Virgin Media launches SmartCall converged calling system: Use your landline through a smartphone, even abroad

UK first

Virgin Media has launched a new service that allows you to use your smartphone to call other mobiles or phones through your home landline, thereby restricting costs. SmartCall is the UK's first Wi-Fi calling service that allows you to use your unlimited call landline plan through your mobile device.

Coming in the form of a smartphone application (compatible devices are yet to be announced), SmartCall connects to a wireless internet connection and is synced with a Virgin Media landline. It then uses that service to make calls, therefore reducing costs dramatically - even offering free calls in some cases.

And because it uses the line based at home, calls from abroad will cost no more than they would if they were made in the UK.

The app has been successfully?trialed?and is now about to open up to select customers on an "exclusive basis" in the coming weeks. It will then start to roll out to Virgin Phone customers from early 2013.

“SmartCall will stretch the home telephone cord all the way to wherever you might be, whether in a coffee shop in Cornwall or on a beach in Bali.?All you need is a home phone from us, a smartphone and a WiFi connection,"?said Graeme Oxby, Virgin Media’s executive director of mobile and home phone.

Virgin Media offers a number of different price plans for unlimited calls, including Talk Weekends (M) which is free to Virgin Phone customers and offers unlimited calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobile phones and 0870 numbers at weekends. The plans go up to Talk Unlimited Extra (XXL, which offers unlimited calls to UK landlines, all UK mobiles, 0870 and 0845 numbers for ?15 per month.

Tags: Virgin Media Phones Apps SmartCall

 

Virgin Media launches SmartCall converged calling system: Use your landline through a smartphone, even abroad originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:59:00 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

Read More

Foursquare App for BlackBerry First to Feature New Logged-Out Explore

I’m fairly open with social media in my day to day life – especially when it comes to earning badges and checking in on Foursquare, a free app that helps you and your friends make the most of where you are. On a recent trip to New York City, one feature I found particularly useful on the Foursquare for BlackBerry ® smartphones app was Explore. It helped me find the perfect nearby place for a mid-town lunch and pointed me in the right direction to some of the city’s most recommended hotspots.

Until recently, this has only been available to Foursquare users who have signed up for an account, but now it has been updated so that anyone can find the best places nearby by using Foursquare Explore — no signup required. This amazing mobile feature is available first on BlackBerry devices!

Curious how it all works? I got a chance to chat with Pete Nofelt at Foursquare and he wanted to pass this along to our readers:

Recently, we made Foursquare Explore available to everyone at Foursquare.com, even for people who haven’t signed up or checked in. Inspired by the possibility of making Foursquare available to as many people as possible, our BlackBerry team went to work during a company hackday to create a logged-out experience for mobile, too. Starting now, all BlackBerry users can download Foursquare and start searching for amazing places, before they’ve even signed up. Now, anyone can search for “lunch special,” “Thai,” or “spring rolls” using Foursquare Explore on their BlackBerry. Foursquare finds the best places nearby, and shows photos, tips, hours, menus and more to help people decide. Explore gets even more powerful once you sign up for Foursquare and start checking in. We can customize Explore based on what you like, where your friends have been, and show you money-saving specials from businesses you love.

By analyzing nearly 3 billion check-ins and 30 million tips, Foursquare can provide amazing local recommendations for places, even for someone who hasn’t signed up or checked in yet. To help people find the best places, we look at a bunch of signals, like what’s popular in the neighborhood, where the local experts go, the time of day and more. Plus, our search is flexible – you can search for a type of place (‘sushi’), a particular item (‘veggie burger’), or a specific place. Because Explore searches through those tens of millions of tips, Foursquare is designed to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Have you been holding off from using Foursquare because you didn’t want to sign up for a new account, or because you’re new to social media? Now you can use Foursquare Explore on your BlackBerry smartphone and use their extensive database to your advantage. Download the update today and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Related Posts

• Foursquare for BlackBerry 10 Live Demo and Interview at BlackBerry Jam Americas [VIDEO]
• First Look: Apps, Videos, Music and More: BlackBerry App World on BlackBerry 10 [VIDEO]
• Poynt: A BlackBerry Super App Extended to PlayBook
• Facebook for BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet App Demo (VIDEO)
• Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry Smartphone launches in Open Beta in the US

Source : feedproxy[dot]google[dot]com

Read More

There are now 700,000 Android apps in the Google Play Store

With the news of shiny new Google devices bombarding your your favorite media outlets today, I think it’s safe to say today was a huge day for Android. But, besides a slue of new Nexus devices soon making their way to your doorsteps, there’s still a few stories left unsung. Apparently, the Google Play Store has officially reached its 700,000 apps milestone. This, according to Bloomberg, and while we await an official announcement/blog post from Google HQ, this is still another big milestone for company who at one time was ridiculed for having a less than robust app market place.

By comparison, the Apple App Store hit the same 700K mark back in September of this year, at which time there were 675,000 apps in the Play Store. And while this sounds great on paper, rummaging through that many apps is a daunting task for anyone, with many quality apps getting lost in the shuffle. Don’t worry, we’ll continue letting you guys know whenever a good one comes our way. Pinky promise.

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

Read More