At Spokn, we have been working hard to come up with a solution that works well for callers from the Middle East, most of whom are in Dubai. With version 3.0.0 of the Spokn Windows dialer, we’ve finally cracked the problem and we’re calling this technology O-VoIP, short for “Obfuscated VoIP”. Essentially, we make the VoIP traffic look different so that the rules that the ISPs have implemented on their firewalls don’t catch our VoIP data.

Many people subscribe to expensive VPN services to make VoIP calls. But in countries like Oman, even VPN connections are blocked. Also, making VoIP calls through a VPN will result in worse voice quality since the data has to go through yet another network, adding latency and possibly, packet drops.

We are rolling out our O-VoIP technology on all our existing clients. The first one out will be our new Android dialer that should be available next week. The iPhone dialer will follow soon after.

Some customers have reported voice distortion issues with v3.0.0 of the Windows dialer – this is because their microphone volume is set too high. In the next release, we will be implementing Automatic Gain Control (AGC) so that microphone volume settings do not need to manually set.

If you haven’t tried Spokn yet, give it a shot. We’re committed to our customers in the Middle East and promise replies to all your queries within 1 business day.

1. A Spokn subscriber registers his phone number on the Spokn website
2. The subscriber calls our Callback number (a US number) from his registered phone
3. The Callback service sees an incoming call from a registered phone number, disconnects the call and makes a call back to the same number
4. The subscriber keys in the destination number and enjoys the low calling rates of Spokn

For those who have been waiting to use Spokn on their touchscreen BlackBerry the wait is over, for others we feel it’s a good time to try it out.
Spokn is now available on BlackBerry Storm and we are quite upbeat after achieving this much awaited milestone.
We have kept things simple for the most of it so you can start making calls right away. Do let us know how it goes.
While the dream run continues for Spokn we are constantly working to add new features that will help you communicate better and more than ever before at lowest costs.
Do let us know any feedback and suggestions you might have. We’d be glad to know if you’ve Spokn

I wouldn’t say we’re a serious bunch at Spokn. Whether it’s a heated discussion about logo placement or the priority of bug fixes, there is a light-hearted and often humourous tone to our internal communication.

We are, however, pretty serious about a few things. In no particular order, they are:

• Getting an exceptionally great service out there
• Having a website that makes it easy for people to use this service / an online presence that takes this service to the world
• Building an honest, sincere dialogue with our audience.

It is to illustrate the last point that this blog is being written. We’re dead serious about this. We’ve seen and experienced too many companies have a ‘them’ and ‘us’ approach. We want Spokn to be different. We are steadily and surely building a presence on social media and are working to engage and interact with our people on a consistent basis.

For this we need a cheerleader – a social media maven who loves to connect, build communities, initiate and fire up conversations. Someone who knows the “unspokn” protocol of social media. One who understands a little bit of technology and a little bit of content and who can fuse the two to create great results – for our audience and for us.

Here’s the official job description. If you are this person, or know someone who is, shoot us an email at hiremenow [at] spokn.com

Looking for an energetic individual with a  passion for blogging, micro-blogging and community participation leadership.

This position is full time

Roles & Reponsibilities

1. Monitor the brand and its mentions across all social media.
2. Earnest participation in conversations that surround Spokn’s content and brand.
3. Build Spokn’s content distribution network by way of social media channels
4. Identify threats and opportunities in community content surrounding the brand, report to appropriate parties.
5. Generate (creative!) content for Spokn’s blog, micro-blog and other communication platforms, respond to comments, questions etc.
6. Schedule and organize multiple departments which generate content on a regular basis
7. Compile Analytics for Spokn site and Email campaigns
8. Participate in offline community events such as Tweetups, barcamps, MoMos etc

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, advertising, marketing, Commerce, English, IT or arts.
• Understands the social media world and already participates on a personal level
• Proficient with MS Office / OpenOffice
• Excellent verbal and writing skills of the ‘social’ kind
• Creative in approach to problems and tasks
• Eager to learn about new technologies that power social media
• Consistent and analytical with campaigns and reports

It felt like this day would never come. But here it is, 10th November ’09 and everything on our list of to-dos is checked! Great, now maybe we can sleep for a week? No! What we all really want to do is stick our noses to the monitors and check each download, each page visit, each comment, each little and big actvity that happens around Spokn now that its finally launched.

Since our last blog, one thing that has drastically changed is our website. We’ve been working on it with fervor so its packed with useful, relevant, easy-to-access information. We’ve also got 8 videos up that explain everything in a very simple manner.

The site is still a work in progress and we’ll continue to update and improve as we go along. But for now, we’re a happy and proud team.

Oh! by the way, the official PR release is here -

Mumbai, India, Nov 10, 2009: Geodesic, an innovator in software products focused on Information, Communication and Entertainment, enters the voice communication space with  Spokn, the definitive internet telephony service.

Internet voice communication so far has always had the feeling of compromise – With Spokn that’s finally no longer the case.

Spokn is the most comprehensive service internet telephony service to date with a host of breakthrough features that will change the way voice communications is used forever.

