Hop 255

eqo

eqo -- another Skype redirect to mobile and so forth

Talqer

Google Talk does not offer conections to the PSTN so Talqer provides a plug in which does this for users.

Jajah - Call back for VoIP

Hop255 has written about JaJah before without great to do. But their new service has a wonderful simplicity. Simply enter your own telephone number along with the party's number you want to call and Jajah calls both numbers to establish a connection. The first 5 minutes is free and then rates apply that are reasonably competitive depending on destination.  It will appeal to users without a multi-media PC/microphone and who do not want to download software. Reminds Hop255 of callback!

Barablu

Barablu claims to provide the first voip mobile to mobile calls.

Pep Talk

AN Adelaide software startup  -- Pep Talk -- is launching a technology that allows Internet users to click on any phone number to set up an instant call. Users do not need to download software. Read on here.

Tesco versus telcos

Interesting voip development in the UK with Tesco taking on the telcos.

Skype Upgrades Pocket PC Edition

Skype has upgraded it Pocket PC software. More here.

Yahoo and VoIP

The VoIP story of the week was obviously Yahoo's announcement of an Internet telephony service interconnecting with the PSTN. Meanwhile not all ebay vendors are reported to be enthusiastic about the use of Skype.

An interview with Niklas Zennstrom

An interview with Niklas Zennstrom in the UK Sunday Times can be read here.

Ranking VoIP: MyVoIPProvider

A website called MyVoIPProvider has been set up to compare prices for calls between PCs and the PSTN. The service ranks the top 100 providers by price. It also has a search engine which provides ranking for a particular country. Hop255 loaded Australia and the site produced VoIPCheap as the least expensive service. Unfortunately the ranking is only as good as the data and in this case 0.005 pounds (US$ 0.008) per minute had been entered instead of the actual price 0.05 pounds (US$0.08). This error led to VoIP Cheap being ranked first instead of 153. Ouch!

For the record NetAppel should have ranked first (assuming the other data are correct).

A directory of VoIP providers by county is a useful feature.