FriendCaller Blog

Huraaahhhh! FriendCaller has got more than 50,000 ‘Likes’ on its Facebook Fan page and this keeps getting better and better. Heartiest Congratulations to all the fans out there! This is all because of you!

We observed tremendous response from our fans in the contests we have been running at FriendCaller Facebook Fan page. A couple of them namely ‘Calling for Spookers’ and ‘Question of the Day’ enthralled us to see the participants taking part with zeal. Thank you all! If Fans like you are with us, together we can take VoIP calling to the next level.

Stay tuned for the updates and offers FriendCaller bring you from time to time, and let us know your valuable feedback so we can strive from better to the ‘Best’ VoIP app one can experience.

They say that its the world’s most advanced OS. But, you should know that Java runtime is no longer installed automatically when you upgrade your Mac from Leopard OS 10.6 to Lion 10.7. This fact turns out to be a bit annoying, when you are trying to use FriendCaller, but are running in to application launching errors.

FriendCaller has always been striving to provide you its services on a wide range of platforms; from desktop to mobile phones and now tablets too, enabling you to make audio and video calls. Good news is, despite the fact that platform vendors are releasing new OS for their devices, you can still use FriendCaller on Mac OS 10.7 Lion, by following one of the two easy methods for installing Java.

Solution 1

Using FriendCaller first time on any desktop or Mac, requires a Java runtime installation, if not installed already. And the user is always prompted to install, when FriendCaller is being launched. One can simply follow the onscreen instructions, and install Java runtime in no time.

Solution 2

If you are not sure, that whether you have already installed Java runtime on your Lion OS 10.7, or want to install manually, all you have to do is to please follow the following steps:

1. Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Java Preferences, and open it
2. If Java is not installed yet, you will receive an error message like the following:
3. Make sure you are connected to Internet. Simply click install, and after accepting the license agreement, your Java runtime will be downloaded and installed.

So, imagine using a one-in-all VoIP app on your new Mac OS Lion 10.7 for free.

These days, everyone is a critic. Tools like Yelp! make it possible to instantly rant or rave about an experience you had with a restaurant, retailer or service provider. For casting a wider net with your rant or rave, simply update your Twitter or Facebook status. So powerful are some of these tools, that a single comment, regardless of whether or not it is legitimate, can make or break a business.

The same holds true for apps available through the iTunes Store or the Android Market. Some apps, especially the more popular ones, can have hundreds of reviews. However, not all of the reviews are constructive, and many can be misleading and a waste of time.

It amazes us that people will spend between $200 and $400 for the latest and greatest smartphone, an additional $75 to $150 per month for service, and then spend their time griping unnecessarily over a 99 cent app!

So, when it comes to user reviews, how much weight do you think a review should carry when deciding to purchase an app? As a user, is it easy for you to discern between a simple rant, and a legitimate issue that the reviewer had with the app? Do you even take user reviews into consideration when purchasing an app?

I would love to hear your thoughts that value of user reviews for apps, as well as any tips you may have for cutting through the clutter of useless reviews that plague both the iTunes Store and the Android Market.

Google I/O is just over, lot of cool new stuff coming to the market. We are pushing our popular FriendCaller Android app forward as well. Today’s release supports now more 331 different Android devices!

Now Google’s Android 3.0, code-named Honeycomb, targeting tablets, is better supported. FriendCaller turns these tablets into cool calling and texting devices. Other improvements deal with the quick display and fast scrolling of really large contact lists and the sorting and display of foreign languages like Chinese, Korean and Thai.

The second most popular language on Android is? No peeking! OK, I guessed it wrong as well … it is not German but Korean and Japanese comes third.

The FriendCaller update is out on the Android market. Our Tip: Allow automatically updating so you always have the latest version.

With the launch of the new FriendCaller website, the new WebPhone is now available for everyone.

Have you tried it yet? If yes, how much did you like it as compared to the old one? And if not yet, then you are definitely missing a lot.

Let’s review the enhanced features offered by the new WebPhone.

First, it’s über-fast! Because of the integration of the Google Web Toolkit (GWT), it now provides more “Productivity for developers, and performance for users.” Google’s products, such as AdWords and its social network, Orkut, have been developed with GWT.

Everything is now enchanted with the new FriendCaller design, which is certainly a treat for everyone’s eyes. Not only the look of the website, but also the user interface has been massively improved, simplified and thus made more intuitive. Adapted to the needs of the users, it now ensures a high usability interaction.

The new WebPhone layout displays three main areas: contact list, dial pad and your call history. To call a number you can also simply use the number keys on your keyboard, or if desired can also dial the usual contacts straight from the recent dialed list.

Under your contact list panel you can now click the Settings tab, where for example you can change your audio settings much easier than before. You will also notice that the audio quality of calls has been greatly enhanced by our well-known echo cancellation and noise reduction.

Under your profile settings you can enable our unique feature of CallMe-Link. Activate it, copy your personal CallMe-Link and share it with your friends, clicking which they can call you for free and there is even no need for them to register. Isn’t that just wonderful?! Speaking of friends – in the new WebPhone you also have multiply ways to invite your friends. If you have any new ideas of sending out invitations, please let us know, and we will try to integrate it for your convenience.

Furthermore, integration of Facebook enables a new set of social features, for example in the new contact list display; you can now see the Facebook profile photo of your contacts. Besides a fresh and simplified look, the chat feature is now enabled. You can now call and chat simultaneously, and hey, there are now a few cool FriendCaller smiley’s to amuse your friends while chatting.

And guess what? Video telephony will soon be available. We are currently in private beta, but it will come soon, so be prepared.

Yet to come is our new dial assist, which is well known by our iPhone and Android apps users. It will be integrated soon in the new WebPhone and we bet you will enjoy it too.

Hence, we are sure that after using the new WebPhone you will definitely get convinced that browser-based calling and VoIP has never been made any easier and full of fun!