PureVC

Why I Use Two Mobile Devices

From time to time, I always get asked why I use two mobile devices. I have always been an avid Blackberry user since its first generation of bulky blue devices. I love the device and it enables me to communicate and stay connected while on the move. I'm notoriously always curious to play with other friends and colleagues devices. Whether it be the iPhone, Treo, Curve, Goodlink, Sidekick, or any of the other new devices, chances are I've messed around with them and can figure out what I like and dislike about each gadget in about 10 minutes.

But I still use a basic cellphone. To all those who continue to bash me for carrying around two devices and paying two electricity bills, I say this: Can you use your Blackberry or Treo while you talk on it? Can you send text messages from the same device you are talking on? You actually can on some of the devices if you are using a headset, but it is terribly cumbersome. If you aren't using your headset then try doing anything with your device while it is held to your ear. If you've got one device that can do many things, in my opinion, you want to be able to do those many things at once.

I'm a multi-tasker and it is important that if I am in a super-productive mode, I need to do many things at once. Whether it be glancing at emails on my blackberry while on the phone, talking on the phone while driving or on my stationary bike, I'm not the kind of person that is happy with just doing one thing at a time.

The funny thing about my need for a cellphone is that I've found it is actually difficult to find what I am looking for. I use and am always looking for a no-frills, lightweight phone with great battery life. I don't want it to have a camera. I don't want it to play music or get text messages or get online. I want all of its baseline energy uses to go towards it primary function - making phone calls.

Interestingly, the market continues to move towards all-in-one devices. I'm a firm believer that if you want to use a technology product, it is usually better if it is not multi-functional. Essentially, with an all-in-one strategy you can afford to have lesser quality individual parts that make up a whole. Remember those all in one fax-scanner-copier-printers? Every one I've ever had has broken down in one component and forced me to go out and buy that component separately.

So to all of those people using two devices for similar reason - cheers to you and your common sense!

The World Depends on VOIP

I'm sure most of you are well aware that I use both Skype and Gizmo for VOIP, but I prefer Gizmo for call quality and innovation in their offerings. This weekend Skype had a huge outage that left its users abandoned. Things are back to normal on the system, but in the chaos of their outage, Gizmo saw a 400% increase in traffic, sales, and downloads. When I heard this, I was pretty shocked.

Most users of innovative technology such as VOIP seek the highest quality of product available on the market. They are willing to go with another provider to try it out if it is free or little cost. I've never felt that Skype was the best product but its ubiquity forces any player who wants to stay connected to use the product. But like any other product that reaches the masses, entrenched users get hooked on the product and use it for familiarity and because they are not empowered enough to change or seek better products. 

I've got lots of evidence for this theory. When I go to China, I find that Skype is the main player in VOIP there. The Chinese pronounce it is "Skype-eee". I've seen grandchildren in the USA install it for their grandparents in China. It is all the rage in China. That grandparent will never change from using Skype-eee until someone does it for him or unless he hears from all his relatives who are on Skype-eee that there is something better.

The spike in Gizmo traffic means that users depend on VOIP for vital communication so much so that they are willing to try another product. I suspect that many of the new users of Gizmo are entrenched users who just needed an impetus to change or try and other product, not the sophisticated user that has already tried it out.

I'm not happy that Skype went down because I think that while it might be good for Gizmo, it is bad for the internet when vital web services have brownouts. Lots of research firms are predicting that something like this will happen in the future due to the increasing use of video streaming that it hogging bandwidth. Things like this make us all take a step backwards rather than forwards. The good news is that there are independent players like Gizmo who are always nibbling at the heels of the 800 pound gorilla. I hope there will be many many more than come along and transform the VOIP space even more.

Gizmo Ups the Ante with GizmoCall

SIPphone, the company behind Gizmo Project, has upped the ante on the VOIP wars with the launch of GizmoCall. I've posted previously on the VOIP wars between Skype and Gizmo, and on the services of Jajah. After the intensifying of offerings from VOIP companies, I am still predominantly a user of Gizmo and Skype. For me, call quality is paramount and I believe Gizmo's call quality is better. However, I believe being open to all networks is key.

