bailey87
30th March 2010, 02:45 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/technology/personaltech/25pogue.html?emc=eta1
For a little $1 iPhone app, Line2 sure has the potential to shake up an entire industry.
With Line2, a user can make calls over a wireless network and get great reception, even indoors.
It can save you money. It can make calls where AT&Ts signal is weak, like indoors. It can turn an iPod Touch into a full-blown cellphone.
And it can ruin the sleep of cellphone executives everywhere.
Line2 gives your iPhone a second phone number a second phone line, complete with its own contacts list, voice mail, and so on. The company behind it, Toktumi (get it?), imagines that youll distribute the Line2 number to business contacts, and your regular iPhone number to friends and family. Your second line can be an 800 number, if you wish, or you can transfer an existing number.
To that end, Toktumi offers, on its Web site, a raft of Google Voice-ish features that are intended to help a small businesses look bigger: call screening, Do Not Disturb hours and voice mail messages sent to you as e-mail. You can create an automated attendant Press 1 for sales, Press 2 for accounting, and so on that routes incoming calls to other phone numbers. Or, if youre pretending to be a bigger business than you are, route them all to yourself.
The Line2 app is a carbon copy, a visual clone, of the iPhones own phone software. The dialing pad, your iPhone Contacts list, your recent calls list and visual voice mail all look just like the iPhones.
(Lets pause for a moment here to blink, dumbfounded, at that point. Apples rules prohibit App Store programs that look or work too much like the iPhones own built-in apps. For example, Apple rejected the Google Voice app because, as Apple explained to the Federal Communications Commission, it works by replacing the iPhones core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls. That is exactly what Line2 does. Oh wellthe Jobs works in mysterious ways.)
So you have a second line on your iPhone. But thats not the best part.
Line2 also turns the iPhone into a dual-mode phone. That is, it can make and receive calls either using either the AT&T airwaves as usual, or now this is the best part over the Internet. Any time youre in a wireless hot spot, Line2 places its calls over Wi-Fi instead of AT&Ts network.
Thats a game-changer. Where, after all, is cellphone reception generally the worst? Right indoors. In your house or your office building, precisely where you have Wi-Fi. Line2 in Wi-Fi means rock-solid, confident reception indoors.
Line2 also runs on the iPod Touch. When youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot, your Touch is now a full-blown cellphone, and you dont owe AT&T a penny.
But wait, theres more.
Turns out Wi-Fi calls dont use up any AT&T minutes. You can talk all day long, without ever worrying about going over your monthly allotment of minutes. Wi-Fi calls are free forever.
Well, not quite free; Line2 service costs $15 a month (after a 30-day free trial).
But heres one of those cases where spending more could save you money. If youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot most of the time (at work, for example), thats an awful lot of calling you can do in Wi-Fi probably enough to downgrade your AT&T plan to one that gives you fewer minutes. If youre on the 900-minute or unlimited plan ($90 or $100 a month), for example, you might be able to get away with the 450-minute plan ($70). Even with Line2s fee, youre saving $5 or $15 a month.
Line2 also lets you call overseas phone numbers for Skype-like rates: 2 to 5 cents a minute to most countries. (A full table of rates is available at toktumi.com.) As a handy globetrotters bonus, calls home to numbers in the United States from overseas hot spots are free.
All of these benefits come to you when youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot, because your calls are carried by the Internet instead of by AT&T. Interestingly enough, though, Line2 can also make Internet calls even when youre not in a hot spot.
It can, at your option, place calls over AT&Ts 3G data network, where its available. Every iPhone plan includes unlimited use of this 3G network its how your iPhone sends e-mail and surfs the Web. So once again, Line2 calls dont use up any of your monthly voice minutes.
Unfortunately, voice connections on the 3G network arent as strong and reliable as the voice or Wi-Fi methods. Cellular data networks arent made for seamless handoffs from cell tower to tower as you drive, for example theres not much need for it if youre just doing e-mail and Web so dropped calls are more likely. Fortunately, if youre on a 3G data-network call and you walk into a hot spot, Line2 switches to the more reliable Wi-Fi network seamlessly, in midcall.
Whenever you do have an Internet connection either Wi-Fi or a strong 3G area youre in for a startling treat. If you and your calling partner are both Line2 subscribers, Line2 kicks you into superhigh audio-quality mode (16-bit mode, as the techies call it).
The Line2 app is a visual clone of the iPhone's own software.