A global service from day one with a worldwide launch, Spokn is a new generation service that is a true bridge between traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

Traditional internet telephony has required one be connected to the internet. Spokn frees internet telephony from the tyranny of the computer giving users the benefit of inexpensive internet calling rates on a wide variety of devices – mobile phones, smart phones, regular land lines in addition to computers. Incoming calls can ring any or all of these devices keeping Spokn users in touch whether they are online or not.

Spokn’s Free Incoming Service is a world’s first that allows Spokn subscribers to be reached at the cost of a local call from over 40 countries worldwide for free. And at a small cost they can even choose to receive these incoming calls on their mobile phones or land lines.

Voice Messaging Service (VMS) is another Spokn breakthrough. With VMS one records and sends a 20 sec message to any telephone or email account worldwide. VMS to emails are free and VMS to phones have a low and fixed cost that includes a free 20 sec reply.

Spokn also offers a traditional voice mail that is delivered to subscribers email address at no cost – when users are not connected to the Internet or are offline

Spokn also brings subscribers a free Voice Mail facility. Callers are directed to record a voice mail that is delivered to the subscribers email address at no cost when one is not connected or offline.

Spokn subscribers have the unique option to acquire their own local phone number in any of ten countries at just $1 a month. This way they can be reached at a cheaper-to-call country. Businesses with a client base in these countries can be accessible to their clients at a local call as well.

Underlining all these innovations is the fact that Spokn brings to market perhaps the lowest prices long distance calling has seen. In addition Spokn prices are a refreshing change from the complications and hidden charges of many internet telephony operators. Spokn has the transparent and clear cost structures with no hidden charges, connection fees and complicated caveats. Calls are charged in blocks of a minute and credits never expire.

These are just some of what will make Spokn the reference point for all voice communications providers.

Mr. Anil Raj heads Spokn. Anil is a seasoned telecom professional who has spent over a decade with the Ericsson group in Asia and Europe and in addition to launching the Hutch brand in India has been Chairman of Symbian Plc as well as on the board of numerous companies.

Mr. Anil Raj says, “Spokn is a true revolution in the world of telecom. Not just a new technological offering but also a new attitude. Innovative but also honest, radical in approach but simple and straightforward to use. Finally I think callers have a product that truly brings together the promise of Internet telecommunications with the convenience of traditional telephony.”

Mr. Kiran Kulkarni, Co-founder/Managing Director of Geodesic Limited adds, “Spokn is an important offering that has the potential to redefine the way voice communications and the Internet synergize. There is a huge and growing scope here and our stakeholders can look forward to many exciting developments from Spokn that changes the way people communicate.

In addition, Spokn completes Geodesic’s suite of communication services adding Voice to our current portfolio of email, Internet Messaging(IM) and SMS offerings keeping Geodesic in the forefront of communications providers.”

Spokn can be downloaded from http://www.spokn.com

About Geodesic Limited

Geodesic is an innovator in software products focused on Information, Communication and Entertainment for mobile phones and desktop computers. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Geodesic’s Mundu suite of award-winning products includes solutions for Instant Messaging, Voiceover- IP and Internet Radio. The company is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. Geodesic has offices in Mumbai and Bangalore in India, USA (Silicon Valley), UK, Sweden, Mauritius, Germany and Hong Kong.

Geodesic provides solutions and services to the following segments:

• Enterprise – SMB, BFSI, Large Business, System Integrators, Government etc.

• Portals and Publishers.

• Handset manufacturers & Telecom Operators.

• Retail Business.

Geodesic products include a communication stack (Email/IM/SMS/VoIP), Customer Alignment and Relationship Management and the Entertainment stack including Internet Radio. Geodesic also builds E-governance solutions based on its GeoAmida (Geodesic’s Hand held Computer).

More information about Geodesic and Spokn can be found at http://www.geodesic.com and http://www.spokn.com

With our uber-geek Farhan busy coordinating relief effort for the flood affected areas of Andhra Pradesh, we braved the inclement weather in Mumbai to get the BlackBerry app for Spokn out.

Due to the restrictions of the platform we cannot make a full fledged VoIP app like we have on the Windows Mobile. Even then, it’s a pretty nifty app that lets you make calls even when you’re on the road. It looks and works just like the standard BlackBerry phone application. The app shows recent calls, lets you search your address book and also type a number to make a call.

We’ve also got a new version of the Nokia app – it’s more user friendly than before. Like earlier, this is a Symbian certified application, recommended by an independent testing authority.

We’ll continue to make our clients simpler to use and more featured. Do let us know what you would like to have.

Our iPhone prototype app still needs nice clothes. Thankfully, the iPhone has a rich and well thought out UI library. It’s far easier to sketch a UI for the iPhone than for platforms like Windows Mobile and Symbian. With the help of a Panaboard, we’re iterating through the Spokn app screens in no time.

We’ve got our ears to the ground listening for feedback from you. Let us know what you would like to see in Spokn.

This blog will serve to tell the tale.

Till next time!