, and connected me to her cell. Her voice was as clear as if she was sitting right next to me.
Clearly, making a choice about which service to use to reduce the cost of international calling will depend heavily on what cellphone you have and whether you have easy access to a Wi-Fi network.
But no matter which option you select, you will definitely save some money. AT&T may have heavily charged my parents one time for their globetrotting calling habits, but with so many new and cheaper options, that won't happen again.

AT&T to Sell Smartphones Using the Android System

By JENNA WORTHAM

LAS VEGAS — AT&T said on Wednesday that it planned to sell smartphones running the Android mobile operating system by the second half of the year, including Dell's first smartphone.
The company said it expected to sell five new devices created by handset manufacturers that also included Motorola and HTC.
AT&T is the last major wireless carrier in the United States to add an Android-powered smartphone to its lineup.
Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of devices at AT&T, said that the carrier had been slow to adopt the Android system.
"We hung back and watched the market very carefully," he said during an interview after the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show here. "When we saw the demand was there and the product was ready, we decided to bring it out."
AT&T is expanding its stable of smartphones even though it has the exclusive rights to sell the popular Apple iPhone in the United States.
"AT&T needs another leg to stand on beyond the iPhone, which has been this pillar of strength for the company," said Roger Entner, at telecommunications analyst at Nielsen. "If and when the iPhone exclusivity goes away, they want to have a well-rounded portfolio."
Mr. Entner said the announcement also was an indicator of how powerful Google, the developer of the Android mobile operating system, had become in the smartphone market. "If consumers want an Android-powered device, it doesn't matter which carrier it's on. AT&T doesn't want to be left out," said Mr. Entner.
In addition, AT&T said it would also introduce two devices running on the Palm mobile operating system, though it did not reveal specifics. Palm currently offers two phones running on that software, the Palm Pre and the Palm Pixi, which have been available only on Sprint's wireless network.
Recently, AT&T has faced considerable criticism by iPhone owners for delayed text and voice messages, sluggish download speeds and other network problems. Android phone users are also prodigious users of network resources.
Mr. Bradley said the company was repairing its taxed network by upgrading software to increase data delivery speeds and by erecting new cell towers.
"We have been extremely focused on the challenges that the network has faced," he said. "We are going to make sure the network is ready and capable to handle all the new devices announced."

Google poised to take wraps off new mobile phone

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Technology Writer

Google Inc. is again trying to shake up the mobile market.
In holding an event Tuesday in which it was expected to outline its vision for how a mobile phone should be made and sold, the Internet search leader will likely raise the stakes in its bid to gain more control over how people surf the Web while they're on the go.
The catalyst in Google's latest attempt to redefine the mobile market apparently will be the Nexus One, the first smart phone designed by the company's own engineers.
Google has said little about the phone except to confirm that its workers received the handsets three weeks ago for a final round of internal testing. Google is expected to provide the first concrete details about the phone, along with the company's vision for how such devices should be made and sold, during a news conference Tuesday at Google's headquarters in Mountain View.
In its invitation to the event, Google said the wireless market has only seen "the beginning of what's possible" with the free Android operating system that it introduced for mobile phones in late 2007.
Android was designed to make it easier to interact on a mobile phone with Web sites and services, including Google's, while providing an egalitarian platform to run applications developed by outside programmers.
The applications don't have to go through an extensive review before they can be distributed to Android-powered devices, a contrast from the control that Apple Inc. holds on its hot-selling iPhone.
Until now, Google has been content to let other companies design the devices relying on Android. And those devices thus far have largely been distributed like most other mobile phones, tethered to major wireless carriers that typically require buyers to lock into two-year contracts in return for discounts on the handsets.
But Google now appears to be ready to push its operating system in a new direction while trying to give consumers more flexibility to connect a mobile phone with the wireless carrier of their choice.
Google intends to stamp its own brand on the Nexus One and sell it directly to consumers over the Web, leaving it up to the buyers to pick their own carriers, according to reports published in technology blogs and major newspapers. That could open new possibilities while igniting new tensions in the mobile phone market.
Just how much Nexus One shakes things up will likely hinge on the phone's price.
Most smart phones designed for Web access sell for $50 to $200, thanks to subsidies provided by wireless carriers in return for commitments to service plans that cost $800 to $1,000 a year. Without the financial aid, the phones would sell for $400 to $600 — a range that most consumers have been unwilling to pay, especially in a shaky economy.
T-Mobile has agreed to provide a subsidy for a Nexus One that works on its wireless network, according to published reports. Such an agreement wouldn't represent a substantial change from the status quo.
Yet Google appears to be betting that the Nexus One will make a big enough splash to persuade other major U.S. wireless carriers — AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. — to subsidize the device, too, said technology analyst Rob Enderle.
"If enough customers want this phone, the carriers will have no choice but to follow," he predicted.
That would also break the traditional practice of giving carriers the right to sell specific models exclusively for a certain period.
Google conceivably could offer a sharp discount on the Nexus One without carriers' help, hoping to recoup some of the costs by selling more ads on the devices. But the mobile advertising market is unlikely to grow quickly enough to offset the costs of the discounts for several years, so pursuing that strategy would likely crimp Google's profits — something that could drive down the company's stock price.
Another option is for Google to simply sell the phone at the full price, banking that it'll be attractive enough for buyers looking for the freedom to choose their own carrier.
A smart phone that empowers consumers to choose from a variety of carriers could post a threat to the iPhone, which is tied exclusively to AT&T in the United States. That tie-in has spurred complaints from some iPhone users who say AT&T's network bogs down amid heavy Web traffic, particularly in big cities such as New York and San Francisco.
With the competition between the two companies heating up, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board five months ago.
Selling its own phone also could foster more resentment toward Google among the business partners that have been backing Android as a viable alternative to the mobile operating systems made by Apple, BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion Ltd. and Microsoft Corp.
Verizon, for instance, has raised consumer awareness about Android during the past two months by bankrolling a marketing blitz for the Droid phone made by Motorola Inc.
In an effort to keep the peace, Google probably will try to position the Nexus One as a way to encourage even more innovation with its Android system, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin.
"They might tell everyone in the Android ecosystem, 'We applaud you for what you have done so far, we just want to take things even further and think we can help light the way,'" Golvin said.

FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2009 file photo, a sign on a building is shown at Google Inc.'s new campus in Kirkland, Wash. during a media open house. The first details about Google's plans for its Nexus One phone are expected to emerge Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010 during a press conference at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)