New Innovation in Click-2-Call Telephony Service

Click-2-Call services have been growing in popularity and are now being used by individual users and companies who have a web-presence (Blogs, Social Networking profiles, Customer support etc). They offer a convenient way to engage the web visitor to get instantly ‘in-touch’ directly from the web. TringMe and a couple of other companies offer the two call-legs based Click-2-Call services, however all Click-2-Call services suffer from a major deficiency. Due to it’s two call-legs nature, the call cost is doubled compared to a normal call and hence it is relatively expensive (technical details here). Inspite of such a market, there hasn’t been a disruptive innovation in this area that would solve the above mentioned deficiency and make such a service economical and commonplace amongst businesses interested in offering this ability.

Even though TringMe offers a pure web-based Push-n-Talk widget (single call-leg) which addresses the above deficiency, we still see a need for a service which offers callback-based Click-2-Call service in a manner that’s relatively much cheaper.
Tradional Click-2-Call Service

That’s exactly where TringMe’s new product comes in. It attempts to handle the need for an innovation in this space head-on and assures to reduce the cost of Click-2-Call telephony by more than half, thereby accounting for substantial savings over recurring use. This new product is focused towards the enterprise Click-2-Call users who can tremendously benefit from it. TringMe employs a very simple, yet an innovative patent-pending technique which enables the call-back based Click-2-Call solution to be relatively cheaper when compared to the existing callback-based solutions.

How does it work? Instead of originating multiple calls (call-legs), TringMe intelligently notifies the called entity about the caller. Notified entity then automatically initiates a call back to the original Caller. The method of notification can be of any type, including sending an SMS containing the caller details OR using the data network.

For example, when a website visitor clicks on the click-2-call link on a website which uses TringMe’s solution, it will simply notify the caller’s phone by a special message using SMS or data network. Once the caller’s phone receives the message, it will automatically initiate the call to the caller and hence meet the same goal at a drastically reduced cost (refer to diagram below). The call can be either cellular or using our MobileVoIP or a combination of both depending on the cheapest method to the caller’s destination. For example, a local call could be cheaper by cellular, and long distance by VoIP (a typical scenario in markets like China & India) and hence be routed accordingly.

Although, this may sound like a very simple extension to how Click-2-Call solution works, it’s an important one since it caters to the mass market. For any decent size business website which uses Click-2-Call solution, the savings will be tremendous. For example, a website in India deploying Click-2-Call solution will have to pay massive 11-15 cents per minute (based on existing rates from TringMe and other Click-2-Call services) for India-India calls.  Whereas, using our new Click-2-Call solution, it may cost just as low as 2-3 cents per minute.  As you can see, the savings are substantial. India is just one example. Given that the solution can be applied worldwide and the solution is flexible enough to be applied in varying scenarios, the overall savings would be phenomenal.

All that a business website owner needs to do is to install our software on their mobile and specify the security and other call preferences. Our application works in the background and processes the notification messages from SMS and data network and make appropriate callbacks. We currently support Nokia Symbian 2nd and 3rd Series phones. Support for more phones and a desktop application is in progress. If privacy of number is required by the caller, it is also achieved by our MobileVoIP solution wherein a random phone number is generated on the fly which is then mapped to caller’s number.

We had already announced the API and additional APIs will be announced soon.

While the overall solution is catered towards the enterprise use, even individual users can make use of it to meet their personal needs.

Since we have filed for the patents on the key concept, TringMe will be an exclusive company which can offer you this solution and help you reduce the costs drastically. This new service is ready to use for any business and we are running a ‘launch special’ for the next few days that will essentially give companies who deploy our solution right away a ‘first to the market’ treatment including special services and rates from our end. We will infact customize and brand the solution for the first few companies at no cost. 

There are several companies who may be offering some flavor of Click-2-Call solutions but TringMe’s portfolio contains a broad range of products backed by patent-pending technologies to offer world-class, cutting-edge solutions. Because of our extensive portfolio, we can combine these services and products in innovative ways to cater to varying needs. For example. MobileVoIP in addition to the traditional calling support in Click-2-Call, Integrating Instant Messengers and other termination options etc.

As demonstrated in the past, TringMe will still continue to provide other innovative solutions in the overall next generation telephony paradigm. TringMe’s complete capability and products are available at tringme.com. If you have a unique requirement, let us know and we will work with you to provide a custom solution as well.

