How to: Make free inbound and outbound calls with Fring for iPhone.

Recently I relocated to an area that doesn't have any AT&T service at all. This was a pretty big deal, as I was job hunting and expecting calls from potential employers, so I had to be reachable by phone, and I couldn't afford a landline, but I did have Wi-Fi that was always available at my house. So I found a solution that uses a combination of the free Fring app, Google Voice, and a free VOIP service called Sipgate. Here's how to get the same setup.

Update: Skype blocks Fring

Apparently there was a little more than network "stress" that Skype was causing Fring. In a press release by Fring this morning, they stated that they are ending support of Skype services following the threat of legal action by Skype. You'll still be able to make Fring-to-Fring video calls, but Skype chatting and video calls are now out of the question. On a positive note, does this mean that Skype is working to enable video calls in their mobile apps? No news from them yet, but let's hope so.

[Fring press release]

Update: Techcrunch has spoken to a Skype spokesperson that says they have been in discussions with Fring for a while over whether Fring operates in accordance with Skype's licenses, and that the decision to remove Skype access from Fring was entirely Fring's decision. Fring says this simply isn't true. Oh boy.

[Techcrunch]

Fring suspending Skype calling for now

Fring just announced they are temporarily suspending the ability to make Skype video calls because of network stress. In the meantime you can still make Fring to Fring calls, the other services that don't allow video calling. Hopefully Fring will beef up their capacity and bring Skype back soon.


[Fring]

Fring adds video calling; It's kind of wonky

Mobile app Fring today released an update to their app that adds the capability to make video calls over 3G. This is the first iPhone app that takes advantage of Apple's Facetime technology, and will make cross-platform video calls possible.

So how well does it work? So far for me it's been kind of wonky. Logging into my Fring account has taken forever, and I keep getting a wrong password/e-mail message when my login info is right. After getting logged on I made a video call to my wife's laptop over Skype, and I could see the feed from the laptop, but on the other end there wasn't any video. Hopefully this is just because there's a flood of traffic trying the app right now, and as it becomes less congested service will imrpove.

Do you guys have the updated app yet? How has it been working for you so far?