March 23rd, 2006
Yahoo Launches Voice Over IM Service in US
By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Yahoo is launching a new service to allow you to make phone calls through their instant messaging service. So would that be called VOIM and not VOIP?
Available in several other countries since December, the service allows people to make calls from their computers for 2 cents a minute or less to the top 30 national phone markets, including the United States.
The “Phone Out” service also allows calls from computers to regular phones at varying rates to a total of 180 countries.
Using instant messaging for phone calls is one of the latest ways that technology companies are finding cheaper ways to allow people to talk all over the world without relying on traditional phone networks.
Yahoo Messenger with Voice rates average between 20 percent and 30 percent lower than Skype to many major markets outside the United States, according to a comparison furnished by Yahoo.
Phone In allows customers to receive calls on their computers from regular and mobile phones for $2.99 a month, or $29.90 a year. Source: Networking Pipeline
We Say: I’ve been told by a friend that I REALLY, REALLY, need to get a headset and check out Skype, but I just haven’t had a chance to get one, has anyone had the chance to try Yahoo’s service out yet? Who wants to start a VOIP service with me, since everyone is doing one, surely we can get bought out.
Marcus says:
All I can Say is WOW! Granted, I call Europe for $0.023 a min. but for that I don’t have to sit at the stinking computer to make a call……..I use my mobile phone. What kind of balls do you have to have to rip people off by charging 2 cents a minute to call around the world using the internet? Please, kind sirs, explain to me, how I can make international calls for 2.3 cents a minute using my mobile phone but you want to charge me 2 cents a minute to use Yahoo on my computer to make calls.
March 23rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm