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- ZaNkY, on 10/12/2007, -4/+50I found out about this here: http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/20/gizmo-project-makes-all-voip-to-landline-calls-free-forever/
I want to give the blog credit for posting it, but I link directly to the source.
I think it's great that all these VoIP clients are competing for their user's service. Free sounds good to me! - hkfczrqj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41Here is the catch:
"*The All Calls Free plan applies when both call participants are registered and active Gizmo Project users. A person is considered active when they are making phone calls with Gizmo Project on a regular basis. We reserve the right to limit call length. In countries where free phone calls are not available, when calling a non-free number in an All Calls Free-listed country, or when calling a non-Gizmo Project user, calls are subject to our regular low rates." - shiftt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31I digg+ this just because it will piss off the Telcos
- billygreen23, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20The title is not accurate and very misleading. There are several catches to this thing.
- aaylnx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I think some of the comments here are confusing what Gizmo is actually offering. The actual offering is spelled out pretty well here: http://www.gizmoproject.com/learnmore-allcallsfree.html
Can you call "Any" phone for free?
No
Is there a way you can call regular land line phones and (some) mobile phones for free?
Yes. The other party has to have a Gizmo account AND have their land line/mobile number(s) listed in their Gizmo profile. Once they have their account setup and their land line/mobile numbers in their profiles you can call these numbers from Gizmo for free.
To me this seems like a smart move for the Gizmo folks. Yes it is a little bit of a hassle for your friends to install Gizmo and input their phone numbers, but you only have to do this once. On the other hand the benefit of being able to make free calls should provide enough incentive for many people to download and install Gizmo's product.
Does Gizmo offer anything more than free Skype out?
Yes. They do allow you to call many more countries for free than Skype out does. Moreover, they provide either free (775) or very cheap call in numbers. Does anyone know if the free Skype out applies to mobile phones as well, because Gizmo does include free mobile calls to many (not all) countries.
Finally, this really is a cool offer in light of the fact that Gizmo just released a client for the Nokia 770 which will allow you to place a call over wifi. There are rumors that the next generation 770 will include support for wimax. If it does, and if wimax actually gets rolled out sometime in the near future, this would mean really cheap, many times free, phone service. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18Coming up in 3 ... 2.... 1.... "reported by users as inaccurate"
- noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Yeah, I saw something along those lines, it said free calls to all Gizmo users and I thought, how is that different from Skype?
It is a good concept but it is more advertising spin than reality at this point.
Also, Skype is gradually working towards free calling, period. I just had a full weekend where I coudl call my mum in england on her landline phone for free and she did not need to be registered or anything.
Also, I haven't seen how Skype is difficult to use yet... - kimos, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Huge thumbs up for linking to article but giving blog credit...
- datagod, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9What exactly is their business plan? Record all international calls and forward them to the FBI?
- Wahttehhog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"And where does it say "forever"?"
Well, it doesn't, that title is inaccurate. What's hilarious though is that this person is trying to use Skype's marketing line.........
"Call anyone on Skype, anywhere in the world, for free. Forever." - voipdude, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Sounds like a marketing Gimick at Gizmo!
Both need to be users, and when you dial on the softphone how do you know IF the other fellow is still an "Active" regular user, does it warn you that your account is now being charged.
Seems like a desparate way to gain sign ups.
And where does it say "forever"?
Here is what I am doing at the moment
www.skype.comfor free USA calls to any number, must use their softphone with a headset.
http://www.voicestick.com They have a free incoming phone number and voice mail.
I get my incoming calls with voicestick (on a regular phone as I got the Analog Phone Adapter) and take my voice mail there as it emails me with my voice mail (I love that part)
Also they sell you for ZERO a $29 Plantronics headset if you are a signed up customer (And I use the headset with my free Skype.
They also give you a $5 account credit with the free 'next to nothing' incoming line.
Now if I could just get the wife to use Skype and the headset. - binarysemaphore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Are you sure this works for India ? the list of countries does not include India
- pabster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12Yeah, that's a pretty big "catch".
I'll stick with Skype, thanks. - agentbob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7all your call are belong to us
- Stecchino, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I say Hooray! for everyone. It's great to have this competition in the VOIP industry which gives the average Joe DOZENS of options for calling just about anyone anywhere for cheap or free. Long live the Internet Age.
- dacheetah, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8lol, I read this one at engadget too, and thought it was digg worthy, seems several people beat me to it though.
I've downloaded and installed this (under WinXP, it also offers MacOS and Linux versions, which is good since I'm about to delve into the world of linux, and have been on the lookout for good *nix apps) and I found it easy to set up, and called my own landline, in Australia, free of charge, and apart from a short lag (which given the call is probably going right around the world is pretty much expected) it worked great. This should be a useful way to cut down on long distance calls with people who are not quite computer savvy enough for skype or other PC-based VoiP programs.
Definately Dugg. - zoombusa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4it looks like all calls to landlines or mobiles are 1 cent/min even if local. I'm I reading it wrong?
- hobbified, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Nothing lasts forever? Not even cold November rain?
