"Time to Call" App From Vonage, Call Internationally With iOS Devices

"Time to Call" App From Vonage http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The Voange Mobile app (which is like three years in the making) is finally on iTunes app store.
With "Time to Call", Vonage (NYSE) is planing to ease the international calling a bit of less pain and tap into the vast market of iOS devices with it's new app for iPhone.
The pricing seems to be a bit difficult to understand. Two countries I call most, Holland (The Netherlands) and Japan costs $1.99 (13.3 Cents a minute) making it not economical for me there are other cheaper ways to call the same countries, using the iPhone, like Skype ot Google Voice. But on the other hand, India is $ 0.99 per 15 minutes and I call our developer team in India a quite a bit. You can make the payments through iTunes, and it will come handy to use it in an emergency (for me) as my iTunes account is always positive. So I will keep the App on my iPhone, just in case.
Calling fees for the 90 countries (not on the $0.99-1.99 list and Vonage can reach can be as high as $9.99 for that same 15 minutes—taxes apply to all calls. (Users can look up country rates on the Time to Call site or on the app.) The service handles calls to landlines and mobile phones at the same rate.
"With the launch of Time to Call, Vonage has simplified the process of making affordable international calls for iPhone users around the globe, Not only does this service offer tremendous value for international callers dialing from their home countries, it also provides a great solution for international travelers who want to avoid the bill shock associated with international calls and roaming charges when they call back home. Time to Call requires far less effort than calling card services and other international calling plan options, and is substantially less expensive than dialing direct through a mobile carrier. It's simple, fast and fair." said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage.
With the new app, iPhone, iPad users and iPod users will be able to;

• Pay per call and talk up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less Plus Tax
  
• For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15 minutes for $2.99 to $9.99 Plus Tax
  
• Works on Wi-Fi worldwide
• Also for use on high quality 3G networks(Carrier charges may apply if you have a limited data plan) in the U.S. and Canada
• Significant savings over mobile carrier rates
• App is a FREE download iTunes.

Apple's App Store App Link
Vonage Press Release

Your Google Voice : Global And Individual SPAM Management

Google Voice Spam Management http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Ever since I started using GMail, say for last 7 years, I have been largely shielded from spam that infects every other mail system I use.
There have been a few times that some spam gets through but I always, report those, preventing them from appearing in my inbox next time.
So same goes for my / our Google Voice accounts, there are some spammy calls that ring our phones and we again report spam.
You can activate your spam control by taking a few simple steps;

Global Spam Filtering

Global Spam Filtering makes it possible to automatically redirect calls, texts, and voicemails from any of the numbers in the Google database that have been identified as spam directly into your spam folder. To enable this feature simply:

1. Click the wrench icon and select Voice Settings.
2. Click the Call tab.
3. Check the box next to Global Spam Filtering.

1. 
   

If a number ends up incorrectly marked as spam, you can easily unblock it by selecting the message and clicking the Not Spam button in your spam folder.

And for spam individual callers management or completely blocking callers;

Spam from Individual Callers

If you get unwanted calls, you can choose to send the caller directly to voicemail, treat all calls from a particular number as spam, or block the caller. Follow these steps:

1. Go to your Contacts list in Google Voice.
2. Select the checkbox next to your contact's name.
3. Click Edit Google Voice Settings and select the second radio button under the 'When this contact calls you:' section, next to the drop-down menu.
4. Choose one of these options from the drop-down menu:
   
   • Send to Voicemail: None of your phones will ring, but the caller will be prompted to leave you a voicemail message.
   • Treat as Spam: The caller will hear ringing and then be prompted to leave you a voicemail message. None of your phones will ring. The voicemail will be automatically marked in your inbox as Spam, and you won't receive a notification for the voicemail.
   • Block Caller: The caller will hear a 'Number not in service' message when calling your Google number. None of your phones will ring. The call will be marked as 'Blocked' under 'History' and 'Missed.

Google Voice Blog: Global SPAM filtering