The VOIP wars are already crowded with more competitors than can possibly build a business. Well capitalized players like Vonage and Skype battle with nimble startups like Gizmo and Jajah in a race for relevance. All have their own twists on the idea of cheap or free calls using the internet. The most recent entrant, Hullo, is a worthy addition to the crowd. Hullo is most like Jajah, with a few notable differences.
Jajah allows easy phone-to-phone calls from their website. It has a somewhat complicated pricing structure, but the important thing to know is that it is free or damn close to free for most calls in the US and Europe. To make a call, you type in your phone number and the phone number you are calling. A moment later your phone rings. Pick it up and the person you are calling is ringing on the other end. From that point on it’s a normal phone call. Jajah generally requires you to initiate calls from their website, although they do have an Outlook plugin, firefox extension and Mac address book plugin as well to ease the process of calling. Simple, straightforward, cheap.
Hullo is a little different. The actual process of having a call is the same as Jajah – first your phone rings, then the person calling you. But as Alec Saunders notes in his review, it does a lot more, too.
First of all, it’s impossible to spend money on the service, at least for now. Everything is free. If you compare closely to Jahah, that isn’t saying much because Hullo only works in North America and Jajah is free in that market. But there are no complicated pricing plans to figure out before making a call.
Hullo is a client-based application that looks like an instant message box. It runs separately from the browser (and unfortunately is only available for Windows machines).
But where Hullo really shines is in the added features. You can make a call from any normal phone or directly from your computer with speakers/headset and a microphone. You can also do group calling by dragging contacts into the call or adding a new phone number. If you need to switch phones, you can drop off the call and add your other number.
Hullo is also useful as a call forwarding device. They issue every user an extension on a normal phone number. When that number is called, Hullo will call your saved phone numbers in the order you tell it to, until it tracks you down.
In our limited testing we found Hullo to have excellent sound quality and a useful productivity tool even when you are away from your computer. A Mac client is needed (or a Firefox plugin), and the interface on the site could use a good scrubbing. They should also kill the free concert ticket promotion – Hullo doesn’t need gimmicks like that to get users. But the service itself is excellent. And like Jajah, it is useful even if you are calling people who are not users of the service.
We also agree with Alec that the service would be better if they added instant messaging and presence features. I would also strongly suggest that they add in a simple call record feature. Podcasters will then flock to the product.
Looks interestinig by I guess I must be either lazy or loyal. I am very happy with Skype so why would I want to switch? I hardly pay for any calls already and in Skype I have all of my contacts setup and lost of my contacts are online.
So, I bet it will be very hard for new entrants to compete in this space. They might get a niche following and capture some of us geeks but the mass market is / will be taking up by AMYS (AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Skype). After all, look at how Google has done and Google has a lot of cloud.
All any of these smaller companies can hope for is a niche following… With the bigger companies having the marketshare they have more available resources and a better product.
skype will not be free come 2007, which is a big thing for lots of people.
also, i welcome and innovation and competition in the arena
Probably soon all the voice traffic, be it fixed or mobile because the distinction will blur, will be free. Companies will need instead to charge for value added services like video offerings. The question then becomes who will create the best model to exploit such scenario.
Just wait until the wonderful FCC starts to tax some of these American based companies for the VoIP communication. Just like they did to Vonage a couple years ago. Vonage was tax free until then (which was a benefit for me, along side their wonderful pricing).
Anyone know if it uses the SIP protocol like Gizmo?
I was just wondering: is their any control mechanism on the numbers connected?
If it does, how can someone use it on the go?
If no, I’m afraid this might offer the possibility of “double-prank” calls—and too many misbehaving might annoy enough user to discontinue the service.
I am quite concern by the lower safety issues on these new technolgy: spams (recorded “If you need V1agra, dial 1!”, vigilante justice (see digg) or, more dangerous, AI conversations with good oral synthesis and voice recognition—not to mention the possibility to record a relative’s tones.