- Gryfft, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Correct. VoIP to landline calls are NOT free, they are $.01 US / min. The title is inaccurate. Gizmo really doesn't seem to have that many advantages over Skype, at least in the US. Skype you CAN call landlines in the US and Canada for free, but you have to pay for the ability to be CALLED by landlines. Gizmo, apparently, you have to pay a nominal fee or calling landlines and for being called by landlines.
- hobbified, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@Gryfft
The main advantage of Gizmo, such as it is, is that not only is it SIP-based, but it's actually running on the exact same infrastructure as its sister service, SIPPhone. Although a lot of people don't realize it, you can switch back and forth between a hardware ATA and the Gizmo softphone on the same account/number. And the call-in/out rates are definitely reasonable, especially if you don't make heavy usage of your phone. - combatchuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Get a cell phone, it's cheaper. The adjustment to "don't call me before 7 pm" is amazingly fast and easy.
- neom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Vonage.. I plug my phone in, I pay $19 a month, and I can call anywhere in the US or Canada...Wanna know the best part? I have a real phone number just like everyone else..and.. a real phone!
- andywirtanen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Gizmo is proprietary freeware, but does follow the SIP protocol.
- JDex, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Regardless of the "free to landline" thing... Gizmo is infinitely better than Skype and standards-based and non-proprietary... not to mention it sounds better. Try it. I've been using it for months and have uninstalled skype.
- GamaFu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3yes, there is. please see the complete list.
- garnets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4What! calls to Nigeria are blocked?
- Angostura, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Marked as inaccurate. Calls to non-Gizmo landlines require you to purchase 'Call Out Credit' details and pricing here: http://www.gizmoproject.com/call-out.html
This is effectively identical in concept to buying SkypeOut minutes. - sophiaperennis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Two good articles discussing this subject:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/07/20/gizmo-nukes-standard-voip-business-model/
http://gigaom.com/2006/07/20/voice-now-nearly-free/ - Earthacis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well shoot I'm sure even yahoo messenger can do that.
- jamesb5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I downloaded this on my Mac, made an account and then called myself (my room land line). It worked and I talked for about 10 seconds (there was some lag).
After the call was complete, the Gizmo window said that the call cost me 1 cent (not quite free).
I went to my account page on their website to find out what the hell was going on and I had a 25 cent credit for "callout" and they had taken the 1 cent out of that.
In any case, it does seem like it is maybe free, with a bunch of asterisks. - epheterson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2All calls aren't free, only calls to ACTIVE GIZMO PROJECT USERS. Title is misleading, no digg.
- edgardcastro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Read the release guys. It is actually free. You and your party just have to use the program sometimes!
Come on, it's a good trade off for free calls! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2update. After I re login to the app I see my balance down to 7 cents. It charged me for teh outgoing calls. Just like any other pc to phone software with pay as you go system.
- aforonda, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I totally agree Gizmo is better than Skype.
- caldroun, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3You don't even need to get a $3 number as long as you don't care that it is in the 775 area code. Those are free from Gizmo too. There is some change for forwarding those calls to a landline though.
http://www.gizmoproject.com/area775.html - anarchy99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1is there any app to have a free phone number to forward to something else
- Mysidia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Free calls to all Gizmo users."
"Inexpensive add-ons that let you make and receive calls from any mobile phone or landline"
Where does it say "all VoIP to landline calls free?" - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Gizmo uses SIP for voice and Jabber for IM. Pretty good reasons to use it over Skype IMO.
- aaylnx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Linux version is behind, but that is because Linux development resources on the Gizmo Project had been allocated to work on a client for the Nokia 770 (which runs Linux). Now that the 770 client has just been released let's wait and see if the Linux client isn't released soon.
- klarue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hi - great question. Here's the scoop: The number *must* be entered into the profile of your friend, by your friend. This is the only way that Gizmo guys can check to make sure that the friend is also an "active" user.
I think the company has tried to be pretty forthright in their explanations - they haven't hidden the fact that both parties need to be active Gizmo users,which I take to mean they just need to use Gizmo every now and then. Having some terms and conditions in place - even if vague - seems prudent to protect against people rampantly abusing the offer. KLR - shaaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0can you call from India to the other countries for free???
- cclapper, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0if you need some info on land line phones - check it out here - http://www.landlinephone.co.uk
- webtech, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3More in here:
http://go2web2.blogspot.com/2006/05/welcome-to-your-new-free-telephone.html - klarue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yeah, the article took a few liberties. Read the page and FAQs at www.gizmoproject.com/free to get the scoop. KLR
- macewan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1http://www.gizmoproject.com/download.php
Version 1.0.0.18
^- linux version is stuck at 1 with mac & win at 2 - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5wtf. this is for real?
I call my cell in NY. works no charge.
Called Friend in India. Works no charge.
whats teh catch? - SPLASTiK, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@ voipdude
Voicestick is awesome! I use the free incoming number + voice mail too. It's awesome that they e-mail you the voice mail as an audio file + caller ID number when you get a call and don't answer.
Then I use Skype for the outgoing calls. - JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Wengo actually does offer free dialing to a lot of countries
- glafira, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1That is gonna add up to quite a lot of loss.
- monkeybrainz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1yeah, totally misleading
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