Your calling partners sound as if theyre speaking right into the mike at an FM radio station. Its almost too clear; you hear the other persons breathing, lip smacks, clothing rustling and so on. After years of suffering through awful cellphone audio, its quite a revelation to hear what youve been missing.
Now, this all sounds wonderful, and Line2 generally is wonderful. But theres room for improvement.
First, as youve no doubt already concluded, understanding Line2 is complicated. You have three different ways to make calls, each with pros and cons.
You miss a certain degree of refinement, too. The dialing pad doesnt make touch-tone sounds as you tap the keys. Theres no Favorites list within the Line2 app. You cant get or send text messages on your Line2 line. (The company says it will fix all this soon.)
Theres a faint hiss on Line2 calls, as if youre on a long-distance call in 1970. The company says that it deliberately introduces this comfort noise to reassure you that youre still connected, but its unnecessary. And sometimes theres a voice delay of a half-second or so (of course, you sometimes get that on regular cellphone calls, too).
Finally, a note about incoming calls. If the Line2 app is open at the time, youre connected via Wi-Fi, if available. If its not running, the call comes in through AT&T, so you lose the benefits of Wi-Fi calling. In short, until Apple blesses the iPhone with multitasking software, you have to leave Line2 open whenever you put the phone to sleep. Thats awkward.
Still, Line2 is the first app that can receive incoming calls via either Wi-Fi or cellular voice, so you get the call even if the app isnt running. Thats one of several advantages that distinguish it from other voice-over-Internet apps like Skype and TruPhone.
Another example: If youre on a Wi-Fi call using those other programs, and someone calls your regular iPhone number, your first call is unceremoniously disconnected. Line2, on the other hand, offers you the chance to decline the incoming call without losing your Wi-Fi call.
Those rival apps also lack Line2s call-management features, visual voice mail and conference calling with up to 20 other people. And Line2 is the only app that gives you a choice of call methods for incoming and outgoing calls.
All of this should rattle cell industry executives, because lets face it: the Internet tends to make things free. Cell carriers go through life hoping nobody notices the cellephant in the room: that once everybody starts making free calls over the Internet, its Game Over for the dollars-for-minutes model.
Line2, however, brings us one big step closer to that very future. Its going to be a wild ride.
For a little $1 iPhone app, Line2 sure has the potential to shake up an entire industry.
With Line2, a user can make calls over a wireless network and get great reception, even indoors.
It can save you money. It can make calls where AT&Ts signal is weak, like indoors. It can turn an iPod Touch into a full-blown cellphone.
And it can ruin the sleep of cellphone executives everywhere.
Line2 gives your iPhone a second phone number a second phone line, complete with its own contacts list, voice mail, and so on. The company behind it, Toktumi (get it?), imagines that youll distribute the Line2 number to business contacts, and your regular iPhone number to friends and family. Your second line can be an 800 number, if you wish, or you can transfer an existing number.
To that end, Toktumi offers, on its Web site, a raft of Google Voice-ish features that are intended to help a small businesses look bigger: call screening, Do Not Disturb hours and voice mail messages sent to you as e-mail. You can create an automated attendant Press 1 for sales, Press 2 for accounting, and so on that routes incoming calls to other phone numbers. Or, if youre pretending to be a bigger business than you are, route them all to yourself.
The Line2 app is a carbon copy, a visual clone, of the iPhones own phone software. The dialing pad, your iPhone Contacts list, your recent calls list and visual voice mail all look just like the iPhones.
(Lets pause for a moment here to blink, dumbfounded, at that point. Apples rules prohibit App Store programs that look or work too much like the iPhones own built-in apps. For example, Apple rejected the Google Voice app because, as Apple explained to the Federal Communications Commission, it works by replacing the iPhones core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls. That is exactly what Line2 does. Oh wellthe Jobs works in mysterious ways.)
So you have a second line on your iPhone. But thats not the best part.
Line2 also turns the iPhone into a dual-mode phone. That is, it can make and receive calls either using either the AT&T airwaves as usual, or now this is the best part over the Internet. Any time youre in a wireless hot spot, Line2 places its calls over Wi-Fi instead of AT&Ts network.
Thats a game-changer. Where, after all, is cellphone reception generally the worst? Right indoors. In your house or your office building, precisely where you have Wi-Fi. Line2 in Wi-Fi means rock-solid, confident reception indoors.
