Truphone SIP client for mobile phones with free calling

Truphone today announced availability of a free beta VoIP software download for Wi-Fi-enabled, mass market mobile handsets. The first download is available for Nokia's latest E-series handsets, with the N-series handsets to follow imminently.  Support for additional Wi-Fi-enabled phones, including those built on the Windows Mobile platform will soon follow.

Calls between 'on net' Truphone handsets are free worldwide. However, in the footsteps of Skype's free U.S./Canada SkypeOut promotion (amongst others), Truphone has a launch offer to the end of the year (Dec 31st 2006) that gives USA users free calls to USA/Canada and UK users will be able to call some two billion landlines in major countries for free. All other Truphone calls from the user's mobile will be charged at low VoIP rates. (e.g. UK 2.7c/min, China 2.8c, Mexico City 3.1c, Japan 4.8c)

Provisioning, installation and use are a breeze. Users send an SMS with the word 'TRU' to a designated number, provisioning takes place 'over the air' and the software installs itself quickly and easily on the mobile handset. Truphone integrates seamlessly with the phone using the existing address book, so there's nothing to re-type. Once set up to use a Wi-Fi hotspot, the handset connects automatically next time the phone is in range.

Dialing is a breeze using this software since it is seemlessly integrated Simply dial or select a contact as you normally would and press the Call (Green) button. Call behaviour is identical to using your handset over your usual GSM/Cell provider. The handset will attempt to make a Truphone call before trying a GSM/Cellular call. If you want to manually select the call type, dial or select a contact as you normally would and select Options>Call>* Call where * = Voice, Video or Internet.

Support for Truphone SMS messaging is imminent, while presence functionality will also follow. The SIP-based software incorporates several leading-edge techniques, including the self-healing, small-footprint AMR codec to ensure optimal call quality even under less than optimal conditions; and, unlike other Wi-Fi applications, Truphone uses smart, low-level coding to minimise battery usage.

James Tagg, Truphone's chief executive, said: "Truphone is the natural evolution of VoIP. First people talked to a PC, then they were tied to fixed-line handsets and now Truphone takes VoIP mobile. Free calling has arrived on mass-market handsets."

To get Truphone:
- Users in the UK should send an SMS with the word TRU to shortcode 60030
- Users in the USA should send an SMS with the word TRU to +44 7624 000 000
- Users elsewhere should send an SMS with the word TRU to +44 7624 000 000

Truephone is certainly leveraging some good open-source stuff, as well as several popular Linux components.

The major telecoms components are:
- OpenSER: Open source version of the SIP Express Router
- Asterisk: Open source SIP PBX

Other components that they use are:
- Apache Tomcat Servlet Container
- MySQL Databases
- Debian Linux Build
- Spring, Hibernate, JSF, Shale - Clay, Acegi for the web site build
- Roller for blogging
- Nagios and Monit for status monitoring
- OTRS for trouble-ticketing
- Jira for bug tracking