Gmail Calling offers unlimited free calls to and from the U.S. and Canada.

Gmail, Google very popular free e-mail service, has been offering free Internet based calls to and from the U.S.and Canada regardless if they are made to a computer or to an actual phone with Gmail Calling. But Gmail Calling works best with a free Google Voice account, which assigns you a phone number that links to all your other lines – work, home or mobile. It acts like a personal switchboard operator, allowing you to decide which phone will ring when someone dials your Google number. Without Google Voice, you can only place outgoing calls through Gmail.
Gmail is hardly the first Internet phone service. Skype has offered VoIP calling to computers since 2003 and telephones since 2004. Skype's presence is greater with nearly any computer in the world able to call any phone or other computer. Gmail calling now works only for U.S.-based Gmail accounts and charges for calls to international numbers cost from 2 cents a minute to landlines in much of Europe and Asia, to 99 cents a minute to Cuba. But Gmail calling with Google voice is versatile, because it can handle calls to your other phones. For the moment, it's also cheaper for certain types of calls. On Skype, computer-to-computer calls are free. But calling a phone costs 2.3 cents a minute to the U.S. and many other countries, or 2.99 a month for unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada. On Gmail, all outgoing calls to U.S. and Canadian numbers and all incoming calls are free, through at least the end of the year according to the Wall Street Journal.

For more, see WSJ.com

Skype Mobile is now available to all Android phones owners with any carrier.

Skype Mobile which until now was only available to Android phone owners using Verizon Wireless in the U.S., is now open to anyone owning an Android phone on any network. The only requirement is that the phone has Android 2.1. With Skype Mobile, users will be able to make calls using 3G networks and Wi-Fi worldwide and Wi-Fi only in the U.S. The new app also allows all Android users to send and receive IMs through Skype for free, and hold conference calls with other Skype users for free. Charges apply when you start to use the app to include or call numbers that aren't Skype users according to AppScout.
Still according to AppScout, "current Skype users will be able to pull down their existing contact lists, and place calls to other Skype numbers for free." If you want to call non Skype users, you'll have to sign up for a calling plan or pay as you go. You'll have to sign up for a calling plan or pay-as-you-go if you plan to call non-Skype numbers, like traditional land-line telephones and other mobile phones. You'll also pay to receive calls to your Skype number from people who aren't using Skype.
The new Skype app also allows you to synchronize names and numbers between your Android phone's native contacts list and your Skype Address Book, so you can place calls to your friends using the Skype app back at your computer as well and vice versa. Instead of managing two contacts list, Skype combines them.

Watch here a demonstration of the app:

For more, see AppScout.com

Skype deal with Verizon to make it available on the carrier's 3G network.

Back in February, Skype signed a deal with Verizon Wireless that will make the former VoIP telephone service available on the latter 3G network.
With Verizon Wireless, Skype mobile is now available in two carriers' networks in the U.S.
Until now, Skype was only available on Apple's iPhone over AT&T Wi-Fi service.
But the deal with Verizon comes with some strings attached: "Skype users will have to buy voice and data plans from Verizon Wireless and also one of nine smartphones sold by the operator. Also, any Skype calls placed to United States residents who do not have Skype accounts will be deducted from the caller’s package of Verizon voice minutes" said the New York Times.
Outside the U.S., Skype mobile is available in certain European countries.

For more, see the NYTimes.com

Using Skype mobile on your cellphone.

As it continues to grow, Skype, which offers telephone services for free or nearly free to users via VoIP or voice-over-Internet protocol through their computers, has expanded its service into the mobile phone arena. Even before Skype made the move, other companies were already offering software that allowed certain phones to work with Skype.
The Skype software for mobile is available free for smartphone like the iPhone, Samsung, Nokia, Windows and Android phones etc, and other devices like the iPod Touch, Sony PSP etc.
With these various devices, Skype offers different levels of services and connectivity. But in general, Skype mobile works under the same principle as the one on computers by allowing users to make calls and send instant messages to other Skype users free, and pay lower rates than the ones from the phone companies when calling landlines or other mobile phones.
There are other restrictions like the one imposed by Apple to only allow Skype mobile calls to be made through WI-FI connection and not over the network of its carrier partners like AT&T.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Free Internet calling services for cellphones.

Even if the possibilities have been around for a while, making free international calls via cellphones have remained challenging. Two companies, Skype, the market leader and Fring, an Israel based company, offer the most user-friendly cellphone applications for international calls. But, there are still some hussles and for these applications to be worthwhile, someone has to plan to make a lot of international calls.
For these two applications to work best, they better be downloaded on a phone with WI-FI capabilities with the user staying within the hot spot during the phone call.
For both Skype and Fring, users are assigned an ID or name that they use to dial up with the call going through the service's Internet servers.
Calls made to others members of both services are free while those made to non members using a Skype prepaid account, are at a cheaper rate than the one charged by traditional phone companies.
The Skype cellphone application can be dowloaded directly to a phone using Windows Mobile or to a PC and then transfered to the phone later.
According to the New York Times,"for those without a Windows Mobile phone, Skype recently introduced Skype Lite, which runs on dozens of Nokia and Samsung phones with Symbian software, as well as a few Motorola Razr models. On Skype.com, these users can type in their mobile numbers and Skype will send a message to the phone with a link to download the software."
Skype Lite also runs on the G1, from T-Mobile, also known as the Google phone, which operates on the Android software platform. To get the application,one's only need to visit the “Market,” Android’s app store and click on the free Skype application.

For more, see NYTimes.com

VoIP services offer cheaper alternatives for long distance calls.

Nowadays, people looking for alternatives to the traditional phone companies for long distance calls, have an array of options to choose from thanks to the Internet. In an article written earlier this year, the New York Times found that by " using the Internet system to carry calls rather than the traditional phone lines, voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) companies can offer even cheaper phone service with a wider range of supplemental features." Here is more from that article.
The least expensive VoIP services work only when your computer is on. Users of the online phone service Skype can call other Skype users around the world free, and pay a nominal amount (around 2 cents a minute) to make calls to other, non-Skype phones. Callers use either a headset connected to their PC or a Skype-enabled handset.
If you want to use your existing phone, connect it to magicJack, a $40 U.S.B. computer dongle that works with PCs and Intel-powered Macs to provide free calls over the Internet. The purchase price includes one year of free unlimited calls within the United States and Canada; after that, it costs $20 a year. The company reserves the right to terminate for excessive usage.
In tests of both services, Skype’s quality was spotty, with occasional voice delays and muffled sound. MagicJack’s connection did not always work, and required me to restart the computer or replug the dongle. Because both magicJack and Skype work only when your computer is on, they are poor substitutes for traditional landline service.
Better alternatives are VoIP services that allow you to use your existing telephones. To activate the service, you connect the phone to the company’s hardware, which in turn is connected to your broadband modem. The phone service works even when your PC is off.
Vonage, the best known VoIP service, offers unlimited domestic calling, plus free calls to five European countries, for $25 a month. The necessary Vonage hardware, called a V-Portal, costs $80, but the company gives a $70 rebate for a one-year service commitment.
Ooma, a similar VoIP service, charges a one-time $250 fee for its hardware, with no monthly charge. All domestic calls are free. International calls to Western Europe and Canada are around 2 cents a minute.
To hook up additional phones to Ooma, you use a smaller “Scout” unit; one is included in the box, each additional Scout costs $60.
Ooma also offers a Premier service; for $13 a month or $99 a year, you’ll receive a second line plus enhanced features like call screening, the ability to set up phone number blacklists, and the conversion of voice mail to e-mail.

For more, see NYTimes.com