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 Social networking gets the mobile calling
Vonage has announced an application for mobile phones that allow for free voice calls to Facebook friends, over both 3G and WIFI.
Voice over IP company Vonage’s latest application for Android and Apple devices provides the ability to call all Facebook contacts, providing they have the same application installed that is a free download from the Android Market and also iTunes store.
Besides offering free VoIP calls using a Facebook account and its software, Vonage also offers Facebook instant messaging for mobile phones - which is a feature that is only natively possible through the desktop browser version of Facebook.
The Vonage app will now compete with Voice of IP services from Fring, Truphone and Skype. The latter of which, has still yet to be ported to the Android platform.
On first use, the Vonage phone software advertises it’s been installed via a Facebook status update, where it lists all the people that also have the app installed with a Vonage logo by their name. This then allows for a private message invitation to be sent to all Facebook contacts, for them to also install the software for voice calling and IM’s over a phone.
The application itself is easy to use and the call quality is decent enough over both 3G and WIFI, with the added benefit of not using any minutes of the accompanying tariff. Although, the software could end up costing if there’s isn’t a decent data allowance when not using WIFI to make VoIP calls or the IM function.
We suspect within time they will update the mobile phone application to allow both calling landlines and mobile phones, with a chargeable fee attached as Vonage’s existing services for the PC offer that very ability.
Friend me
 Facebook certainly has come a long way from its 2004 origins as a yearbook for Harvard University students. Easily the most popular social networking site with more than 400 million users worldwide, it may be about to provide more features, if rumours can be believed.
‘Project Titan’ is expected to be Facebook’s unveiling of greatly expanded messaging capabilities, adding full email functionality to its pages. Currently, Facebook messaging is only available by logging directly into the site, but users will be granted their chosen-name@facebook.com, accessible while browsing, or through POP3 and IMAP clients.
Microsoft have the biggest webmail share at present, with around 260 million users. A move into email could scoop the top slot for Facebook very quickly. But beyond our own pages, why does it matter?
Customers want information on the move, and they want it all the time. Newly launched reporting tool, Mobile Media Metrics (MMM), from the GSM Association demonstrates the importance of social networking sites to the mobile industry. The data for December 2009 shows that five million people spent in total, more than 2 billion minutes on Facebook from mobiles. That’s more than seven hours of checking status updates each, and accounts for more than 50% of all data use shown in the survey. Perhaps explaining why every phone is now advertised dripping with social networking widgets and brand names.
The provisional data from MMM only includes Orange, Vodafone and O2. T-Mobile and 3 are taking part as well, and their data may push the figure even higher.
‘My first smartphone’
 A blend of previous best selling LG models like the Etna and Cookie, the GW520 combines touchscreen with keyboard in my favourite format as a QWERTY side-slider. Sturdily constructed in plastic the phone has a solid feel when open and the keys are spacious and brightly backlit in white. Four direction keys and colour coding further enhance the keypad to create a durable messaging and text phone.
The 2.8 inch touchscreen is the resistive style, but icons and menus are large and colourful so even I didn’t need a stylus. Users flinger slide between two main screens which are supplemented by pretty standard menu icons and widgets. The basic home screen is unexceptional, the more interesting side is LiveSquare.
LiveSquare is LG’s novel idea for incoming messages mails and other recent contacts to appear as cutesy animal and human avatars. They wave or hold up little signs when text threads are extended, evidence here that the phone is very much targeted as a starter for younger teens. The idea needs some work but It amused my friends kids.
Facebook is the only SNetworking app, but the internet access is great with HSPA. No Wi-Fi or GPS and the 3 Megapixel camera is extremely basic, but sacrifices do keep the price tag down. Only 40MB onboard means you’ll need to pop in a MicroSD card, up to an 8GB limit - I seem to make that comment a lot, manufacturers stop skimping on memory chips!
Stylish business organiser
 Sturdy black plastic, styled with exaggerated curves give the Pre the look and feel of a glossy, river washed stone. It slides open easily revealing a portrait QWERTY keypad and powers up displaying a 3.1 inch vibrant capacitive touchscreen at 320 x 480 res. Initially fiddly to type on, the keys are carefully spaced and have a pleasing, raised gel-feel. Having no touchscreen keypad is limiting to use in landscape mode.
WebOS features multitasking and multi-touch support. Apps run within a unique activity card, managed via a ripple-effect toolbar. They can be flipped around, rearranged, and shut down by fingertip flicks. Universal search makes a fab addition to usability, and discreet, self-sizing alerts don’t annoy like pop-ups can.
Palm Synergy allows combined and logical access to Yahoo!, Gmail, Exchange and facebook inboxes, plus the calendar functions synch and colour code appointments, allowing one page daily viewing by compacting free time.
The 3MP camera has a basic flash but the OS makes a real improvement, back loading image processing to allow shots at a faster rate than rivals. It doesn’t take video though, D’oh! A 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi, GPS and stereo Bluetooth all complement the Pre’s functionality and Palm’s App Catalog is available for a small, but growing range of downloads. 8GB storage is healthy, but can’t be expanded.
A dismal battery life of less than a day is almost negated by the bundled Touchstone conductive charger. Magnetically stick the phone to the mount and it charges automatically. Coolest charger ever.
Slider with social frills
Branded on INQ’s web site as “The World’s first social mobile”, this is a little phone setting out a big stall. Exclusive to 3 and available in black and silver, it’s the first UK phone manufactured by Chinese electronics firm Amoi.
As you’d expect from the marketing, facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Skype are built in. Presented via the home screen and accessed through an easy to use widget carousel. All friends and contacts appear in the phone book and messages, pokes and requests drop into the inbox. All good, but no support for twitter is a missed opportunity for the In(q) crowd.
Mini USB allows use as a 3G dongle at 3.6 Mbit/s. Pretty much as fast as anything else you could get. The basic (3 MP) camera is fine for snapping to post online but tiny phone, tiny memory is true again. 50MB memory can be expanded to 4GB.
With all the social updates arriving (and why else would you want it?), you’re not left in standby often so battery life can be a challenge.
A first go for Amoi and winner of GSMA Phone of the Year 2009, the intent is to deliver simple social integration and data to the mass market. For a lightweight slider the INQ1 is an affordable option, but I’d wait for the next one to iron out some annoying glitches.
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