Lypp’s Free-n-Easy Conference Calling Coming In September
Nick Gonzalez
16 comments »
Lypp.com (site is not yet live) is a new group calling service set to launch a private beta in September. There are a lot of conference calling services out there already, not least among them being the full blown meeting applications (GoToMeeting, WebEx). However, Lypp wants to make initiating a conference call dead simple (download free) over IM, SMS, and email. The service will be free at the time of launch (each user will get 500 minutes of free calling, no per-min charges, no monthly fees).
IM will be the first mode for initiating conference calls. Users will associate an IM ID with their service and add Lypp as a friend. You’ll then be able to initiate a call by sending a command to that IM buddy, such as call [number, number, number]. Lypp will call your phone and those of your friends, connecting you all in a conference call. Most likely the calls are initiated and tied together over a VOIP bridge. Typing in my friends numbers instead of just selecting contacts on a downloaded application seems like it could get annoying, though.
They’re keeping it simple for launch, but have plans for an API, advanced in-call controls, recording, and possible location based. The API will integrate with calendaring, address books, and other complementary applications.
Nice! But what happens after the first 500 free minutes? I hope people won’t be looking for a new service when the 500 free minutes are up.
Thanks for the post, Nick! We will be making it easy to call regular groups / individual contacts after launch, and feel that the convenience of having the IM method will still be the fastest way for ad hoc group calls.
Deals and Coupons: The initial model will be that minutes are earned on a referral basis. Invite others, they sign up, you’ll get more minutes. Your minutes are issued as a monthly plan, so the next month your acccount gets topped up with more…
PS: There is a static page up at lypp.com now, on which you can request a Beta invite.
thx for post
Sounds like another service I already use - foonz. I’ve been doing all my conference calls on foonz for months now. I started out using it on IM, and I also use it with SMS. And they don’t limit me to 500 minutes!
Lypp works a little differently from Foonz. With Foonz participants have to dial in to a conference room (with each participant paying for the toll on the call). Lypp’s service calls each participant directly and creates the call.
are you really paying the toll of a call if you’re using your mobile phone? i started using foonz just about a month ago for work and last i checked it was free for me and my employees on our mobile phones…
I believe Foonz provides you with a non toll-free number. Their business model is pretty neat — they get revenue share from the carriers on the toll you’re paying. They don’t charge you anything extra, and if you have a cellphone plan that includes long distance then, yes, you’ll simply be using up minutes in that plan.
Great concept. Question: If I have five people on my call for a total of 10 minutes, how many of my minutes are used up? i.e. Only 10, or is it 50?
Lon: Minutes are used up by each leg on the call, so in the example you provide, 50 minutes are used.
Thats not right, actually. Each person who joins a call on Foonz is responsible for their own minutes. So in your example, each person would use 10 minutes of their time. If you use Foonz on nights and weekends from cell phones as my group does, no minutes are used by anyone.
Chris: I was describing how minutes are used on Lypp, not on Foonz. The vast majority of group calls happen during business hours, and more than a third of those minutes are mobile minutes.
lypp.com initiates call using instant messaging . why not directly ? without instant messaging .
conferencing: our calling methodology allows the user to call out to multiple people without those people having to dial in. We use IM to initiate the request to create the call. Particularly in the mobile world, we haven’t come across any ways of creating instant / ad hoc group calls this conveniently.