S60 Open to new features

Mobile VoIP clients are not perfect. I have been using Eseries and Truphone for few weeks and I must say that solution is not ready for mass market yet. Many problems point to device itself so I’m not here to blame service provider.

Plusses:
+Truphone has the best ever SIP "out of box experience". Sis file fixes settings right, which is total nightmare otherwise.

+Calling to traditional numbers, both fixed and mobile, works fine. Giving 2$ credit is an excellent idea.

+Integration to familiar phone calling UI. Dial number, select VoIP or cellular (under reserve, finetuning needed, see below)

Minuses:
-VoIP doesn't work seemlesly at all, if you want to use it only over WLAN at home (or in hotspot). Use case: home access over WLAN is enabled and you go out of that zone. Later you return but SIP client can't connect back to home WLAN. Phone has to be rebooted to get back logged in.

-Lack of presence function and name search is a major issue. How I can know who is having truphone service and minimize my calling cost with he/she? There is no search function by name on device. This is basic stuff and one of the success factors of Skype.

-S60 lacks context sensitivity. If I'm not logged in to truphone, I'm out of WLAN zone and I try to make phone call. There is no way I can make internet call, I haven’t configured VoIP settings for GPRS or WCDMA or paranormal 5G satellite network. Why is device giving this option for me then? It means one more click and very often it happens that I dial number press green button and take phone to ear. I’m waiting and nothing happens because phone is asking this question and waiting my selection (select call type: cellular / internet call).

-Battery consumption is a real issue. Eats battery too much, even on standby.

This is the current situation. Somebody has to fix the total user experience before mass VoIP on mobile will happen. I don’t care is that solution proprietary or SIP or what, but mobile VoIP is still geek stuff. Luckily so many companies are working in this area. Go Packet Mobile, Barablu, Skype, Truphone, SIPphone, Nimbuzz, Nokia…! Just do it.

When somebody finally puts user experience right, knows how to do marketing and distribution, things start to change. People start to minimize phone calls over cellular network and use VoIP as much as possible. It will happen over WLAN. It can happen over packet data, if flat fee data is available and has reasonable price (for example TMO 10 gig monthly fee is 22.5£=34€ which is not really squeezing down monthly bill if you are average user and VoIP is the main driver for data). So I think price of flat fee might be initially too high for real optimization if we talk about average users which are not making many international calls. Next step comes from operators and they will introduce more competitive flat fee packages for voice (domestic calls). Then there isn’t much incentive to play with VoIP and make life more complicated. Operator voice revenues decrease but customers are kept. Then MVNOs could have interesting play. MRKTNGman MVNO comes and provides minute charges again. Some consumers will start to optimize again. “I just call few minutes over cellular so I go for MRKGTNman”. They use VoIP over WLAN and cellular is only backup. “I use instant messaging on the road and call when back home.”

Different markets have different dynamics. Regulation prevents real competition in some cases. Regulation might even prevent VoIP to happen if governmental ownership is high enough.

Competing with VoIP over unlicensed spectrum will be hard. Flat fees for domestic CS calls are doable but for international calls it’s difficult. How about roaming and competing against VoIP/WLAN. “Calling charges will go down to zero anyway”, said someone in Telco 2.0. No need to repeat. It won’t mean that business goes down to zero. Or if it goes, you have been sleeping. Never have been the devices so capable to create innovative services and create new revenues than today. Plain only voice is important and big driver, but voice is just one element. Multiplayer games with VoIP, browsing & click to call. When it’s all just IP, things get more simple. Not necessary more reliable, but definitely more exiting.