…And add to this some of the related services like conferencing and collaboration. Even on the consumer-side, our company tomorrow is publicizing what just went live a few hours ago: Party Line Connect http://www.part...lineconnect.com …sort of a “social phoning” app…
this is cool; i’m going to try it…they’re using the old callback methods first employeed in japan years ago in the 90s b/c japanese long distance was so expencieve. At least i think they are.
It sucks…I tried to download it; it started installing…and told me it would take a few minutes; so I went and bought coffee, etc. came back and it was doing the same thing…downloading the installation package…
get fucking real. If they can’t even afford a server or bandwidth so people can quickly install it; you know its going to be shit.
and i was looking forward to calling my mom too. on the cheap. assholes.
To me it appears like they rushed to market… many of the content pages are blank, they have a nice looking web site, but where is the support? Skype has excellent support and they can outspend anyone to maintain their share.
The Hullo client does use the SIP protocol.
In order to provide as much flexibility as possible with our client someone could do a “double-prank” call. We do have an Acceptable Use Policy and any problems can be reported to abuse@hullo.com. We will take the appropriate action to address the issue.
I just downloaded it and it went surprisingly fast, considering that it told me it was installing .NET framework as part of the process. I thought I alread had it, but turns out it was an old version on my PC.
I put all of my numbers into the program and then conferenced with two of my relatives in different cities free. I was able to make the call at no cost with my home phone…something that I can’t do with Skype without paying.
So far, so good. The only complaint I have is that there seems to be 2 dial pads in the caller screen and it wasn’t clear which one to use when I was trying to bring in the 2nd person.
Hullo does provide the option for the user have the service call you back on any phone you want – so a Hullo user does not need to use a headset for their calls. Because we offer this capability, Hullo users can also move their calls from one device to another and determine how another user can connect with them…. we’re trying to make your life easier
Lemon,
we want you to be able to call your mom as well. We have had a large number of downloads today – but we have lots of bandwidth and have been monitoring our site. We want the experience to be as fast and easy as possible. As another post here pointed out, you do need the required .Net framework. This may be part of the reason for it taking longer than normal for your installation. Please contact us at support@hullo.com so we can make sure you can have all the conversations you want to have.
DaisyLevy,
One dial pad pops up when you click on the button to add someone to the call. This lets you enter the phone number of that person (or you can click on the tab and get a list of your contacts) and add any of them to the call. The other dial pad is part of the call window. If you already in a call and one of the people you are trying to connect with requires you to respond by entering an extension, pressing 1, # etc, we provide quick access to the dial pad right in the call window so you can quickly get to it and enter any responses required to let you connect.
I like the fact that I can setup a conference call with hullo! i found it very useful to connect a bunch of friends to make plans, and another i used the conferencing was to call one of my buddies while i was on hold on the phone. Then with all the hold/mute/drop controls hullo offers, i simply muted my friend and carried on with my first call.
I also LOVE the personal findMe rules and custom ringbacks for different friends!
I dont know how skype handles conferencing and find-me, but I am very well satisfied with hullo!
>> installing .NET framework
Big mistake…i’m not installing this; I try very hard to keep this off my computer.
three reasons why you don’t release professional/consumer product using .Net…
1) no one wants it/has it
2) Its Huge and takes forever to install…hense my bad experience.
3) You’re stuck on the Micorsoft Platform, its not C# will ever be proted to Linux/Apple.
Why does everyone who can’t create technology assume everyone wants “flash” “firefox” “.net” “java” etc.
These are all barriers of entry for your customer. Like me; And I really wanted to use it…cause I haven’t installed Skype, or Vonage…but I’m thinking about it….and I prefer using a real telephone rather than a headset connected to my computer.
Lemon,
If you’re not willing to install Flash, use a decent and popular browser like Firefox, run anything java (or even javascript?!)… then I’m afraid you may be stuck nostalgically pining for the days of gopher and lynx.
I, too, prefer to use a real telephone, so I agree with you there. But computer-wise, I think life is about sensible compromises and understanding that — if you want to cling to not-all-that-consumerly-popular OSs or browsers and steadfastly refuse to install stuff like Flash — you’re going to be left behind.