TringMe’s MobileVoIP application available now - Goodbye Roaming!!

We are extremely excited to announce the public availability of our Mobile VoIP client (Beta). Although the MobileVoIP application was available in a private beta since a few months, based on the user feedback, we have made additional optimizations to ensure that one can get the best voice quality in such an environment.

The application is currently supported on several Nokia devices which include E51, E60, E61, E61i, E65, E70, E90, N80, N81 (all versions), N82 and N95 (all versions). We will continue to add more phones and platforms to the supported list.

The application utilizes the underlying data network to initiate Mobile VoIP calls. While there are a couple of MobileVoIP applications already , what differentiates TringMe MobileVoIP is that calls can be made to and received from  the all termination options that TringMe supports which include landline and mobile phones, SIP phones, Instant Messengers (Gtalk), Flash Widgets etc.  This gives the user an extended range of flexibility to determine the best options for making and receiving a call from a mobile device.

For example, a TringMe MobileVoIP user can call another user on either MobileVoIP or Gtalk or even on our Flash widgets.  Also, a TringMe user can configure his or her personal push-n-talk widget to connect to TringMe’s MobileVoIP client. Anyone clicking on it will directly ring the Mobile Client. Similarly, a Gtalk user can call TringMe’s MobileVoIP user by typing  ‘call <tringme username>’ into Gtalk chat window (read more about our Gtalk support here).  All this is in addition to making worldwide phone calls like other MobileVoIP solutions.  And this is very unique about TringMe.

Another unique feature of TringMe is that it is easy to integrate TringMe’s MobileVoIP solution using our published API.  TringMe’s MobileVoIP solution can be used by other VoIP providers by simply entering appropriate SIP settings in the user profile or using our API.

To use TringMe MobileVoIP, all you need to do is to point the web browser of your mobile device to http://tringme.com/tringme.sisx . It will automatically download and install the TringMe MobileVoIP application. Once the application is installed, just login with TringMe credentials and you are ready to use MobileVoIP. No complicated settings or need to send any SMS to activate or initiate calls.

Once installed, you can start making calls through TringMe like your regular calls. Just dial, and choose the internet call option on your mobile and you are done.

Based on the beta users feedback, we decided to support MobileVoIP over both WiFi and 3G/2.5G networks.  However, please note that due to the inherent nature of 3G/GPRS networks, the quality of service (QoS) over 3G may not be the most ideal for a clear voice call. However,  working within the limits of the underlying network, our solution tries to extract the best QoS that it can.

We are also working on supporting other embedded platforms and will notify you as soon as we are ready to release.

We would like to thank all our private beta users for their feedback. We would also like to thank and introduce Nivaata Systems, our development partner for MobileVoIP for providing excellent service and timely resources.

Write to us at support@tringme.com if you have any trouble using MobileVoIP. Please ensure that you are using the latest firmware before sending any support request.  Click below to find out if you are running latest firmware version on your phone: http://europe.nokia.com/A4577224

As always, We look forward to your feedback.

TringMe announces API availability and opens up source-code of its Flash telephony widgets

TringMe opens up its platform APIs for developers to empower them to create rich web-based voice applications. TringMe’s open API will allow developers of Adobe Flex, AIR, Symbian S60 or even a pure web platform like PHP, AJAX to create web based, mobile or standalone voice enabled applications easily. For example, Social networking, Dating sites can easily integrate voice as a means of communication in innovative ways, VoIP providers can quickly deploy and offer their services using TringMe’s easy to use Adobe-Flash based web-phone or mobile devices enabled via cheap to use Mobile-VoIP, Game developers, virtual world creators can enable making phone calls from virtual world to real world and vice-versa. The platform is written from scratch to cater to the emerging needs of the internet, mobile devices and their diverse usage - in real world or virtual.

TringMe prides in abstracting the inner details of call signaling and call processing by exposing easy to use, standards based APIs for developers to essentially innovate at the applications level - be it be web based apps, apps for mobile devices or desktop based apps. Our modular structure allows us to offer APIs to be used by any kind of application and not tie us to Adobe Flex, AIR, PHP, AJAX or any such technology or platform. We are offering interface which is cross-platform and scalable on any language. Whether it’s just voice enabling a website, a social networking site (facebook, orkut, myspace etc.), integrating voice into CRM, Sales Management tool or a full-featured desktop AIR application, TringMe’s APIs will scale to your requirements.

