Including Everything Blog

Archive for October, 2008

I stumbled across an article today that talks about Verizon Wireless looking into new streams of revenue, initially found by RCR Wireless News.  In short, Verizon is expected to charge $0.03 per text message sent through websites; a fee in addition to the almost $0.20 per message billed to these websites for receipt of the messages.

Original article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/technology/companies/11text.html?_r=2&em&oref=slogin&oref=slogin 

When mobile subscribers already pay for this as part of a service contract, this seems like double dipping in terms of where they’re getting their income.

I question what this will do to the growth of the mobile market just as it’s taking off?  The creative agency I work for, Quango Design + Marketing, doesn’t currently do work with text messaging outside of the mobile networks, but we do marketing that in some part could make use of web text messaging someday.  This type of hard cost makes it nearly impossible to integrate on a large scale unless cost is passsed on to the end user.

Will Free Web Text & txtDrop still remain “free”?  Text messaging & SMS is useful for more than just entertainment purposes.  Text 4 Deaf is a service that enables deaf users to remain connected in a number of ways.  Something of this size could be crippled (no pun intended) overnight by a change like this, or could require higher charitable donations in order to remain operating.  The other alternative would be higher rates to the users of course.

Something as significant as this change may seem like a simple choice to Verizon, but they have an opportunity to help shape the mobile market and be innovators, not stifle it by increases.  People are already paying for the right to receive these messages to their mobile providers (Sprint PCS, ATT and T-Mobile).

Verizon mentions:
“We want to find a way not just to create a toll but build the overall market together”

I don’t view this as building the market as much as I do see it as a toll.  Isn’t there a better way than double dipping on something you’re already profitable from in the service contracts?

I tried the PhoneTag service a year or so ago when it was still branded Simulscribe, but they have since changed their name and branding and I’m reviewing this service again. The trial time period is for 30 days and it’s pretty solid so far. Heck, I hardly could bring myself to terminate the service, but being with Sprint PCS, I was coerced into paying per minute for “call forward no answer”. This quickly added up to a massive expense (Sprint’s fault, not Simulscribe’s) and I had to cancel.

Now I’m with ATT (iPhone) and it’s a whole different ball game. If I recall correctly, all of ATT, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile don’t charge you for call forwarding. ATT confirmed this via a customer service call last night.

The pricing has always been fairly reasonable. Most people don’t receive more than 40 voicemail messages per month and the $9.95 per month plan will suffice. PhoneTag will bill you $0.25 per message over your 40 message limit each month (I will rarely ever go over). Although this seems like a lot, think about the math when you add it up. That’s 20 additional messages for only $5 more…what a bargain.

They have a pay as you go plan that costs $0.35 per message received, however, if you receive more than a few voicemails per month, this can add up rather quickly. For those of you operating in a business environment, PhoneTag will work with you to craft a solution for your workforce that suits your needs. Simply contact one of their corporate support agents and you will be guided through the process.

For the full-time on the go business person that practically lives by their phone 24/7, they have an unlimited plan that costs $29.95 per month. This plan is more geared towards the die-hard mobile person and would be ideal to expense this to a business requiring mobile work to occur.

PhoneTag works with over 95% of current mobile, home and work voicemail systems today. Some third party vendors may have differing costs to use in terms of carrier services, but for the most part they all work similarly. You forward voicemails on a “call forward no answer” to the number that PhoneTag gives you and they handle the rest.

How easy is it to hook up or install? Here’s what I did. I received an email that contained these instructions (underscores replaced instead of the phone number they gave me).

On your mobile phone, dial *004*___________*11#, hit send, and enjoy!
You are now on PhoneTag!

If you wish to turn PhoneTag off, just enter ##004#

Additional information was included that told me how to customize my voicemail on their servers. It was a simple call to a toll free number they listed and it was done in less than 5 minutes. Recommendation: call from a land line phone for clarity’s sake. Your voicemail message will sound much clearer if you do this.

Vonage, Lingo and Packet8 users are also covered. Those voice over IP (VoIP) services allow free forwarding of voicemail via phone and email. If your service doesn’t allow you to simply forward the voice call in real time to the number that PhoneTag designates, PhoneTag has a special email address that they setup allowing you to forward voicemail as attachments to the PhoneTag service. PhoneTag then transcribes the recorded message and emails or text message’s you with the text version in about a minute.

PhoneTag’s technical support via phone (800-788-0916) and email. I left a message for support for something I needed done this morning and Tom in support called back within 3 hours. They do, however, operate inside of a typical U.S. working day. So if you’re in the UK or somewhere else in the world, the service will work but you’ll likely receive support outside of your own typical business hours.

PhoneTag themselves offer a 7-day free trial of their services. You can remove the service and cancel at any time within the testing period. They have offered me a special code to allow you a full 30 days to try out PhoneTag. If you dislike it for any reason, just cancel at any point within the 30 day trial.

Free 30 Day Trial:
https://apps.simulscribe.com/signup/r/320275

I think the only negative aspects I dislike about the PhoneTag service are:

• Lack of after hours support. Should something (ever) go wrong where I made a configuration mistake and were missing voicemails from important people, I’d be extremely upset. Even the simplest of support via email through their ticket system would be acceptable.
• They brand their name stating that “your message will be transcribed by PhoneTag” when the person is leaving their message. This is both good and bad. It prompts users to “clearly” state their message and phone number, so you’re more likely to receive an accurate transcription of the recording. However, we’re paying for a service at an arguably steep rate. They shouldn’t be forcing their brand on our callers…especially for business users.
• I wish they would create more diversity in their package offerings. Even when they were Simulscribe (I notice they still use the “simulscribe.com” domain name pretty heavily still, too) they offered the same plans. I would suggest a plan for $19.95 that offers possibly 100 voicemails per month.

I’ve long used applications for cheap communication on both the PC and Mac.  Tools like Skype, Yahoo! Instant Messenger and Google Talk.  I’ve even used Skype’s outbound calling plans where you pre-pay for credits or minutes and work from a balance of calling credits.

Gizmo5 (owned by SIPphone in San Diego, CA) does all of this and so much more.  Not only can you make free internet calls from your home pc or mobile phone, but it integrates ALL of your instant messaging programs into one while letting you do it, supporting Gizmo5, MSN, AIM, Yahoo! and Jabber…for free.  Other supported features include video calls, file sharing and two-way text messaging, allowing you to send SMS messages directly from your Gizmo5 account.

As an iPhone 3G user, I get pretty decent cellular coverage in the Portland, OR metropolitan area, but it’s not always reasonable to use the ATT network for my calls…especially long ones (both inside the US and outside the US).  Gizmo5 answers this need perfectly.

I opt to use Fring as my iPhone VoIP software on the iPhone when connected to a WiFi network.  Fring allows me to leverage multiple platforms beyond what even Gizmo5 lets me have access to in terms of on-the-go voice.  So if I wanted to, I could make calls over Wifi with the iPhone to Gizmo5 users (similar to the other companies), or I can tap “SIP” after dialing a number to reach an outside line.  Call quality is crystal clear and I haven’t had a dropped call once.

Did I mention how much I’m saving at home talking on Gizmo5 SIP over the ATT minutes in my plan?  I’m seriously considering dropping the level of plan that I have just because of this.

It’s rare to see a company that’s encompassed so many needs in one single application.  Big thanks to SIPphone for giving us one application for an incredibly low overhead to accomplish mobile business in today’s mobile world.