July 20, 2006
SoonR Lets You Skype From A Mobile Phone
SoonR is one of the new breed of web 2.0 applications that integrates another web application. In this case, SoonR has a number of applications that synchronize your PC and mobile phone, one of which lets you make VoIP calls from your mobile phone (to PC or PSTN) using Skype's conferencing feature.
To start with, you must have Skype and SoonR Desktop installed on your computer (with Internet access). Your cell phone or PDA must have a (wireless) data plan, as you have to access the SoonR site from a mobile web browser. There is no PDA software to install.
From the SoonR site, you click on a Skype "buddy" (auto-retrieved) or enter a phone number. SoonR Talk triggers Skype on your computer and sets up a conference call to the person you want to talk to.
Unfortunately, this a complicated way to do things, and you have to leave your computer on, despite their claims that you no longer have to be tied to your PC. I gave SoonR my "gee-whiz not-too-techy" acid test by downloading, installing and following obvious instructions, but without digging into details. Upon setup of the SoonR Desktop app, it asked me to provide my cell phone number and to create a SoonR account. Did all that, and SoonR sent an SMS text message to my phone. A link from the text msg fired up my mobile browser pointed at the SoonR site, which automatically logged me in.
From the web page on my PDA, I could see my laptop's "My Documents" folder, but for some reason was not able to "get" a simple text file. Also, the VoIP calling isn't quite right - at least not for my Palm Treo 650. Entering the number I'm calling requires holding down my shift key and entering the digits. Except if keep the shift key down, the entry gets messed up. So I have to press down and release the shift key with every digit I enter. Going back to my laptop's Skype and adding the number to my contat list there helps, because a link shows up on my mobile browser. (So make sure you've added the most common PSTN numbers you call to your contact list beforehand.)
But the VoIP calling they've set up seems odd. What's strange is that SoonR first calls my cell phone and then the party I'm calling, via a Skype conference call. Except that I'm using the data access, so Skype gets my voicemail. (This is symptomatic of Palm Treo and certain other makes and models of PDAs and smartphones. They have a problem in that they cannot handle a phone call at the same time that the wireless modem is being used.)
I'm just wondering, though, why the heck SoonR tries to act like it's Jajah? Isn't the point is to save me my cell phone minutes? Depending on what country you're in, you may also have to spend SkypeOut minutes calling your own cell phone, which would not be the case were you calling from Skype on your computer.
Still, I tried calling my buddy with SoonR, and when he answered his phone, he heard only silence, and then some woman's recorded voice with instructions about his message. Effectively, the call was equivalent to my friend calling my voicemail. (Because of the Treo problem.)
So for some PDA users at least, VoIP that functions correctly is still a fable. (I've made other attempts at VoIP calling from my Pam Treo 650, without success.)
Had this worked for me, it would have been great, during those times of day that I have free minutes on my cell. Still, some people will benefit from SoonR. Unfortunately it's not me.
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