Fring is a mobile phone application that allows you to stay in touch with multiple social networks and online communities such as Twitter, Skype and instant messengers.

I installed Fring today. I had meant to do so a few months but heard that it was being blocked on Australian telco networks so skipped it for a while. I downloaded and installed the Fring app on my Nokia 95.

The first thing noticed was how nice it was to have Twitter come in over my WLAN at home. I had turned off SMS Twitter because I was tired of my SMS Inbox filling up. Now I get a Twitter notice and it's seperate from my main SMS Inbox. Cool.

I also configured Skype. Now I can use Skype as Voip-over-mobile. I'm not a big fan of Skype because I get tired of sitting at the computer chatting, and couldn't be stuffed buying and setting up the equipment to have a remote handset that lets me wander around the house. You have to buy a dongle for your router and then plug in a base station and then the phone works the same as a landline phone receiver/base station combo. I had meant to do it, but now won't bother. I can sit on the lounge with my Nokia 95 (yes I'm still in love with it) and chat over the home wireless network, to interstate relatives. It sure beats sitting at the pc with a headset on. I've not yet set up the rest of the stuff (SIP, GoogleTalk, other IM) but will eventually.

The fring™ mobile VoIP solution is designed to optimize the embedded internet capabilities within the subscriber's handset. The fring™ solution establishes a Peer-To-Peer VoIP connection between calling parties, enabling true VoIP sessions between fring enabled handsets and also between handsets and PCs.

fring™ is based on a unique thin-client technology that for the first time enables true VoIP over 3G, GPRS and Wi-Fi networks. fring™ dynamically adapts itself to the optimal network and handset characteristics while enabling seamless roaming VoIP on multiple networks. The dedicated three-sided P2P network architecture has been developed to support near telco-grade voice quality and network efficiency.

fring™ leverages the Internet connectivity traditionally used for mobile email retrieval and web browsing to provide mobile-VoIP communications so users can talk and instant message for free!

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