Calling international now made easy, convenient and very cheap thanks to DialSimple, (a Lets101 Inc. Company), which has launched a VoIP based application to Call International phone numbers from US phones. The costs are amazingly low with really high call quality. One just need a phone or cell phone to use their technology to make Calls.

Now no more hassles of cumbersome Calling Cards where one has to enter PIN and then punch-in phone numbers. DialSimple.com has launched an innovative way to call international numbers by dialing them directly.

DialSimple charges only for the minutes used and their call rates are cheaper then the calling cards, for e.g. to call India it is just 5.9 cents a minute. To call UK its 1.6 cents, to call Canada 1.6 cents, to call China 1.9 cents, to call Mexico 2.49, to call Philippines 14.3 cents! and for other countries too, the call rates are really cheap! Customers usually saves 20% to 90% on their international phone bills by switching to DialSimple.com

DialSimple also gives their customer the free 10 minutes to call anywhere in the world to first try the service, no purchase required to get the free minutes!

DialSimple also has a very cool feature, unlimited free Voice Messaging, to send voice messages from phone to anyone in the world! Customer can record voice message via phone and it get automatically emailed to recipient. This can be used by students to leave messages for free to their family and friends abroad. This feature can also be used to send Voice Messages to friends or group of friends within US.

DialSimple is mentioned as the preferred call service by calling cards rating site top-callingcards.com. Keep in mind the Calling Cards charge huge maintenance and connection fee, one has to use up the minutes within limited time and call quality may not be that good. But DialSimple charges only for the minutes used, the bought credit never expires and the Call quality is awesome! And their billing is very transparent.

All in all this is how it works:

1) For every international number DialSimple gives their customers a local number.
2) Now to call international number customers just dial the corresponding local number from their phone. Thats it!

And all this comes for absolutely FREE, there are no charges and customers can map as many numbers as they want.

As per Business Development Manager Ritesh Ranjan :

“You do not have to remember your friends and family numbers abroad anymore. You just store the corresponding local numbers in your phone book and dial them directly. I am really excited about this technology!”

Users around the globe are increasingly turning to their mobile phones to get directions, these studies were the outcome of a new data from ComScore. That’s the reason why the iPhone and Nokia handsets are the most-used phones for accessing mobile maps, according to ComScore. The report found that 8% of U.S. wireless subscribers and 3% of European mobile subscribers accessed maps from their mobile handsets between March and May 2008. This represents a growth rate of 82% and 49%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.

According to the report, the majority of users — 73% in the United States and 57% in Europe — accessed mobile maps via the handset’s browser. Less than a third of customers in these markets used a downloaded application.

The study found that Apple’s iPhone was the leading device for U.S. customers to access maps. This can be attributed to the integrated Google Maps, and this is expected to continue now that the iPhone 3G has built-in GPS.

Meanwhile, European users preferred Nokia’s N95 and N70. The report said the vast majority of mobile map users are seeking driving directions, even in Europe, where public transportation options are more popular.

As more cell phones sport built-in GPS chips, wireless operators and handset manufacturers are increasingly offering data-heavy navigation services. To counter this increase in competition, Garmin  will enter the mobile phone market later this year with the Nuvifone.

Mark Donovan, senior analyst at ComScore, in a statement said:

“The mobile phone as a personal navigation device makes tremendous sense, With the influx of devices, such as the iPhone with GPS, entering the market, Nokia purchase of Navteq, and the growing popularity of downloadable navigation applications, you don’t need a map to see where this sector is going.”

According to a report by J.D. Power and Associates overall satisfaction among US prepaid wireless customers who subscribe to flat-rate plans with unlimited minutes is considerably higher than that of customers who subscribe to per-minute price plans. Now in its third year, the study measures customer satisfaction with current prepaid wireless service across seven key factors.

The study finds that overall satisfaction among prepaid wireless customers that subscribe to flat-rate pricing plans with unlimited minutes is 764 on a 1,000-point scale, which is considerably higher than that of subscribers of traditional per-minute pricing plans (717, on average). This gap in satisfaction is primarily driven by differences in the cost of service, as well as by the benefit of unlimited minutes available in flat-rate plans. In particular, unlimited-plan customers report higher satisfaction levels with the amount of airtime minutes offered for the price paid, the overall cost-per-minute charges and the cost per transaction to refill minutes in their account.

