iPhone Hacks · Hacks, Cracks, Mods, Homebrew, Utilities

Last we heard from the Truphone crew was big talk concerning their native voice-over-IP (VoIP) app for the iPhone. Initially conceived as a hack job; Truphone later stabilized under the iPhone SDK. Today they’re back and Truphone is indeed walkin’ the walk –

Truphone for the Apple® iPhone™ hits Apple’s App Store:

LONDON (July 11, 2008) - Designed to provide low-priced international calls for Apple iPhone users worldwide, Truphone for the iPhone hit Apple’s App Store today. The application, which enables mobile internet calls using the iPhone’s Wi-Fi capability, is available to download initially free of charge.

Making a call using Truphone for the iPhone follows precisely the normal procedure: a single touch to open the dialer, dial the number or choose from the iPhone’s own address book, and a touch to start the call.

Truphone for the iPhone is a focused, fast and ‘lightweight’ application, in line with the type of applications Apple users expect. Complying with iPhone and Apple user interface standards, the application is a native Voice over IP client running on normal, unmodified iPhones and was developed from the ground up using Apple’s Software Developer Kit.

Click here to see a video Truphone on the iPhone.

James Tagg, Truphone’s CEO, said: “Our mission with Truphone for the iPhone was to provide better value international calls for regular iPhone users, whether they’re calling internationally or avoiding roaming charges when making calls from abroad. Since there’s no risk involved - no monthly subscriptions or other charges - we hope it will be the obvious application for smart iPhone users to use for their international calls.

“It is the real deal: a native VoIP client for the iPhone, developed with Apple’s own SDK. There are millions of iPhones in circulation, all with an identical operating system - it’s a terrific market opportunity,� he added.

Truphone’s CTO and project leader Alistair Campbell said: “We set out to create an application that is as Apple-like as possible: fast, lightweight and focused. That’s what we’ve done and it works brilliantly, exactly like a seasoned Apple-user would expect.�

When making a Truphone call from the iPhone, the caller ID that is presented is that of the iPhone’s SIM card, enabling the recipient easily to return a call.

Ensure you visit the Truphone site for the additional 411.

iCall is a newly announced app coming out on Apple’s App Store. It promises seamless call switching between VoIP via WiFi and regular calls. There will be no hacking involved, they are fully approved Apple developer. iCall has a two tier system with a free version and a ‘pro’ version with added features. iCall is their own service provider so don’t expect to use this application with any of your current VoIP plans like Vonage. It will be interesting to see how this will compare with other services competeing for the iPhone VoIP market. Like the previously released RingFree.

Here is their very short FAQ:

1. We are part of the Apple iPhone developer program. This is not an application for you naughty jail breakers ;-)
2. We are not using any undocumented API calls. We are following every rule that developers must follow.
3. No, you can not have a copy. We are not physically capable of distributing the application to any phones except our development phones. If Steve-ness himself wanted a copy we could not provide it to him. Sorry.
4. Apple has explicitly stated that VoIP is allowed, just not over Edge networks. Steve himself answered this question in the Q&A session after the last keynote speech.
5. We are huge Apple fans and plan to release a version of iCall for OS X, but we don’t have enough developers. (see question 6).
6. Yes we are hiring. Please visit our jobs page. We’ll even pay for you to move to Greenwich, CT.

A video of iCall in action:

RF.com’s nifty RingFree is a way that you can make VoIP calls on any iPhone, hacked or not. The currently free beta web application uses Safari and AJAX to accomplish the task. Readying your iPhone for use with RingFree is very easy to do and just involves double checking some of your settings through the standard iPhone interface.

The following VoIP service providers have been tested with RingFree:

• Gizmo Project: No limits.
• PhoneGnome: No limits.
• Race Technology: No limits.
• VoicePulse: VoicePulse Access and VoicePulse Connect plans work well with RingFree. The company does not share credentials on its unlimited calling plans.
• Vonage: Only their “soft-phone” product, for which they charge $5 month in addition to their standard monthly service fees.
• Voxalot: No limits.

If you don’t have a VoIP provider never fear you can also use MSN, Yahoo, Skype, GoogleTalk, FWD, SIP URI or your own PBX.

RingFree is currently a free service as they are attempting to monetize it by selling their software to VoIP service providers. Hopefully it will remain free forever.

The company TruPhone plans to release a VoIP application native to the iPhone. This means users will have the added ability to place phone calls over a Wi-Fi connection instead of using their GSM provider. Unfortunately there is nothing available for public consumption yet; however, the dudes at blognation confirm its legitimacy.

The app’s current state defines a true hack job; utilizing an iPhone terminal, the VoIP client instructs the phone to use its on-board SIP stack to place calls over WiFi instead of the inserted SIM. It’s suggested the application will seamlessly switch between your carrier’s network and WiFi, when within range, of course. I would imagine that being configurable to some extent.

According to the company they expect to release a beta in ~ 4 weeks time. TruPhone.com will be accepting registrations on their site — on a first come, first serve basis.

- source: blognation