Using the simple to use REST based APIs, developers can add telephony capabilities to their apps in a matter of couple of hours. TringMe’s APIs will allow developers to configure and utilize any number of call origination and call termination options as supported by TringSwitch (PSTN, Mobile Phones, VoIP apps, SIP URIs, IM - Gtalk, SMS-initiated calls, Web applications, Browser, Desktop widgets etc).

Developers can also create their own Adobe Flash, Flex or AIR application based on TringMe’s standards based APIs in a matter of couple of hours. Given the powerful functionality of Adobe Flash and the ease of use of TringMe’s APIs, developers will be able to produce compelling voice enabled apps using Adobe’s - Flash, Flex or AIR - technologies. For example, developers can create a fully-functional desktop phone on top of TringMe APIs using Adobe AIR technology.

Unlike some other voice API platforms/technologies/companies, TringMe does not charge for it’s platform APIs. It is completely FREE to build voice enabled applications using TringMe APIs.

To commit itself to the developer community, TringMe also opens up the source code of it’s Flash based widgets. We really want the developers to get a headstart in writing quality applications that integrate voice as a fundamental part of the internet. For e.g. if someone is interested in offering a web-based click-to-call solution based on callback technology (i.e type in your number, type in the destination number and click “call”), as offered by companies like Jajah, Jaxtr, etc. they can implement the meat of the offering in a matter of couple of hours with TringMe APIs.

TringMe’s Mobile-VoIP offering can be leveraged by developers as well. Essentially, it opens up a way by which mobile applications can interface with TringMe. Mobile VoIP customization capability is currently available to limited set of partners and will be available to all developers soon.

So let the voice enabled apps, built on a platform that’s specially optimized for telephony, begin to flow. In other words, let TringMe worry about enabling a reliable voice connection on the internet+mobile and you figure out ways to incorporate this feature in areas where it truly matters - areas like real world scenarios wherein voice can play a dominant effect - and means to creatively monetize the integration thereafter.

TringMe’s API details can be accessed at http://tringme.com/developer.php

We have exposed some more functionality through out partner-only-APIs and will make them available to everyone at a later time. If you need access to functionality besides what’s currently exposed by our platform APIs, do let us know.

We are very much interested in understanding how you intend to use TringMe’s platform. If you have something cool, we will feature it on our website. We are also putting together a place where you can show off your apps via TringMe’s website .. so stay tuned.

TringMe introduces VoIP accessibility from low-end mass market mobile devices

VoIP has been a boon for long distance internet telephony for quite a while now even-though it’s mainly accessible from PCs. A key problem which hasn’t been well-attended so far is a way for a common man who doesn’t have a PC to use VoIP (popularly known as “internet telephony”) to make really cheap worldwide calls. Mobile-VoIP can be an answer to this problem since mobile penetration rate is increasing by many folds every year. In India alone, there are over 200 million mobile users compared to 5 million broadband users. However existing Mobile-VoIP solutions (including one previously introduced by TringMe) really cater to Smartphones and rely on GPRS or 2.5/3G (data network) connections, a combination that isn’t in the reach of a common man.  Statistics show that :

  1. In developing countries like India, more than 80% mobile users do not have data connection on their mobile. And for the remaining ones who have it, data connection is poor to have any effective real time communication like VoIP. We strongly believe that to make Mobile-VoIP a common-place technology, it needs to cater to the lowest-end mobile devices, devices which can just make voice-calls and do SMS. (source: TRAI)
  2. Smartphones only constituted 10% of the total mobiles sold last year (source: Symbian market share data).

So almost 90% of mobile users (which translates to millions of users) – a fairly big share of market – are devoid of using Mobile-VoIP via their existing mobile devices. To address this market, TringMe, after successfully demonstrating Mobile VoIP from a Smartphone, is now launching a new patent pending service which allows a low-end mobile phone to make VoIP based calls without installing anything. All one needs to do is send an SMS to TringMe and it will connect you to any phone number worldwide. It’s very convenient – no PC’s, no smartphone, no 3G/data connectivity and no configuration - just send a SMS containing the phone number and you are connected. Couple this convenience with TringMe’s extremely competitive low-price worldwide calling rates for a win-win combination. Infact, with this the call can terminate not only on phone but on any of the devices that TringMe terminates on. For e.g if a user has configured his TringMe profile to terminate inbound calls on IM (e.g. Gtalk), then sending an SMS with user’s tringme address will establish the call from the caller to user GTalk client.