The study also finds that satisfaction ratings for the initial activation process also vary greatly between customers that subscribe to, flat-rate prepaid plans with unlimited minutes and subscribers of traditional, per-minute plans. Specifically, customer satisfaction scores with plans that have unlimited minutes average 862, compared with only 756 among traditional prepaid calling plans. The ease of initially subscribing to the plan and activating the phone are the two areas driving the gap in satisfaction.

MetroPCS ranks highest in prepaid wireless satisfaction for the first time since the inception of the study and performs particularly well in five out of seven factors that drive overall satisfaction: cost of service, account management, initial activation, brand image, and service plan options. Also ranking above the industry average are TracFone, Cricket, Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile To Go, respectively.

The study also finds the following key prepaid wireless usage patterns:

• Prepaid users spend $40 on average when purchasing additional airtime — an increase of $2 from 2007. In comparison, the average monthly service cost for postpaid customers in 2008 is $76.
• Prepaid customers report using 233 minutes per month. Conversely, postpaid customers average 543 minutes per month.
• Approximately 63 percent of prepaid phones that are prepackaged with minutes are purchased from retail stores, while an additional 20 percent of customers report purchasing a prepackaged phone via the Internet. Approximately 17 percent of customers purchase activated minute cards separately from their cell phones.
• Twenty-six percent of prepaid customers refill minutes approximately once per month, marking a decrease from 29 percent in 2007. An additional 14 percent refill their plan minutes at least twice a month.

The 2008 Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 3,316 wireless customers who currently subscribe to prepaid service plans.

Kirk Parsons, Senior Director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates said:

“Prepaid customers are clearly responding favorably to these unique service plan options, as they provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional price-per-minute plans that are typically offered and allow customers freedom from worrying about being charged extra fees for making too many calls within a given time period, although plans with unlimited minutes typically have geographic restrictions for placing and receiving wireless calls, they still fulfill customer expectations and tend to meet a specific service need better than other wireless plans. In fact, 46 percent of unlimited plan customers have completely replaced their traditional landline phone with wireless service, compared with only 13 percent of traditional pay-as-you-go customers.”

For years Apple’s iPod and iTunes Store have been the world’s most popular digital media player and online music retailer combination, but if Research in Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry smartphone and Apple’s number-one iPhone competitor, has its way, that may soon begin to change. Recently, RIM quietly released a new piece of software that enables iTunes users to sync their DRM-free music files with their BlackBerry media players.

The introduction of BlackBerry Media Sync shows RIM’s latest foray into the consumer dominion, and its most recent attempt to level the playing field in that space between its BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone.

BlackBerry Media Sync is available for free download from RIM’s site, and it works with PCs running Windows XP (32-bit) with service pack 2 or higher or Windows Vista (32-bit). Unfortunately, support for 64-bit operating systems and/or Mac OS is not currently available, RIM says. The software also only works with BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and 8800 series smartphones, though the company’s upcoming Bold 9000 device will also likely be supported when it’s released in the coming months.

Syncing music from iTunes libraries using the new BlackBerry Media Sync software is simple, though the program only transfers files in wav, mp3, aac, and m4a formats and without any digital right management (DRM) protection. The vast majority of songs purchased through the iTunes store are protected by Apple’s FairPlay DRM, though some tracks are available without it for $1.29 — $0.30 more than FairPlay-protected files. For iTunes files without DRM, BlackBerry Media Sync also transfers any associated album artwork. Songs imported into iTunes from any source without DRM, a store-bought CD for instance, can be synced to BlackBerrys using the new software.

DRM-Free iTunes File on BlackBerry Media Player

BlackBerry owners have already been able to sync music from their iTunes library with their smartphones, but the process involved digging through various folders with the Roxio Media Manager that’s part of RIM’s BlackBerry Desktop Manager software. BlackBerry Media Sync simplifies that process and allows users to transfer specific iTunes playlists or collections of songs to their devices instead of only individual files.

Traditionally, RIM has targeted enterprise users with its wireless wares, while Apple has largely focused on the consumer sect. However, with the introduction of Apple’s uber popular iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and Bold smartphones, both companies have started to wade into each others’ waters — the iPhone recently made gains in the business world with its support of Microsoft Exchange and the Pearl, Curve and Bold feature consumer-oriented features like media players, digital cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi and sleek and attractive exteriors.

Currently, RIM is the number one smartphone manufacturer in the United States based on sales, with 44.5 percent of the market in first quarter of 2008, followed by Apple (19.2 percent) and struggling handset maker Palm (13.4), according to research company IDC . It’s worth noting, however, that those numbers can be deceptive, as RIM offers a much larger lineup of devices than Apple, and the iPhone 3G had not been released when IDC collected its numbers.

