James Delahunty
16 Apr 2008 19:41
Fring has developed an application for a variety of mobile phones that allow the owner to use AIM, Google Talk, MSN, Skype, ICQ and more, bring VoIP to "open" versions of Apple Inc.'s iPhone. It is not just limited to iPhone however, the beta software will work with over 500 devices using the Symbian S60 operating system or the Windows Mobile operating system. It also works with Sony Ericsson UIQ Smartphones.
According to the company, the new pre-release version of the software "is designed to both answer demand from iPhone-owning would-be Fringsters and at the same time enable Fring to learn about user experience, benefit from early feedback, and influence the R&D process of the full release version." A proper version of he software will be available later this year.
Fring creates a single integrated contact list across several networks for a user logged in to the service. It offers PC-style "presence" indicators to display the current status set by contacts. The service is free to use but there users may get charged for extra data use, especially if the service is used for voice chat.
The iPhone recently got a price drop in the UK. O2 and Carphone Warehouse have dropped the price of the iPhone by GBP£100 in an effort to boost sales of the gadget. The price cut only applies to the 8GB model however, while the 16GB model still sells for a steep £329. The price cuts follow previous price cuts in Germany.