With this feature, scheduling calls is as easy is sending an SMS with relevant details in the body. TringMe’s infrastructure takes care of establishing the call at the scheduled time.

We are very excited to demonstrate this technology thereby creating a market opportunity to deliver TringMe’s key offerings on a common man’s low-end mobile device as well.

TringMe continues to be in the forefront of the web-based telephony space with its well-rounded portfolio. It currently provides click-to-call widgets, fully web-based SIP phone, enterprise and consumer centric web-based toll-free service, Mobile-VoIP, ability to make and receive web based calls on phones, IMs and Web. TringMe’s platform – TringSwitch – is an enterprise grade scalable platform developed from scratch to provide optimum performance for web-based telephony. We are also planning to collaborate with global players including providers, retailers etc to take this service to next level. Write to us if you like to join hands.

VoIP calls from low-end mobile devices
It’s very easy to use this service. The alpha pilot is currently only available in India. You can send an SMS to 91- 9980153695 to try out this service. Please follow the instructions below:

Register
1 - Register with TringMe if you haven’t already – http://tringme.com

2- Register the mobile with TringMe from which one wants to make the low cost worldwide call. User can register their mobile with their TringMe account by sending an SMS as follows:

tringme reg <tringme username> <tringme password>

For example, “tringme reg myname@myemail.com abcdef”

A confirmation message will be received about success of the registration.

Making Calls 
Once registered, user can make worldwide calls, not only to the phones but to Gtalk, SIP URI etc by merely sending an SMS as follows:

tringme <phonenumber>

for example, to call a US number 1-(858)-555-1212, one only need to send a SMS “tringme 18585551212”

Users can also call millions of worldwide SIP users just by using SIP URI as follows:

tringme <SIP URI>

To make a call to a registered TringMe user, send an SMS as follows:

tringme <user’s email address>

This will establish a call from the originator’s mobile device to the calle’s currently configured termination device. For example, if user has chose to receive call on Gtalk, sending above SMS will connect your phone to his or her Gtalk.

Scheduling a Call
You can even schedule a call for later time, say for a business meeting or conference. TringMe understand time in plain english and you can specify absolute date and time or in relative terms. You can schedule it in one of several ways:

tringme 18585551212 next week  11:30AM
tringme 18585551212 March 17, 2008 11:30AM
tringme 18585551212 tomorrow 11:30AM

The time specified will be as per the timezone setting which you have configured in your TringMe profile.

To unscheduled a call, just send “tringme unsched <call id>” in the SMS body.

Other
One can unregister the mobile currently registered with TringMe by sending message “tringme unreg“.
To check the account balance, send message “tringme bal”.  Also, “tringme help” message will get you help on existing commands.

As mentioned above, the alpha pilot is currently only available in India. We are presently working on adding more messaging gateways and enabling this service in other countries as well. During beta, you may rarely experience minor delay in SMS processing during peak hours and we will appreciate your patience.

We really look forward to hearing your comments and feedback.

Call Worldwide using Google Talk (Gtalk)

TringMe now allows making calls from Google Talk (Gtalk). As you know, natively, Gtalk doesn’t support making phone calls. This is yet another feature which underlines TringMe’s core philosophy of not requiring any software installation for purposes of using TringMe. If you already have Gtalk installed, then with this capability, making a worldwide call to any phone or SIP URI from Gtalk is as simple as sending a message using Gtalk. Calls made from Gtalk can be terminated on all devices that TringMe currently supports.

TringMe continues to innovate in providing connectivity between heterogeneous end-points based on calle and caller’s convenience including IMs, Web, Landline and Mobile Phones.

Although this feature is currently under test and is scheduled to be commercially released by February end, it’s available for you to try it. Please note that you will need to sign up at TringMe with a gmail ID so that we can associate a TringMe account when you make a call from Gtalk (signup with TringMe using same email id as Gtalk). As you may already know, worldwide calling rates offered by TringMe are very competitive and almost half than Skype or other VoIP providers.