GizmoCall is much like Jajah's service. It is VOIP accessible from the browser without any download. It allows calls to landlines, cellphones, and Gizmo users. The guys at SIPphone are smart guys and I think they see the big picture of VOIP communication. While this is a competitive space, they are clearly interested in innovation and taking VOIP services to the next level. This is all great news for the consumer and I hope it promotes even more VOIP adoption.

VOIP Wars Continue: JaJah

Red Herring reports that JaJah is entering the fray of the VOIP wars. I haven't tried the service yet, but according to news reports they are set to launch their web-based service over cell phones. The JaJah web-based service works like any other VOIP service without the hassle of downloading any software onto your cpu. While Skype and Gizmo both require the downloading of a free "soft-phone" program, with JaJah you go to their webpage and simply enter in the number you want to call and the number you are calling from. The JaJah service connects the two calls over the internet.

JaJah will work on cell phones by allowing the cell phone user to enter in both numbers on the cellphone browser to initiate the call. This is clearly an ingenious idea and it solves a basic problem that all VOIP providers have been having - how to initiate the call from a non-VOIP number. Currently, there are three modalities of VOIP access:

1. Landline/Cell to VOIP
2. VOIP to VOIP
3. VOIP to Landline/Cell

At some point, the user must get into the VOIP network. He/she can purchase a virtual number that allows a user to call into the VOIP network. He can log-in to the VOIP network on his computer and call within it or outside of it. JaJah is upping the ante in the VOIP space by bringing the process of logging into the VOIP network straight to the cell phone interface. They have signed deals with cellphone software providers Symbian and Opera. I can't wait for the service to begin.

I look forward to your comments as I been interested in the VOIP space but have yet to make an investment in the category. If anybody has used JaJah and has comments, feel free to post.

Gizmo's Area 775

I haven't posted for a while on gadgets but I have been meaning to mention Gizmo Project's Area 775. Gizmo launched this product in February and I have been using it since then. It is pretty sweet. Area 775 is a virtual number you can get for free or for a small fee you can purchase a number with your desired area code. The virtual number can be reached by someone calling it from an "outside" line. So, basically what this means is that you get a VOIP number than anybody can reach.

Skype and some other VOIP players have virtual numbers already, but Gizmo is taking it a step further by allowing a few key features. Some virtual numbers won't ring on your computer when you are logged on. Some only serve as voicemail. With Gizmo's Area 775, when someone calls the number and you are logged in, it rings on your computer. What is cool is that you can also designate an additional number that will ring at the same time. You can also forward the phone call to another number. So let's say that you answer the call on your computer then realize you need to go somewhere, you can actually forward the call to your cell phone without the person even knowing that you switched devices. There is also a feature that allows you to listen as someone is leaving a voicemail for you with the option of answering the call if you so desire while the person is leaving the voicemail. This is much like the old school answering machine where you can screen your call and then pick up if it is important.

Anyways, I have had the service for about a month and I like it alot. I believe Gimzo will force all the major VOIP players to start providing enhanced functionality. Oh, I forgot to mention that the cost is very inexpensive. For almost $8 bucks per month you can get a virutal number plus a virutal fax number. I have cancelled my efax and have found that Area 775's fax works just as well.

SIPphone vs Skype

I have been a Skype user for a while now, long before its purchase by ebay. It has worked well, particularly among more business oriented folks such as portfolio company executives and investors. I think it has caught on with the younger generations as well. Some of the problems I had with Skype were that there was no free voicemail, that you were not given a number that land users could call you at (you can pay for this), and that you have to pay to call non-Skype users.

