Mino wireless

[Czar]

Is anyone else using Mino wireless? I have not been on the boards in awhile, but I searched "Mino" and nothing came back. It's a VOIP that uses your cell phone's Internet connection (edge or GPRS) to make calls. You can trigger calls from either the web or your phone - in my case a BlackBerry, but they claim most phones are supported (I think you need a BB or a Palm, or a phone with Java, Windows Mobile, DoCoMo, or Symbain).

Anyway, the rates are pretty good. Although there were a few small glitches with the set up, the e-mail support was great and they got me up and running in no time. Call quality on my test calls was excellent. People did not realize I was on VOIP.

Anyway, there's a promotion that credits certain users (I think region 1?) with $0.50 if you sign up - no other obligations. I think I also remember seeing something about a referral credit of $1 or something, but I don't see it on their site. If you sign up and it asks you for a referral, my e-mail is riiing@gmail.com and you can see if you get something (or maybe I do!).

Just another option for us out there. I posted a thread a long time ago before I moved to Finland about using VOIP to "seem" to have a US phone number while overseas. I was really excited about the possibilities at that point, and I ended up using some different programs (e.g., Gizmo, VOnage soft phone) with limited success at the time. Mino does not seem to help with incoming calls, but it's a nice way to keep one outgoing number at really low rates...as long as you have an Internet connection.

[Czar]

Just a small update as I'm really getting interested in this. I'm headed to Aruba this summer, and I checked the local SIM provider, Primo (through SETAR). Their prepaid service offers GPRS for US $0.02/10kb. I spoke to customer service at MINO, and they said that once the software has been downloaded to the phone, expect each call to use 1kb of data access per call. The rate from an Aruba # to a US # is US $0.124/minute, so if you average it out with the data cost, you're still looking at less than $0.13/minute and Primo has free incoming.

If you can find reliable data service, MINO looks awesome!

[andy]

Are you sure you're not mixing up their landline and mobile rates? I'm seeing 22.7c in the right-hand column

You might also check the rates on the Betamax VoIP services, around €0.12 per minute.

http://backsla.sh/betamax

Voipbuster has a nice Java client that uses wap/gprs, with the facility to change the called-back number, so if you can use a landline (6c) part of the time ...

[Czar]

Originally Posted by andy

Are you sure you're not mixing up their landline and mobile rates? I'm seeing 22.7c in the right-hand column

You might also check the rates on the Betamax VoIP services, around €0.12 per minute.

http://backsla.sh/betamax

Voipbuster has a nice Java client that uses wap/gprs, with the facility to change the called-back number, so if you can use a landline (6c) part of the time ...

I see what you mean about the Aruba rate - good point - I always forget to check whether it's a mobile rate or not in the western hemisphere as I forget about free incoming. So I guess altogether about US $0.23/minute, still cheaper than a direct dial call using Primo. Yu can add callback numbers to Mino as well, though, so theoretically I could have the call come into a landline, but that may be a hassle.

Thanks for the tip about betamax. I'll check them out as well. I like Mino because of the BB specific app., but if it's cheaper!

Just called Poland moblie using Mino and it worked great. I really can't believe the call quality.

[andy]

I should have mentioned Vyke have a similar Java client, also including 2 cent text messages, and quite a few good rates, but not Aruba it seems

[DRNewcomb]

I'm not sure I understand. This service runs VOIP over a GPRS connection? I've tried that and found it didn't work very well. The latency is too high. Have you tested this?

[Czar]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

I'm not sure I understand. This service runs VOIP over a GPRS connection? I've tried that and found it didn't work very well. The latency is too high. Have you tested this?

Yes, they have a VOIP client you download onto your phone. You can trigger a callback (to any number), and it calls back as that number. On my phone, the test calls I've made have been very clear - no difference in the level of call quality. I'm very impressed as the call quality has been better than the Vonage soft phone on my laptop using a cable modem.

Since you're in the states, you can get a $0.50 credit - all you need to do is register and download th Java program. I registered this past August and totally forgot about it until I got a referral e-mail a few weeks ago. When I had the time, I downloaded the program to my BB. I was very skeptical based on previous VOIP experiences, but so far I'm very impressed.

[Czar]

Originally Posted by andy

I should have mentioned Vyke have a similar Java client, also including 2 cent text messages, and quite a few good rates, but not Aruba it seems

Aruba mobile to US is US $0.2614 on Vyke. I may download and try. If people would like to help me get a list of these servies together (ones you can download and use on your phone), I'll test them all out and post my results.

[Czar]

Jajah offers a similar service, but there are only apps for specific phones (e.g., Motorola, Samsung, SonyEricsson, etc.). Their rates seem cheaper overall, though. For example, Aruba mobile to US is US $0.187/minute. There are also a bunch of cool apps for Google, Mac, Firefox, etc. You can make calls via their website (there's a WAP version). You get about US $0.66 free credit when you register. The first call I made to check my VM at work went well.

[andy]

Originally Posted by DRNewcomb

I'm not sure I understand. This service runs VOIP over a GPRS connection? I've tried that and found it didn't work very well. The latency is too high. Have you tested this?

No, these are callback services, well Vyke and Voipbuster certainly are, only using the data to trigger the call. Czar mentioned 1k of data to set up a Mino call, in the second post, and until then I wasn't clear myself