Have you been looking for a way to call your Facebook friends on your iPhone or your Android device? Haven’t figured out their numbers yet? A new solution from Vonage offers free calls to all you Facebook friends who, virally, have downloaded the same app. The calls work over WiFi and 3G/4G networks.
The app, called Vonage Mobile for Facebook, is an odd, viral solution for voice communications. The app trolls your Facebook profile for compatible friends and shows you that they are able to either take voice calls or chat. Regular updates remind you to tell your buds about the service via Facebook, thereby completing the human centipede of Vonage connected-ness.
While you could feasibly, you know, call the people you know on the phone, this offers a quick and easy way to get in touch with folks you may not usually be able to reach via standard channels. There’s also an obvious privacy issue here – if you don’t want to be called, this could be abused – but if you’ve downloaded the app the assumption is you’re ready to chat.
New Mobile Application Provides Free, One-Touch Calling
For Facebook Users Worldwide
HOLMDEL, N.J., [August 4, 2010] /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), a leading provider of high-quality voice and messaging services over broadband networks, today introduced the Vonage Mobile application for Facebook. This new service allows users to make free mobile calls to all of their Facebook friends who have the app, anywhere in the world, directly from their friends list, with a single touch.
The downloadable application is free to get and free to use. The new service enhances the ability to connect with Facebook friends through the addition of voice calling. It is available for iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices. And the service works over Wi-Fi and 3G /4G networks in most countries.
The new service is easy to use. The app works with a user’s existing community of Facebook friends, so there’s no need to remember screen names or to input numbers. The application eliminates dialing – users can just click on a friend and start talking. When placing a call, the friend’s profile picture and status update display on the screen.
“The Vonage Mobile app for Facebook is a tangible example of our commitment to deliver extraordinary value and a better communications experience for individuals and their social networks, across broadband-enabled devices, around the world” said Marc Lefar, Chief Executive Officer of Vonage Holdings Corp. “This is just the start. In the future we will expand on this service to include a wide range of integrated voice and messaging services that change the way people communicate.”
How does the Vonage Mobile Application for Facebook work?
The Vonage Mobile application is simple. It’s simple to download, and so simple to use that we have eliminated the need for dialing altogether. To get started, the user:
Downloads the app from the iTunes Store, Android Market, the Vonage fan page on Facebook or vonage.com/talkfree.
Enters Facebook ID and password (one time only).
Views Facebook contacts after they are automatically loaded. They’ll be grouped by friends who can be called for free and friends available for instant messaging on Facebook. A Vonage logo will appear next to the names of friends who have downloaded the app.
Invites additional Facebook friends to get the app at the Vonage Fan Page on Facebook or vonage.com/talkfree.
Touches a friend’s name from the Call Free list to make a free call anywhere in the world; no need to be online.
Rings the phone for incoming calls, even if the application is closed.