Along came SIPphone! I have started using Gizmo by SIPphone. To all my blog readers, I encourage you to go to SIPphone and download the Gizmo. It's exactly like Skype but better. Same interface, same everthing. Here are some differences:

1. Free voicemail - They send you an email with a .wav file of the voicemail.
2. Free number - You actually get a number that anybody can call you at (although it has an obscure area code, you can pay for a premium number.
3. Cheaper - Gizmo Out calls are 1 cent per minute to anywhere in the US
4. Multiple network calling - This is the major differentiator and appears to me the most compelling reason to use Gizmo over Skype. Gizmo and Google Talk have an agreement for free VOIP within the network. Gizmo also can talk for free to several other networks and universities such as many University of California campuses.

While I believe the VOIP wars are just beginning, the philosophy of SIPphone is the OPEN network and I believe that this is always a better strategy than the adopters of the closed network. If anybody has any criticisms or comments on Gizmo by SIPphone, please let me know.

Treo 700

As this is a new year, I am starting off new and trading up my two communications devices (cell phone & blackberry) for one. Actually, I haven't traded in yet, but I am anxiously awaiting the Treo 700. So far Verizon has released it, but word on the street is that Sprint will follow in the next few months. I've always been an early adopter of technology but I have been inefficiently using two devices for years now.

The Blackberry is great and is still useful, but the phone quality lacks and so I use a data only plan from Cingular. In fact, the phone is so bad that my voicemail says not to leave a message as I don't use the phone. My Sprint cell phone is great. For some reaon, many people I know use Sprint and it saves me a lot of money each month as they are in-network calls.

But I am looking forward to trading up into one device. I have heard great thing about the Treo 650. Voice, email, text, IM all seem to work on it and it has good battery life. My only reservation as that it runs on the Palm OS, which I am not a big fan of. However, the Treo 700 apparently runs on a mini-Windows OS. If anyone has used it and has some feedback on the product, I would love to hear it.

Top Services & Gadgets

I read other VC bloggers every day and one of the things I always look forward to is when someone posts about a new gadget or service or cool technology. Venture capitalists are notoriously gadget freaks and are always on the lookout for new technology, so they tend to embrace new technology more often than the average consumer. I've found out about many great technologies this way that have made my life more efficient, so I'm starting a new series of posts about cool services, gadgets, or technology. If you know of something cool and useful, please send me a note and I will post what I can about it. One of the inspirations to this series is a post by VentureBlog about companies that survived the dot-com downturn but whose companies never really took off even though they make great products or services. Here is the beginning of my list of Top Services & Gadgets in particular order:

1. Paytrust - I started using this service after I read Kevin Law's post on VentureBlog about the service. This truly is a service that I could not live without. For those who are on the run, spend a lot of time away from home, this is the perfect service, totally worth its cost. It collects your bills, keeps records of them, notifies you when the bill comes, allows payment of the bill from your checking account, and can be accessed from any internet connection.  I love this service. No more trips to the mailbox, no more hurrying home to pay bills, no more worries.

2. Skype - Stole this idea from Ed Sim of Dawntreader who first posted on this at BeyondVC. Ed was saying that one of the things he requires from his portfolio company executives is the use of Skype and he even goes as far as sending them a Plantronics headset. So far Skype has saved me the most dollars when calling overseas for 2 cents a minute. As you've probably read my previous post about Skype, you know the story...

3. Mozilla/Firefox - Not sure who first told me about this one, but Mozilla/Firefox is the original Netscape browser developed by an open source community. While it is not perfect, it has two great features. First, it is not targeted as much as Internet Explorer for viruses and adware. Second, there is this awesome feature on the bookmarks so that you can open all the bookmarks of one category into tabs. I didn't realize how much time I used to waste by selecting each bookmarked page into another window, but the "View in Tabs" feature is sweet.

4. TiddlyWiki - Ed Sim just posted about TiddlyWiki the other day. I have been using it for a few days and I love it. I actually have it bookmarked on Mozilla/Firefox. For organization purposes such as notes, memos, calendar, and contacts, I have used a mixture of Palm Desktop, Blackberry RIM, Outlook, and Mozilla Thunderbird. Over time I have nixed Outlook and have been trying to phase out of Palm Desktop. It look slike Tiddlywiki will allow me to do just that.