This almost sounds too good to be true: seamless switching of calls between GSM and WiFi on the iPhone!

Blognation has just learned of (and witnessed) the first ever VoIP calls made from an Apple iPhone. TruPhone, the company that is slowly but surely bringing VoIP and affordable international calling to mobile phones all over the world has just added a very important feather to its cap with the alpha-alpha version of what s sure to be a major buzz-generating application.

To say the application isn’t yet ready for prime time would be a pretty major understatement as it currently requires the use of terminal on the iPhone to tell the iPhone to use its on-board SIP stack to place the call over WiFi instead of via the SIM card. To use the terminal application, in turn requires that you first Jailbreak the phone using an application like iBrickr or iFuntastic. This is not an application for the inexperienced or the faint of heart.
That will all change however as the company tells me that it intends to finish development on the application which will include simplifying the activation and adding seamless switching back and forth between VoIP when open WiFi is available and the use of the SIM card when out of WiFi range. It is important to note that it is NOT NECESSARY to break the SIM lock to use TruPhone’s iPhone VoIP application.

Personally I think this is huge news and also very exciting. Particularly for people traveling overseas this application will provide a really valuable alternative to ultra-expensive international roaming fees. Of course you can expect AT$T to be made about this and make all sorts of scary noises. This is really too bad because if the company took five minutes to stop and think about it they’d realize that far from costing them money in international roaming, this actually gives them a very substantial weapon to compete with T-Mobile’s At Home service. In fact, since the iPhone can use 802.11N TruPhone running on iPhone over WiFi should actually perform better than the popular T-Mobile service.

According to the company, they expect a true beta release in about four weeks, however they cautioned me that they weren’t sure initially how many simultaneous connected clients they could support using the new application so they’re taking registrations on their site at TruPhone.com and will be allowing only a limited number of beta testers to get the application on a first come-first served basis.

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Re: True VoIP on iPhone almost delivered!

[quote author=“Tommo_UK”]This almost sounds too good to be true: seamless switching of calls between GSM and WiFi on the iPhone!

Big news. Thank you.

“In fact, since the iPhone can use 802.11N TruPhone running on iPhone over WiFi should actually perform better than the popular T-Mobile service. “

I understood the iphone as 802.11 b/g.
Does VOIP need 802.11n? or does it work sufficiently on b/g?

[quote author=“pieman”]“In fact, since the iPhone can use 802.11N TruPhone running on iPhone over WiFi should actually perform better than the popular T-Mobile service. “
I understood the iphone as 802.11 b/g.
Does VOIP need 802.11n? or does it work sufficiently on b/g?

VoIP is fine on b.. doesn’t need g or n. VoIP should even work fine with a full-speed EDGE connection at slightly lower quality.

Engadget has a demo video of the VOIP at work. Once the expected iPhone update arrives, in which one can shut off Edge, this new app will be even easier to use.

This is interesting for the future of the iPhone and its service relationship. I’m not sure once established Apple will maintain exclusive service provider relationships.

Opening the iPhone to a number of service options with various providers may be first seen following the expiration of the first European contracts. In the States, the T deal will eventually expire.

I have always assumed blocking VOIP is in Apple’s contracts with the carriers. In order to force the carriers to support a device that may destroy their revenues in a few years, it was necessary to get a contractual agreement to distribute and support iPhone, hence the need for single carrier lock in. But in order to sign that deal the carrier needs a commitment that this device they are obliged to support will not bypass their call revenues.

So, I’m saying no VOIP for iPhone for 2 years. (Except, of course, for jailbroken current firmware iPhones).

No-one needs VOIP on their mobile; what’s needed is for the carriers to provide voice calls at a fair price (a fair price is something close to zero). Which carrier will be the first to switch to unlimited voice and data contracts that actually reflect their cost structure?

I’m not sure the old argument that carriers need to protect their revenues matters any more. You sign up for a 2-year contract irrespective of whether you then choose to use VoIP services. You’re still going to be paying your monthly subscription. You have hundreds - sometimes thousands - of inclusive minutes with that talkplan that you’re unlikely to use up in a month, so providing you continue paying the monthly subscription for the 2 year duration of the contract, why would the carriers give a damn if you also choose to route a few calls using a VoIP app? Only when you’re roaming abroad and the profits from international calls are higher would they stand to lose out a bit, but otherwise this is far far less of an issue than it was 5 years ago when monthly inclusive free minutes ran at a fraction of what is offered now.

I suspect we’ll see VoIP on the iPhone working much sooner than 2 years off, and I don’t think Apple will go out of their way to block it.

[quote author=“Tommo_UK”]I suspect we’ll see VoIP on the iPhone working much sooner than 2 years off, and I don’t think Apple will go out of their way to block it.

If the carriers don’t have contractual protection from VOIP, then I agree, and since Apple have said they will not deliberately break third party apps, I suppose you must be right. What it comes down to is: will jailbreak be got working for iPod touch and iPhone with new firmware? I don’t think this has happened yet. I think Apple will fight VOIP at least until iPhone has launched in Asia.

The revenue from “call plans” is strongly dependent on minutes per month; extra revenues come from roaming and international, especially from corporate customers. VOIP can let everyone drop down to a cheaper monthly plan, and also bypass the most expensive international charges. So VOIP makes iPhone unattractive to carriers.

How do you contractually define what the carrier has an exclusive on? It seems to me that voice connections from any Apple handheld device must go via the exclusive carrier for the duration of the contract. They don’t have an exclusive on macBooks, or on iPods. Maybe it’s simply that any voice-capable handheld device is guaranteed to pay up for the minimum contract.

The jailbreak hackers are currently working on an app that will reset the phone to the Apple certified system, so that the next update won’t damage the phone. They then will develope a new jailbreak method, if necessary.

The 1.1.1. update for the Euro version of the phone will soon be released for the US version. Among its features (as seen on screen shots) is the ability to switch carriers—or at least turn EDGE off while traveling and thus not incur roaming charges while on vacation. The idea being that you will get e-mail only while in a Wi-Fi zone.

But this wold also make it easier for VOIP to pick up a lot of roaming calls instead. Still we have no idea what the VOIP charges might be per call, since the company that is developing the software isn’t being altruistic, I’m sure.