Is VoxOx the game-changing "universal communicator" that can save us from e-mail, social network, and phone call overload? Yes and no.
Fortunately, due to VoxOx's plug-in architecture, the company says that third-party developers are welcome to build plug-ins that make up for things like the lack of video conferencing over the AIM network. So VoxOx can do audio for Google Talk, but not A/V for AIM since "there's no published, solid standard" for doing so. Plus, for better and worse, VoxOx's developers chose to only support A/V on networks that are standards-compliant. While support for A/V conferencing is here, video seemed a bit choppy in our testing. Interoperation with social networks like LinkedIn isn't yet enabled in VoxOx, and the strange UI may be a dealbreaker for many users. In the more immediate future, during VoxOx's beta process, there is a bit more work to be done on the application and its support for services.
The company already offers limited features via the web and even provides mobile phone access (yes, there's an iPhone-optimized site), but better mobile access, a Linux client, and a business version of VoxOx should all start appearing on the service menu in 1Q 2009. Advertisementīeyond the launch of this public beta, VoxOx has big plans for the next year. Once you run out of friends, you can opt-in to watch ads and take surveys. If you aren't interested in paying fees, though, you can earn 120 "Vox Points" for each friend you sign up. An unlimited calling plan for US/Canada/Europe is $20 per month, and unlimited text messaging is $10 per month.
#Voxox sign in free
While all new users get 120 free minutes of outbound calls (we'll get you six times that in just a minute), calls within the US and to Canada are 1¢ per minute, purchased in batches of $10 or more. In order to monetize VoxOx and its many services, the company charges for a couple of features, namely outbound calls and text messaging. In fact, in addition to a VoIP number for which all inbound calls are free (even if you route them to your mobile phone), VoxOx also provides a single e-mail address that serves as a unified way for others to contact you, no matter the communication method. A "Find me/follow me" feature also allows you to enter other phone numbers that VoxOx should try if you aren't at your computer.Ī "Personal Assistant" feature will even inform the caller that you aren't available, then present the option of dialing your other numbers (yes, plural), leaving a message, and more.
For example: if you're on an audio conference in Google Talk, you can conference in someone calling from a mobile phone. Some of VoxOx's true convergence appeal, though, lies in the convenience it brings to a rich set of VoIP services, made possible by the fact that a telecom built it. As Bryan Hertz, CEO of TelCentris, told Ars in an interview: "VoxOx aims to be the one service to control all your communications." We took VoxOx for a spin, spoke with the company, and scored 1,200 outbound calling minutes for Ars Technica readers.
#Voxox sign in mac os x
Right now, VoxOx has clients for both Mac OS X and Windows (with Linux on its way next year) that offer a wide array of features that target seven communication methods: phone calls (including faxes), video conferencing, IM, text messaging, social networking, e-mail, and even file sharing. Unlike similar communication hubs like Digsby, VoxOx is built by a VoIP telco, TelCentris, that serves small-to-medium sized businesses. VoxOx is a new application and service that is intended to provide an answer our rhetorical question (it's in beta, naturally). Next you probably hop on Facebook to check in on the "e-mail is dead" crowd, hold a quick call using Skype, then top it all off with a good ol' fashioned phone call to your loved one. These days, you wake up and answer some e-mail, then check text messages, often scrolling through nightly drinking reports from friends.
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