To make a call, all you need to do is send a message to tringme@gmail.com from Gtalk. Please note that you would have added tringme to the list of friends in Gtalk already.

In all cases, you will get an inbound call from TringMe and once you answer, the call to the intended party will be initiated. This also opens a new way for developers to integrate core TringMe functionalities using Google or Jabber APIs.

TringMe also demonstrated MobileVoIP at an even in India last month – some details are here 

Enjoy the new way of making calls. Let us know how you liked this new service. We look forward to your suggestions and feedback.

TringMe Introduces Flash Enabled Web-Based SIP Phone - TringPhone

TringMe announces first completely user configurable and ligh-weighted flash-based SIP phone branded as TringPhone. The service is the first of it’s kind and it separates it from any other services claiming to be web-based SIP phone service for the following reasons :

  1. TringMe’s offering can work with any SIP/VOIP provider by merely providing the standard SIP parameters.
  2. TringMe’s offering requires absolutely no client side software installation and has a very familiar dial pad look-and-feel.

The core value proposition of this offering is the convenience of using web-based telephony with the freedom to use any VOIP/SIP provider. We strongly believe that this will open up new ways for people to stay connected from any part of the world in a cost-efficient manner.

TringPhone opens up the possibility of using any PC with a flash-capable browser as a VOIP client for making worldwide calls. In essence , it gives the user a choice of using the best VOIP provider (based on cost, service etc) without being forced to use a desktop or proprietary client side software. TringPhone also isolates users from seemingly advanced SIP client settings (e.g. NAT traversal (STUN), Firewall) which a user maybe required to set when using a desktop SIP client. Switching between VOIP providers is as simple as changing the configuration all from within a browser.

We believe that this may create new dynamics and can fuel intense competition amongst VoIP providers to eventually benefit users. To test waters, we have been talking to few VoIP providers about their interest and they have shown interest in getting into click-to-call or web-based telephony market. However, either technological barriers or cost has constraint them so far. As it is evident, there are tons of VoIP providers, only few are able to offer web-based telephony (tringme) and web-activated-telephony (Jajah, Jaxtr etc.). With TringMe’s technology open and available to all providers, the technological barrier is surpassed and hence should enable any VoIP provider or reseller to offer web based telephony services with competing prices. Users should be able to choose cheapest or most convenient provider and get a complete web-based VoIP offering.

TringPhone also provides pre-configurable option which will enable VOIP providers to offer fully pre-configured SIP phone widget (i.e. configured to the VOIP provider’s parameters) on their website. Although SIP has been around for a while to be used as a basis for Internet telephony, using it requires users to download the right SIP phone client, configure the VOIP provider settings correctly and troubleshoot issues on the client end which may be tricky in some instances, especially to a non-tech savvy user. With TringMe’s solution, VOIP providers can provide a completely pre-configured and ready to use SIP phone widget right-away to its users eliminating any configuration needs from the user.

TringMe demonstrated this capability to a few VOIP providers and they were very excited about this offering and the impact it can make on their business. Given the convenience offered to the user, VOIP providers are excited as this may have an overall increase in the usage of VOIP minutes much like the cellular world wherein the availability (& not necessarily the need) of a cellular device increased the voice mins ARPU.

If you are an enterprise or a VOIP provider and are interested in the above solution, leave us a comment or contact us at bizdev@tringme.com

TringMe’s Personal Toll-free and Intelligent Call Routing Solution

[ “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – Western Union, internal memo, 1876
“I think it’s going to be a huge interconnection of all of these system, including, over time, some derivative of cable TV and some derivative of the current public telephone system.” - Marc Andreessen – in recent years ]

Our world is growing connected by the day and the need for people to stay connected with each other is only increasing. Gone are the days when a whole family shared a phone. Now, each of us has multiple phone numbers, instant messenger IDs and other forms of connectivity options.  While that gave us flexibility in terms of more connection points, it also increased the complexity in the overall system wherein someone interested in reaching me might need to know all these connection points (notice a typical email signature with all kinds of phone numbers listed there). To make it more complicated, my availability on all my connection points could be time-varying and place-varying (for e.g. I am available on my office-phone from 9:00AM-6:00PM).  When home, I may prefer to be reached on the landline instead of cell-phone to save my cell-phone airtime. If I am working on my PC, I would prefer to be reached on Gtalk instead of phone since it’s convenient for me to converse from my PC while I continue to work.

