iCall enables seamless GSM to WiFi switching on iPhone

by Darren Murph posted Jun 6th 2008 at 6:26AM

VoIP has been ushered onto the iPhone in quite a few incarnations, but we'd wager than none of 'em are as useful as iCall. Said application is currently in beta form, though a release isn't quite ready for the public at large. Put simply, it enables iPhones to switch from GSM to WiFi (when WiFi is nearby, of course) on-the-fly in order to save cell minutes and bypass the hassle of manually changing over. Interested? We thought you'd be -- hop on past the break to see a demonstrative video of the app in action, and keep a close eye on the read link for a sure-to-surface-soon download.

iCall VoIP on the Apple iPhone from Arlo & Andy on Vimeo

Filed under: Handsets, Software, ATT, GSM, EDGE, Apple, iPhone OS

Tags: gsm, icall, iphone, switching, video, voip

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

PEZ @ Jun 6th 2008 7:04AM

Thats cool. but they should have called it something else. Like "the iphone app that is really going to piss off att". or... TIAT IRGT POA

Sounds catchy!

Neutral

crow610 @ Jun 6th 2008 12:48PM

say that 10 times really really fast...

Neutral

Mike @ Jun 6th 2008 7:35AM

Well this is simply one of the best apps I have seen for the iphone yet.

Anyone got a program like this for WinMo?

Neutral

Elias C. @ Jun 6th 2008 8:55AM

Yeah, or S60?

Neutral

Adam Z Lein @ Jun 6th 2008 9:21AM

Is this SIP VoIP or UMA? I assume it requires Jailbreaking.

Neutral

Oliver @ Jun 6th 2008 9:31AM

If they want funding, shouldn't they re-do that video in a place where you can actually hear what they're saying? Great app, bad pitch.

Neutral

robert hartline @ Jun 6th 2008 7:36PM

You guys are better than this. I've grown so sick of this iphone toy. Suckered again. You have got to stop.

The connection to the AT&T Network to wi-fi will not work. Anyone can do a graphic like this to look good.

Give me news not crap about another fake iphone feature.

Neutral

Jann @ Jun 14th 2008 4:31AM

I am assuming this is xferring ONLY YOUR PHONE CALLS THAT ARE INBOUND to your iCall PRO number. Meaning, that it can in no way intercept a call from someone to you over a landline or cell-to-cell system TO YOUR CELL PROVIDER'S # and route it over VOIP. This would SO be a security concern if they COULD , much less DID attempt it. It is both illegal and almost (for cell to cell calls) impossible.

What it CAN do (within the SDK parameters) is allow you to do the following:

Just like Grand Central, you go to iCall's site and get an iCall Pro account -- that also has an incoming number (this is standard with iCall Pro).

Then, using their web interface, forward any calls to your iCall PRO number to the (in the US) AT&T cell # on your iPhone. The friend then calls the iCall # -- NOT THE AT&T CELL NUMBER.

The call automatically gets xferred to the cell service if you are not at a hotspot.

Your iPhone rings and you answer what is a call that actually came into their pool of numbers...not AT&T's.

When you go somewhere that you have wifi, the iCall client then senses a wifi connection and offers to continue the call using VOIP. This, they CAN do cos the caller called the iCall Pro incoming phone number to begin with, so iCall puts the caller on hold for a microsecond, disconnects from the AT&T network and connects it to the VOIP over WIFI network back to the iCall app on your iPhone--thus the cell-minute charge stops.

Neither you nor the caller SHOULD hear a thing -- other than minor clicks or garble for a microsecond.

That is the only thing they can do. They CANNOT intercept a call that you placed using the AT&T network seamlessly. They CAN offer to redial the user on the other end of the call on iCall's VOIP WIFI network, but the user on the other end must have either call-waiting or must hang up. That is why the menu says "iCall has detected an INBOUND call in process...". It is simply that they know cos the caller called their pool of #'s.

Simple, really.

What I am NOT sure of is whether Apple's SDK allows them to terminate a voice over cell call -- or whether Apple's T&C's cover this. Not a biggie...but I would be surprised if they allow apps to do this.

Neutral

Geoff @ Jul 8th 2008 11:15PM

Until a smartphone can take an incoming call via WiFi without being in cell phone range (I think T-Mobile has a phone that does this but its a pretty average phone) it really doesn't meet the promises of modern capabilities.

I live in an area where I have no cell service. I still pay just as much as someone who can use their phone anytime they want. Heck I'm a cell carrier's dream because I use maybe 5% of my minutes -and- I pay for a data package. Because when I am travelling for work (often) I need to have it. And because I use my phone (Blackberry) for more than just cell calls (its my alarm clock, memo pad, etc).

So giving me a service that allows me to use WiFi instead of cell doesn't cost them a thing, in fact it opens me up to consuming more of their services, just over a different mechanism.

There just aren't enough details about this app to know if it will do that bit. Maybe it can by paying for the iCall Pro service and having people call my iCall phone number instead of my cell number, but that still seems kludgey.

Hopefully Blackberry or Apple will kick one of the cell providers in the butt in the next year or so and build a real WiFi capable voice service without all the hoops.