200 Free iTalkFreedom minute expires (7/31/2007)

The website says the 200 free iTalkFreedom minutes for Global Unlimited Plan ($299/14-month) is going to expire on 7/31/2007. The expiration deadline had been extented in the past: (see post here - http://italkbbreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/italkbbs-italkfreedom-promotion.html) Don't know whether it will be extended again...

UPDATE: As expected, the 200 free iTalkFreedom minutes promotion is extended again (till 8/31/2007). Now I believe it is a merely sales trick. So no need to hurry...

comparison between iTalkBB and Vopcon

Compared to big-corporation-voip-providers such as Vonage (AT&T) or VoiceWing (Verizon), iTalkBB has clear advantage both in terms of the offered features and the prices. Today I take a look at how does iTalkBB compare with mid-sized players in voip domain. I picked Vopcon as a representative since I learned that some of my friends had switched to Vopcon after SunRocket's crash.

Vopcon was founded in early 2004 and is based in Indiana, Indianapolis. Its features and prices are quite comparable to iTalkBB: both have great features such as call forwarding, caller ID, 3-way call, 911 support etc and both got good call-quality based on recent reviews on the Internet.

Here is the highlight of the differences:

*Dual phone number: iTalkBB binds both a China phone number and a US/Canada local number to your phone, hence avoiding long distance charge for folks in China to call you -- great for people having family or business in China. Vopcon doesn't. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 1:0]

* Cell phone feature: Vopcon binds your voip service to your cell phones at the rate of $18.99 for the first line and $9.99 for the additional line with unlimited calling. iTalkBB charges 2 cents per minute purely on usage basis. In addition, iTalkBB offers 200 free minutes per month to two phones for users in the $299/14-month global unlimited plan. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 2:0]

* Economic plan: Vopcon offers $9.99/month plan with 500 minute in US/Canada included. iTalkBB offers $4.99/month and $0.02/minute usage charge. The better plan of the two depends on the usage. Tie. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 3:1]

* Global unlimited plan: Both offers $24.99/month global unlimited plan but iTalkBB offers $299/14-month package. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 4:1]

* Device: Vopcon has one model of Voip adapter that has build-in wireless access point for $39.99 . iTalkBB does not have a such a model. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 4:2]

* Promotion code: Code 953110 saves you $10 at sign-up with iTalkBB (free activation, free adapter, need $10 shipping). Code sunrocket gives you free activation, free adapter and free shipping at sign-up with Vopcon. Tie. [iTalkBB:Vopcon = 5:3]

Well, my vote goes to iTalkBB.

iTalkBB supports call-forwarding

I have talked about using iTalkBB's 3-way calling features in a previous post. It is quite handy. On h0lidays or for special occasions such as my parents' birthday, I would have a three-way call to my parents in China and my sister in Canada and have a "family meeting".

Another feature that comes in most of iTalkBB's plans is call-forwarding. Two types of call forwarding are supported -- "Call Forwarding - Always" and "Call Forwarding - No Answer":

"Call Forwarding - Always" would forward all your incoming calls to a predetermined phone number, and your iTalkBB phone would not ring at all upon incoming calls.

"Call Forwarding - No Answer" would ring your iTalkBB phone first and forward your incoming calls only after a time period when no one answers.

Both are easy to set up as instructed below.

Call Forwarding - Always
Activation (*72) Listen for the dial tone. Press *72 followed by the telephone number you are forwarding your calls to. Activation will be confirmed with 2 beeps tone.
Deactivation (*73) Listen for the dial tone. Press *73. You will hear a confirmation tone signaling your change has been accepted.

Call Forwarding - No Answer
Activation (*92) Listen for the dial tone. Press *92 followed by the telephone number you are forwarding your calls to. Activation will be confirmed with 2 beeps.
Deactivation (*93) Listen for dial tone. Press *93. You will hear a confirmation tone signaling your change has been accepted.

Call forwarding are included in most of the iTalkBB plans that you sign up with. Remember to use promotion coupon code 953110 when you sign up with iTalkBB to get discount offer.

iTalkBB's special offer to former sunrocket users

As many sunrocket users are seeking new voip service providers, I got many inquiries about my experience of using iTalk BB service. I have been using its service for over 3 months now and am quite happy with it. The quality is very good. The customer service, based on my one time experience when I had a question using iTalkFreedom service, is quite helpful too. And two things make it really distinguished from other voip providers --

(1) You get both a local (US/Canada) phone number and a China phone number bound to the same phone you have. Your family/friends in China can dial a local call to reach you in US. I haven't looked into it, but I heard that iTalk BB offers Korean local number as well.

(2) You get free iTalkFreedom service, which allows you to use up to two cellphones to receive and make International calls from your Global unlimited plan.

I use both features quite extensively...

For former sunrocket users, iTalkBB offers further discount such as free months in addition to the $299/14-month promotion. One can call toll free number 1-877-482-5522 for special deals. Mention that you are a former sunrocket user and promotion code 953110 ($10 off) to get discount offers! The customer service is available both in English and in Chinese. But hurry up, as special offers won't last long...

iTalkBB outlives sunrocket

In one of the previous posts, I mentioned a friend of mine who had chosen sunrocket over iTalkBB for their lower price. Now almost two months later, news has it that sunrocket ceased operations Monday, cutting off service to some 200,000 subscribers. Callers to its customer-service department were directed to a recording stating, "We are no longer taking customer-service or sales calls. Goodbye." It is widely believed that the company failed partly because it offerd too many features, like call-forwarding as iTalkBB offers as well, but with price too low to cover the operational cost.

iTalkBB on the other hand offers reasonably-priced packages. It finds good deals for the customers while maintaining a healthy bussiness operation for the company. I'll talk to my friend to see if he is interested in switching to iTalkBB. Of course, he will be welcome to use the promotion coupon 953110 to get further discount.

iTalkBB's residential plans

I am totally convinced that the $299/14-month global unlimited plan is the best deal for me. But there are other plans from iTalkBB that can also be great deals for people that use the phone less frequently. Here are some other popular plans that iTalkBB offers:

(a) Global Unlimited Plan; $24.99/month - tax & fees included.

• Your choice of area code
• A China phone number
• Caller ID; Call waiting; Call forwarding; 3-way calling; 911 support...
• Unlimited local and long distance calls within US and Canada
• Unlimited calls to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
• Unlimited calls from China to your assigned China Phone Number

(b) Residential Unlimited Plan; $19.99/month - tax & fees included.

• Your choice of area code
• A China phone number
• Caller ID; Call waiting; Call forwarding; 3-way calling; 911 support...
• Unlimited local and long distance calls within US and Canada
• $.02/min for calls to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
• $.02/min for calls from China to your assigned China Phone Number

(c) Residential Economic Plan; $4.99/month - tax & fees included.

• Your choice of area code
• A China phone number
• Caller ID; Call waiting; Call forwarding; 3-way calling; 911 support...
• $.02/min for calls within US and Canada
• $.02/min for calls to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
• $.02/min for calls from China to your assigned China Phone Number

Basically the main difference lies in whether one gets unlimited national/international calls, and of course, the price. If you are a light phone user, you may consider using an economic plan or a residential unlimited plan.

In all cases, you can always use the promotion coupon code 953110 to save some extra bucks. Use this link to sign up with iTalkBB.

iTalkBB: good news and bad news

Bad news: iTalkBB's videopark promotion is over, though one can still try signing up with videopark.tv

Good news: iTalkFreedom promotion has been extended to 7/31/2007 (check last month's post for details); And promotion code 953110 can still save you $10 here.