Disqus
We all know about the major shift that is taking place. I’m talking about the carriers becoming dumb pipes. Still, they are the one doing all the subsidizing, hence if you want a high-end phone it’s much more convenient to buy it from a carrier than to pay a premium for the unlocked device.
One service we’ve spotted recently that goes in that direction (making the carriers nothing more than dumb pipes) is Lypp. It’s service that uses new trick for the old problem — high calling costs. Basically, Lypp works on any phone or a desktop computer that can do instant messaging. Meaning every BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian OS based or even Java-enabled device will work.
The service may seem strange on the first sight, but it’s actually very simple to use. All you have to do is add the “Lypp buddy” (that’s actually Lypp’s bot) to your instant messenger (AIM, GTalk, Jabber, iChat, MSN or Yahoo!), tell “Lypp buddy” who you want to call (numbers or names from your phonebook) and voila… you’re ready to go. What happens next is that Lypp connects you with the person(s) you wanted to call. Yeah, it’s a callback-like service, hence I’m calling it a “callback service mashup” that is particularly useful for those not on unlimited data plan, or when you’re out of WiFi hotspot zone…
At the moment Lypp works only in U.S. and Canada, but I guess we could expect them to go global as soon as they gain some traction.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
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Daniel Gibbons
