Fring is the Future

Well, perhaps not, but it is a very cool piece of software for your mobile. http://www.fring.com/

Essentially, it integrates with Skype, MSN and GTalk to provide unified VOIP capabilities. It also has Twitter capabilities for the very geeky amongst you.

Now, 3G chargs in NZ being what they are (and i imagine elsewhere), this is only really of interest in Wifi zones e.g. at home, work or at cafes. However, it does mean you can use your mobile to send/receive Skype calls from home without having to sit in front of your computer and/or buy a special Skype enabled handset.

Fring also has the advantage of being able to incorporate new VOIP services over time and provides a single presence notification for all your contacts, choosing VOIP if available or GSM if not.

As services like WIMAX become available, i'm hoping that we will have a genuine, low-cost alternative (akin to fixed line broadband plans) to mobile operators and their fees within the next 5 years. I'm actually expecting commercial availability of WiMax capable mobiles in or around 2010, we'll wait and see on that one!

In the meantime, if you have a compatible handset and access to wifi or affordable 3g (is there such as thing), get fring immediately.