Line2 also runs on the iPod Touch. When youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot, your Touch is now a full-blown cellphone, and you dont owe AT&T a penny.
But wait, theres more.
Turns out Wi-Fi calls dont use up any AT&T minutes. You can talk all day long, without ever worrying about going over your monthly allotment of minutes. Wi-Fi calls are free forever.
Well, not quite free; Line2 service costs $15 a month (after a 30-day free trial).
But heres one of those cases where spending more could save you money. If youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot most of the time (at work, for example), thats an awful lot of calling you can do in Wi-Fi probably enough to downgrade your AT&T plan to one that gives you fewer minutes. If youre on the 900-minute or unlimited plan ($90 or $100 a month), for example, you might be able to get away with the 450-minute plan ($70). Even with Line2s fee, youre saving $5 or $15 a month.
Line2 also lets you call overseas phone numbers for Skype-like rates: 2 to 5 cents a minute to most countries. (A full table of rates is available at toktumi.com.) As a handy globetrotters bonus, calls home to numbers in the United States from overseas hot spots are free.
All of these benefits come to you when youre in a Wi-Fi hot spot, because your calls are carried by the Internet instead of by AT&T. Interestingly enough, though, Line2 can also make Internet calls even when youre not in a hot spot.
It can, at your option, place calls over AT&Ts 3G data network, where its available. Every iPhone plan includes unlimited use of this 3G network its how your iPhone sends e-mail and surfs the Web. So once again, Line2 calls dont use up any of your monthly voice minutes.
Unfortunately, voice connections on the 3G network arent as strong and reliable as the voice or Wi-Fi methods. Cellular data networks arent made for seamless handoffs from cell tower to tower as you drive, for example theres not much need for it if youre just doing e-mail and Web so dropped calls are more likely. Fortunately, if youre on a 3G data-network call and you walk into a hot spot, Line2 switches to the more reliable Wi-Fi network seamlessly, in midcall.
Whenever you do have an Internet connection either Wi-Fi or a strong 3G area youre in for a startling treat. If you and your calling partner are both Line2 subscribers, Line2 kicks you into superhigh audio-quality mode (16-bit mode, as the techies call it).
The Line2 app is a visual clone of the iPhone's own software.
Your calling partners sound as if theyre speaking right into the mike at an FM radio station. Its almost too clear; you hear the other persons breathing, lip smacks, clothing rustling and so on. After years of suffering through awful cellphone audio, its quite a revelation to hear what youve been missing.
Now, this all sounds wonderful, and Line2 generally is wonderful. But theres room for improvement.
First, as youve no doubt already concluded, understanding Line2 is complicated. You have three different ways to make calls, each with pros and cons.
You miss a certain degree of refinement, too. The dialing pad doesnt make touch-tone sounds as you tap the keys. Theres no Favorites list within the Line2 app. You cant get or send text messages on your Line2 line. (The company says it will fix all this soon.)
Theres a faint hiss on Line2 calls, as if youre on a long-distance call in 1970. The company says that it deliberately introduces this comfort noise to reassure you that youre still connected, but its unnecessary. And sometimes theres a voice delay of a half-second or so (of course, you sometimes get that on regular cellphone calls, too).
Finally, a note about incoming calls. If the Line2 app is open at the time, youre connected via Wi-Fi, if available. If its not running, the call comes in through AT&T, so you lose the benefits of Wi-Fi calling. In short, until Apple blesses the iPhone with multitasking software, you have to leave Line2 open whenever you put the phone to sleep. Thats awkward.
Still, Line2 is the first app that can receive incoming calls via either Wi-Fi or cellular voice, so you get the call even if the app isnt running. Thats one of several advantages that distinguish it from other voice-over-Internet apps like Skype and TruPhone.
Another example: If youre on a Wi-Fi call using those other programs, and someone calls your regular iPhone number, your first call is unceremoniously disconnected. Line2, on the other hand, offers you the chance to decline the incoming call without losing your Wi-Fi call.
Those rival apps also lack Line2s call-management features, visual voice mail and conference calling with up to 20 other people. And Line2 is the only app that gives you a choice of call methods for incoming and outgoing calls.
All of this should rattle cell industry executives, because lets face it: the Internet tends to make things free. Cell carriers go through life hoping nobody notices the cellephant in the room: that once everybody starts making free calls over the Internet, its Game Over for the dollars-for-minutes model.
Line2, however, brings us one big step closer to that very future. Its going to be a wild ride.