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Fring added a new mobile VoIP service to its arsenal of mobile calling options. The aptly named fringOut service will allow fring users to call any mobile or landline phone worldwide for as low as 1-cent per minute. The new service is now available for Symbian S60 devices and will be available on the Android and iPhone platform soon. To make a call to a traditional phone number, S60 users only need to update their app to the latest version and sign up for the fringOut service before placing their first call.
Fring’s move towards offering its own traditional voice calling service comes a few month after its messy public dispute with Skype. The mobile calling application launched with support for Skype calls when it was first released on the S60 platform four years ago. The two companies seemingly remained on good terms up until this summer when Fring pulled Skype support from its application without warning, citing a need to free up capacity on its network which was swamped following their launch of two-way video calling on the iPhone 4. Fring and Skype then engaged in a public battle with the two VoIP providers blaming each other for the permanent removal of Skype support.
With this new fringOut service, Fring is now offering mobile to mobile and mobile to landline calling at a lower rate than its nemesis Skype. Voice calling is supported in 200 countries from 1-cent per minute including Canada (0.4 cents per minute), the UK (0.6 cents per minute), and India from 1.1 cents per minute. As always, you can use fring to make calls via SIP or GSM and its popular video calling is still available between fring users on any supported platform. If anyone has a Symbian S60 handset with the new fringOut service, fire it up, make a call, and let us know what you think about the call quality and overall calling experience.
[Via Fring]
About The Author
Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.
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