I think we last covered Jajah around 2007. The very fact that it’s now 2010 and the service is still going strong is a testament to its power.
The premise is simple: phone-to-phone, via the Web. You go to the Jajah site (on your computer or through your phone’s Web connection), punch in the number you want to dial, and your phone starts ringing.
You pick up your phone (landline or cell), and then the other side starts ringing. They pick up, and you talk.
There are a number of key advantages here:
- Since it’s phone-to-phone, I don’t need a high-speed Web connection. Sometimes I’m at a coffee shop or someplace with a crappy connection that wouldn’t carry Skype or Google Voice. With Jajah, it’s a non-issue.
- Since it’s phone-to-phone, I’m completely mobile. I can use my cell phone and just go outside; I’m not tethered to my computer.
- It works with my aging Nokia device; I don’t need a newfangled iPhone to use it.
- It gives me a direct number for each of the contacts I have. I can simply dial a local number in my own country, and the contact’s phone starts ringing (even if it’s in the US or Taiwan).
- The rates are very competitive. I use it instead of SkypeOut quite often.
- They can bill you in more currencies than Skype can, which is good for international users.
What I like about it is that it doesn’t try to replace Skype. It is its own thing, in its own niche, and it just works. It’s very, very handy.
Jajah is an incredible phone-to-phone VoIP service originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.