TringMe | A Web Based Telephone [Review]

I currently have a lot of beta invites for numerous sites sitting in my email box. So, tonight I decided to pick a random one to write about & it happened to be from TringMe. Being someone currently without a house or mobile phone, this is definitely a tool that will come in handy for me. I know there are quite a few tools already that allow you to make phone calls online but TringMe has definitely intrigued me the most & seems to have the most features.

In their own words:

“TringMe provides a unified platform offering, an offering that integrates all the existing voice and telephony communication devices and opens up new avenues to innovate on such a platform. TringMe’s uniqueness is in it’s ability to make and receive calls directly from the web, – no software to download or install, it’s ability to unify voice across traditional telephony options (landlines, cellular phones) and the internet.”

Flash Telephony

TringPhone is a fully web-based SIP phone which you can easily use from any flash-enabled browser such as Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox, Safari etc.

You can make worldwide calls from your PC for FREE – all without having to download anything. If you have your own VoIP provider, you can can configure TringPhone to use it in one simple step. (How to use)

IM Telephony

You can use IM services such as GTalk or AIM to make worldwide calls as well & once again it’s simple and FREE. Sending a free SMS worldwide is as simple as typing a message in your IM – all without having to download anything. (How to use)

Mobile & SMS Telephony

It’s likely that you have internet connectivity via your mobile device or via access to WiFi networks. Well you can use that same connectivity to make & receive FREE calls or send & receive messages for FREE.

All calls & messaging are done by WiFi so it doesn’t require any SIM or contracts with a carrier. (How to use)

The two features I like best though are the Push-N-Talk & Voicemail features.

“Push-N-Talk widgets are the simplest way to stay ‘voice reachable from the web’. Don’t reveal your phone number and yet allow visitors to your website or social network to speak with you. (How to use) And you can use the power of voicemail to stay connected with anyone in the world. Never miss a voicemail wherever you are – in the office, at home or on travel. (How to use)”

What’s nice about the Push-N-Talk widgets is that you can customize them by uploading a JPEG image (215×68 pixels). These widgets work on any site that allows javascript & there’s even a Facebook application that you can use to add a widget to your Facebook profile.

Don’t like widgets? You also get your own ReachMe page that you can direct people to. Your ReachMe page displays a widget to call you & a widget to leave you a voicemail.

Though all of these services are FREE, if you choose to use the phone number you automatically get through TringMe, you will have to pay. Don’t worry though because their rates are pretty low.

Since I can’t buy any credits right now (and don’t have a mobile or home phone), I can’t fully test this out. So if you’re up to it, feel free to try it out & report in the comments what you think about it; I’d love to hear about your experiences with it.

TringMe is open for all to join.

[tags]tringme, online telephone, make calls online, online voicemail, flash telephony, im telephony, mobile telephony, sms telephoney, widgets, voicemail, telephone[/tags]

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