The O2 XDA Orbit 2 is a lightweight and slime 3G smart phone designed especially for all the business professionals and also personal smart phone users. The phone has several easy to use features. The device has a weight of just about 130 grams which is much lighter when it comes to smart phone with an overall dimension of about 15.5mm by 58mm by 110mm. The handset is designed with a large color touch screen display and the user can also use the included stylus in order to navigate their way through easily. The touch screen being around 2.8 inches it is designed of nearly 65k colors with a high resolution screen. The cell phone is a very stylish member of the O2 XDA family which comes from the same range of O2 XDA Orbit.

The O2 XDA Orbit 2 handset works on the Microsoft Windows Mobile software which is the professional version 6.0 operating system and it perfectly supports all the Microsoft document viewing ability in Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel formats. The handset also lets you enjoy a business conference call and even receive a call through the speaker system leaving your hands free when on call. You can also record memos or voice reminders on the handset that you can store and play them later. The O2 XDA Orbit 2 also includes the handwriting recognition feature through which the handset would automatically recognize what is written by the user. The messaging features of the handset lets the user communicate using pictures, text and even videos and you the handset also offer you MMS messaging features. It also supports the push email service from Microsoft through which you can receive mails directly from the cell phone. You can also access the web through their WAP 2.0 browser and also enjoy high speed web browsing through this 3G smart phone.

The O2 XDA Orbit 2 smart phone supports the GPRS data transfer and EDGE technology through which you can benefit from high speed download rate from and to the handset. There is also the in-built 3G HSDPA technology through which you can experience high speed internet access with 3G video calling and fast data transfer. You can also gain Wi-Fi connection with the freedom of connectivity on the move. You can also easily transfer data and files between compatible devices using the USB or Bluetooth connection. There is also a memory card slot through which you can extend the memory as the cell phone offers in built 256 MB of ROM memory and 128 MB of RAM memory in the handset. There is also an included GPS navigation for step by step directions. The in-built 3 megapixel digital camera comes complete with auto focus feature. The phone also includes a second camera that lets you get involved in 3G video calling. The handset also supports video recording and video playback through the camera feature. You can store, record and play video footage in excellent resolution through this smart phone and can also enjoy DVD quality footage. There is also a fully features music player with instant FM radio connectivity offered by the O2 XDA Orbit 2.

Mobile network 3 registered its 1 millionth mobile broadband customer in Europe recently. The company says the usurping figure shows that demand for mobile broadband is strong in all 3’s territories, including the UK, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Austria.

3 is of the view, that due to the high wholesale data roaming costs charged between mobile operators in Europe, it remains very expensive for consumers to use mobile broadband while travelling abroad and roaming onto other non-3 networks.

3’s European networks offer ‘3 Like Home’ tariffs that allow customers to roam using their domestic price plans while on 3’s sister networks abroad. This means 3 customers can pay as little as a fraction of a Euro cent to access the Internet abroad. Elsewhere 3 charges around €3.79 per megabyte to its customers, which it says is based primarily on the wholesale rate charged. Removing these international roaming costs has increased data roaming volumes between 3 networks by 2500% over 12 months, and 96% of 3’s data roaming is now between 3 networks.

Christian Salbaing, Managing Director European Telecoms at Hutchison Whampoa says:

“This milestone shows people everywhere want to access our mobile broadband services. Since we launched our offers late last year, we have seen phenomenal growth from customers who are using it to both supplement and replace their fixed line broadband. For many customers, it is their first personal broadband connection. Mobile broadband’s greatest strength is its mobility, yet consumers are rightly fearful of the excessive charges faced when they roam off our networks, says Salbaing. Some networks are charging the equivalent of €12 (£9.50) to watch a three-minute YouTube clip, or up to €180 to download an hour of television. This could inflict serious harm on a growing market. Typical retail roaming prices are literally hundreds of times what customers expect to pay domestically. A European consumer might pay around one Euro cent per megabyte at home, yet pay a premium of 360-times that simply to cross a border. European regulators are currently deciding on what action, if any, they will take to reduce international wholesale data roaming rates and Salbaing says he hopes the EC will make the most of the opportunity to bring the same clarity and value to data roaming that it did so successfully with voice last year. The difference between domestic and roaming data rates is far greater than with voice. Only wholesale action can put an end to charges that are sometimes hundreds of times greater than our customers pay at home.”