If they’ve solved the audio quality problems associated with doing conference calls on Skype then I’m in. Anyone else noticed that the audio quality for a pure VoIP Skype call is *way* worse than a SkypeOut call? If so, did they find that pure VoIP call quality on Hullo was better, especially if multi-party?
I’m not keen to install yet another VoIP tool as I have some folks on GoogleTalk and others on Skype, but someone needs to get the pure VoIP call quality right!
>>install Flash, use a decent and popular browser like Firefox, run anything java (or even javascript?!)…
when you build/deploy/ship a product for mass consumption; and wanna make some money…it will have to run on as many machines as possible; with as many different configs as possible. I know its a bitch…but its true.
these guys just lost a customer; me, cause i ain’t going to install .net to run one application. Photoshop/Word/Excel etc…don’t use .Net…
i run java on servers…but never in the browser…way too slow and annoying….flash is also one of those things i wish designers would just toss…i, and i believe everyone else, hates all those stupid flash ads, and COOL INTROS…to crappy corporate sites.
i don’t know…i actually ship product, run a company…i know if i made my customers go through hoops, and the ones they have to go through now get complaints (download and install), I would get no love.
Guys from Hullo-
Is there any way to initiate a call through Hullo from a regular phone? It sounds like you have to initiate the call from your PC and then have it routed to your phone, in which case I’m already sitting in front of my PC and can use a headset.
It is a good service – many of these services will help the small business or soho save money if they are using a regular telephone service for outgoing calls. during Peak hours.
The prices for some regional calls can be really inflated during business hours, and the potential long distance savings is worth considering.
f the download freezes – just restart the PC with a cold boot.
If there is reluctance about the .Net framework, It could be used on just ONE computer that could be dedicated for such things as: telemarketing, or customer service, or even a employee GAB computer.
Even out of work folks, or students with extremely tight budgets can use this for job hunting.
Michael-
While I’ve definitely gotten a lot of useful information from your website, I think you need to stop complaining when a startup’s product lacks Mac support.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for supporting alternative platforms. But the reality is that >95% of the world is running Windows. When you have a startup with 5-10 people and a limited amount of cash and you’re trying to reach the widest audience possible, Mac support *shouldn’t* be on your list of priorities.
It’s certainly a nice-to-have, but you shouldn’t harping on this for every startup you review. They’ve got bigger fish to fry.
I was hoping to use this program with my cell phone (don’t have a landline, the cell is my primary number) but the calls come from a Qubec number – and most cell phone providers put extra charges on any international calls.
Any ideas, or any chance that the service will call you from a US number in the future? I really like the concept – If I had a landline I would use it.
come on , .net installation? No way. You missed another customer, and will miss many due .net.
Flash,firefox,java (mentioned in one of the posts ) are diferrent from .net and take lot less time, less hassles installing compared to .net – no comparision.
I was wondering when this service will be available for Europe. It looks very interesting, but I can’t test it since it’s for US and Canada only.
I wonder when VOIPStunt will be seen as a serious competition too.
My god, some of you guys are anoying as hell!
Its a new service, it works great (I’ve had it for what, a month now?) and I have no problem with it. If you’re gonna start bitching about .net and all that crap, stfu and go make your own software! geeze…
Skeptical Inquirer
Currently the control is through the PC. The ability to use the phone helps for those who do not have a headset, want to move a call from their PC to their cell if they have to leave and provides support for when you are not on-line – the FindMe will connect to your phone if you have set it up to do that.
We are looking at adding the ability to provide functionality through a phone (land line or mobile) in a future release. If there are some specific capabilities that are more valuable for you to get at through the phone – please let us know at feedback@hullo.com so we can ensure we are working on the right priorities to provide a service that meets your needs.
Hullo Team, what do they plan on charging after the beta?
would be good to add interoperability with other IM services such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo for atleast IM. something like koolim.com has on the web but within thier app.
Has anyone heard if and when Hullo will be back in service?
How about adding support for calling SIP clients?
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Looks like IPvaani is more confortable these service provides. No complicated plans. Everything is free. Just buy product and connect it. Make calls across the globe for free.
I would like to have more information regarding a web site allow me to make a chip international call
Rgrds
Fady