It would be ideal if the caller can be spared from knowing the complexity of calle’s reachability matrix of connection-points. In other words, if the caller could call only one connection point and the call can be intelligently routed to a the calle’s best availability device, it eases the burden of establishing a connection from the calle to the caller’s end – that exactly is TringMe’s ‘Intelligent Call Routing’. Now imagine if the caller can use a toll-free mechanism to reach to the caller on any of the above-mentioned connection-points, regardless of either’s geographic location.

This is where TringMe can help. TringMe already offers enterprise toll-free solution at much lower cost and many additional features not found in traditional telephony or toll-free solutions. Although toll-free service is generally associated with enterprises, TringMe’s toll-free solution can be applied very well to implement personal toll-free solution for an individual or a family’s need.

A few of my friends who live in US often buy skype credits for family members back home so that the family members can reach them. In one case, the family members are spread in various cities of India (Parents in Bombay, Sister studying in Delhi and some close cousin in another part of the country). My friend ends up buying separate skype credits for parents, sister and the close cousin. He was instantly able to see value in TringMe’s toll-free offering. All his family members can use TringMe to call him using single widget and he can mange the credit on single account rather than maintaining multiple. On top of that, he can use credits for other TringMe features as well  and control dynamically where he or she can be reached. Sounds Interesting?

TringMes’ toll-free solution is flexible enough to be applied to other scenarios as well:

These are just a few of the scenarios, but the possibilities are endless. Let the creativity flow and tell us how you (would like to) use TringMe. Do let us know what’s missing to make your scenario work ..

TringMe announces public beta of its Live Phone Widget

TringMe announces public beta of its live phone widget. TringMe phone widget allows you to receive calls from your website or profile visitors - directly from the web. So far, TringMe has released voicemail widget for public beta and restricted phone widget to key testers only.

To use TringMe phone or voicemail widget, just login to your TringMe account, copy TringMe widget code and paste it to your website. Do not forget to set appropriate call forwarding option in your profile (option - ‘Send my voicemails and calls to’) There is no restriction on the available talk time for receiving calls on phone and it is only limited by the phone credits in your account. In case you choose to receive calls on Gtalk, the available talk time is limited to 3 minutes per call.

As always, we look forward to feedback and suggestions.

TringMe expands reach to more countries in Asia and Europe

We are very excited to expand TringMe’s  service to several countries within Asia and Europe.  TringMe now reaches millions of users in China, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and UK. This is in addition to the mobile and landline support available in US and Canada since TringMe’s inception.

Apart from the above expansion, a lot more is happening at TringMe. One of the most asked feature was the live talk from the web feature (our phone widget). In brief, live talk is the ability to use TringMe’s phone widget to make a phone call. So far, we have limited the phone widget for the key testers only. Results so far are quite exciting and we will soon release the phone widget for public beta. If you are covering TringMe or intend to blog about the widget and would like to have a preview of it before launch, do write to us.

We have two more exciting features coming…any guesses ?

TringMe Launch

I’m extremely happy to announce the public beta release of TringMe.com. TringMe allows your website visitors, friends and customers to call or leave a voicemail to you - directly from the web. You will instantly receive a call or a voicemail on your existing cell phone, landline Gtalk or via e-mail. It’s pure web-based telephony.

While we are very excited, we are not making any big claims neither we want to call it ‘revolutionary’ like many other launches, even though based on early feedback we feel that it is an innovative idea and people are going to like it – hope we deliver to people’s expectation.

Expect bugs, expect some downtime, or limited feature set. We worked days, nights and weekends to create TringMe but still there is a long way to go. However, instead of waiting for all feature set to be completed, we rather felt that it was time to invite the public (you) to participate. Simultaneously, we continue to refine and build additional features.

Please note – TringMe is still a Beta and we are sincerely looking for feedback, suggestions and constructive criticisms. We look forward to your comments though comment on this blog or via email to feedback@tringme.com. You can also leave us a voicemail using TringMe.

TringMe will only grow with your participation and support.