The Reader

After reading some of the reviews of line2, I don't think I would try it.

On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 10:48 AM, jiminmanjr <jiminmanjr@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>
>
> An interesting article... will be interested in hearing Bill's thoughts
> - and anyone else.
>
> http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidest\
> ep-att<http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidestep-att>
> <http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sides\
> tep-att<http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidestep-att>
> >
>
> For a little $1 iPhone app, Line2 sure has the potential to shake up an
> entire industry.
>
> It can save you money. It can make calls where AT&T's signal is weak,
> like indoors. It can turn an iPod Touch into a full-blown cellphone.
>
> And it can ruin the sleep of cellphone executives everywhere.
>
> Line2 gives your iPhone a second phone number -- a second phone line,
> complete with its own contacts list, voice mail, and so on. The company
> behind it, Toktumi (get it?), imagines that you'll distribute the Line2
> number to business contacts, and your regular iPhone number to friends
> and family. Your second line can be an 800 number, if you wish, or you
> can transfer an existing number.
>
> To that end, Toktumi offers, on its Web site, a raft of Google (GOOG
> <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=goog> ) Voice-ish features that are
> intended to help a small businesses look bigger: call screening, Do Not
> Disturb hours and voice mail messages sent to you as e-mail. You can
> create an "automated attendant" -- "Press 1 for sales," "Press 2 for
> accounting," and so on -- that routes incoming calls to other phone
> numbers. Or, if you're pretending to be a bigger business than you are,
> route them all to yourself.
>
> The Line2 app is a carbon copy, a visual clone, of the iPhone's own
> phone software. The dialing pad, your iPhone Contacts list, your recent
> calls list and visual voice mail all look just like the iPhone's.
>
> (Let's pause for a moment here to blink, dumbfounded, at that point.
> Apple's (AAPL <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl> ) rules prohibit App
> Store programs that look or work too much like the iPhone's own built-in
> apps. For example, Apple rejected the Google Voice app because, as Apple
> explained to the Federal Communications Commission, it works "by
> replacing the iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple
> user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls." That is
> exactly what Line2 does. Oh well -- the Jobs works in mysterious ways.)
>
> So you have a second line on your iPhone. But that's not the best part.
>
> Line2 also turns the iPhone into a dual-mode phone. That is, it can make
> and receive calls either using either the AT&T airwaves as usual, or --
> now this is the best part -- over the Internet. Any time you're in a
> wireless hot spot, Line2 places its calls over Wi-Fi instead of AT&T's
> network.
>
> That's a game-changer. Where, after all, is cellphone reception
> generally the worst? Right -- indoors. In your house or your office
> building, precisely where you have Wi-Fi. Line2 in Wi-Fi means
> rock-solid, confident reception indoors.
>
> Line2 also runs on the iPod Touch. When you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, your
> Touch is now a full-blown cellphone, and you don't owe AT&T a penny.
>
> But wait, there's more.
>
> Turns out Wi-Fi calls don't use up any AT&T minutes. You can talk all
> day long, without ever worrying about going over your monthly allotment
> of minutes. Wi-Fi calls are free forever.
>
> Well, not quite free; Line2 service costs $15 a month (after a 30-day
> free trial).
>
> But here's one of those cases where spending more could save you money.
> If you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot most of the time (at work, for example),
> that's an awful lot of calling you can do in Wi-Fi -- probably enough to
> downgrade your AT&T plan to one that gives you fewer minutes. If you're
> on the 900-minute or unlimited plan ($90 or $100 a month), for example,
> you might be able to get away with the 450-minute plan ($70). Even with
> Line2's fee, you're saving $5 or $15 a month.
>
> Line2 also lets you call overseas phone numbers for Skype-like rates: 2
> to 5 cents a minute to most countries. (A full table of rates is
> available at toktumi.com.) As a handy globetrotters' bonus, calls home
> to numbers in the United States from overseas hot spots are free.
>
> All of these benefits come to you when you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot,
> because your calls are carried by the Internet instead of by AT&T.
> Interestingly enough, though, Line2 can also make Internet calls even
> when you're not in a hot spot.
>
> It can, at your option, place calls over AT&T's 3G data network, where
> it's available. Every iPhone plan includes unlimited use of this 3G
> network -- it's how your iPhone sends e-mail and surfs the Web. So once
> again, Line2 calls don't use up any of your monthly voice minutes.
>
> Unfortunately, voice connections on the 3G network aren't as strong and
> reliable as the voice or Wi-Fi methods. Cellular data networks aren't
> made for seamless handoffs from cell tower to tower as you drive, for
> example -- there's not much need for it if you're just doing e-mail and
> Web -- so dropped calls are more likely. Fortunately, if you're on a 3G
> data-network call and you walk into a hot spot, Line2 switches to the
> more reliable Wi-Fi network seamlessly, in midcall.
>
> Whenever you do have an Internet connection -- either Wi-Fi or a strong
> 3G area -- you're in for a startling treat. If you and your calling
> partner are both Line2 subscribers, Line2 kicks you into superhigh
> audio-quality mode (16-bit mode, as the techies call it).
>
> Your calling partners sound as if they're speaking right into the mike
> at an FM radio station. It's almost too clear; you hear the other
> person's breathing, lip smacks, clothing rustling and so on. After years
> of suffering through awful cellphone audio, it's quite a revelation to
> hear what you've been missing.
>
> Now, this all sounds wonderful, and Line2 generally is wonderful. But
> there's room for improvement.
>
> First, as you've no doubt already concluded, understanding Line2 is
> complicated. You have three different ways to make calls, each with pros
> and cons.
>
> You miss a certain degree of refinement, too. The dialing pad doesn't
> make touch-tone sounds as you tap the keys. There's no Favorites list
> within the Line2 app. You can't get or send text messages on your Line2
> line. (The company says it will fix all this soon.)
>
> There's a faint hiss on Line2 calls, as if you're on a long-distance
> call in 1970. The company says that it deliberately introduces this
> "comfort noise" to reassure you that you're still connected, but it's
> unnecessary. And sometimes there's a voice delay of a half-second or so
> (of course, you sometimes get that on regular cellphone calls, too).
>
> Finally, a note about incoming calls. If the Line2 app is open at the
> time, you're connected via Wi-Fi, if available. If it's not running, the
> call comes in through AT&T, so you lose the benefits of Wi-Fi calling.
> In short, until Apple blesses the iPhone with multitasking software, you
> have to leave Line2 open whenever you put the phone to sleep. That's
> awkward.
>
> Still, Line2 is the first app that can receive incoming calls via either
> Wi-Fi or cellular voice, so you get the call even if the app isn't
> running. That's one of several advantages that distinguish it from other
> voice-over-Internet apps like Skype and TruPhone.
>
> Another example: If you're on a Wi-Fi call using those other programs,
> and someone calls your regular iPhone number, your first call is
> unceremoniously disconnected. Line2, on the other hand, offers you the
> chance to decline the incoming call without losing your Wi-Fi call.
>
> Those rival apps also lack Line2's call-management features, visual
> voice mail and conference calling with up to 20 other people. And Line2
> is the only app that gives you a choice of call methods for incoming and
> outgoing calls.
>
> All of this should rattle cell industry executives, because let's face
> it: the Internet tends to make things free. Cell carriers go through
> life hoping nobody notices the cellephant in the room: that once
> everybody starts making free calls over the Internet, it's Game Over for
> the dollars-for-minutes model.
>
> Line2, however, brings us one big step closer to that very future. It's
> going to be a wild ride.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apple-iphone/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apple-iphone/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
apple-iphone-digest@yahoogroups.com
apple-iphone-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
apple-iphone-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/