Recently, while on a business trip, I found myself needing to print out my boarding passes for my flights later that day. My hotel room was not equipped with a printer, and I wasn’t about to pay the ridiculous Internet and printing rates at the hotel’s business center. So, I wondered if VoxOx could help me out.

Our CEO, Bryan Hertz, who was traveling with me, suggested I do the following:

1. Check in for the flight using my laptop and the hotel room wifi
2. When the screen displays my boarding passes to print, save them as PDF files on my computer
3. Then, open up VoxOx and use the fax feature to send the PDF to the hotel to my attention
4. Grab it at reception at check-out and voila — all set!

This was incredibly handy for me, and, I imagine, this would be useful to any traveler in need of printing a document from a hotel room. So, whether you need to print your boarding pass, a copy of your passport, or your day’s agenda, VoxOx has you covered.

Michael is our Harvard/Wharton-educated, though technologically-challenged, president. In fact, when he’s not speaking with investors, we mostly use him for usability testing -- if HE can use it we know ANYONE can. Michael grew up in Italy and was very happy about the launch of our Universal Translator service as he can now pretend that he still speaks fluent Italian.

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Well, that just happens to be our specialty! VoxOx lets you manage all your phones from a single phone number. With our call routing feature, VoxOx Find Me, you can create a common link between all your phone numbers – mobile, home, work phone, and so on – and then set all your phones to ring in sequence or simultaneously.

Say you’re in the kitchen preparing for your 4^th of July BBQ this weekend. You hear your cell phone ring and realize that you have no idea where it is! You may feel an urge to run like a chicken with its head cut off to find it and see who’s calling, but then you remember – you’ve set up Find Me to route the call to your home phone next. So, you can just dry off your hands and get ready to pick up the kitchen landline phone. Relaxing thought, no?

This type of rolling call forwarding can be really useful beyond party planning. With Find Me, you can be more accessible to the “VIPs” in your life (spouse, kids, elderly grandparents). You just give them your VoxOx number, and they’ll be able to reach you anywhere — work, mobile, home, a cabin in the woods — without having to dial a long list of phone numbers. Or, you can use Find Me for your business contacts. Say you want to be accessible to work colleagues and clients when you’re not at your desk, but you don’t want to give out your personal cell phone number. Just give out your VoxOx number, and turn on Find Me during the work week. This can also be handy for business travelers, as Find Me can forward calls anywhere, even to a hotel room overseas!  

So, here’s how you set up Find Me:

• Go to Tools -> Settings  -> Phone  -> Find Me, and enter all your other phone numbers in the order you’d like them to ring: 

• The numbers you select with a check-mark will ring in sequence.
• If you prefer to have all your phones ring simultaneously, then select the “Call Numbers Simultaneously” option.
• Set the number of seconds you want each phone to ring and then hit “Apply.”
• If you don’t pick up, ultimately the call will go to VoxOx voicemail. Read about how to access your VoxOx voice messages here.  
• You can add or remove phone numbers any time by coming back to this Find Me window within the VoxOx client, or by calling your VoxOx number, entering your 4 digit pin code and selecting the “Settings” option. 

Don’t forget that in order for VoxOx Find Me to kick in, you need to provide callers with a VoxOx phone number. This doesn’t mean that you need to get rid of any of your existing numbers – just think of the VoxOx number as your “umbrella” number that reaches all your phones, but if you want to be reached specifically on your cell phone or another device, then by all means, give that number out. If you’d rather not provide a new number at all, there’s a way to forward your mobile phone number to VoxOx.

So that’s it – you have all the tools to be totally accessible to all your 4^th of July party guests this weekend and beyond! Now go change your RSVP phone number on your Evite to your VoxOx number, take a deep breath, relax, and host your party with ease.

Have you tried Find Me yet? Please share a comment here about how it has helped you or someone you know, we would love to hear your story!

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy, Russia, Lithuania. She’ll be using VoxOx SMS CallBack on her next trip around the globe!

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1) Update your global status to let everything know your team scored

When your team scores you have about a second to react before the moment is gone. Just imagine yourself trying to post your “WE OWN YOU BRAZIL” on your Facebook, Twitter, AIM, etc.  By the time you’re done, the other team may have scored, and that’s just embarrassing. With VoxOx, you can update all your networks with one click. Just go to the status bar, bang out your best heckle and enter. Takes 2 seconds and your friends know who’s boss.

2) Use the Universal Translator to gloat to your friends in their language

Talking smack about other teams is fun, but what about talking international smack?  Not so fun when the other person doesn’t understand what you’re saying. Well, luckily we have just the thing – with the VoxOx Universal Translator feature, you just type your…er… feelings… in the VoxOx chat window and it gets instantly translated into the language of your international buddy on the other side of the world. You can do this with texts, emails and Tweets too.  I don’t speak any Spanish, but… mi abuela patea mas duro que tus delanteros! (It may not be perfect but it sure gets the point across.)

3) Screen your calls until half-time

If you’re a true fan, you probably don’t want to be interrupted watching the World Cup, except maaaaybe if someone has something really important to say.  With VoxOx you can screen all your calls, at least until half-time. You can even listen to the caller leaving a voicemail in real-time, and pick up the call at any point with VoxOx’s Eavesdrop™ feature. So, if your buddy calls and starts leaving you a voice message, ragging on your team, you can pick it right up and tell him what’s on your mind.  If you haven’t had a chance to give out your VoxOx number to your friends yet, you can just forward your cell to VoxOx and use many of these calling features. 

4) Set your country’s flag as your VoxOx avatar

It will be nice to look at and it’s one of the easiest things you can do to show your team pride. Just Google the image you want, save to your desktop, and then right click on your VoxOx default pic and browse for the image file. Or you can even get a little creative, like these guys we found online:

5) Call your international buddies for cheap when your team beats theirs

If you didn’t get enough gloating and smack-talking done with the Universal Translator, it always helps to finish the job with a phone call. VoxOx international calling rates are crazy cheap, we’re talking as low as a penny per minute. Did you see that goal? Was that striker off-sides? Can you believe that ref? With such low rates, you can talk about anything and everything and still have plenty of cash left to stock up on refreshments for the next match.

So with that, have an awesome time watching the World Cup in the coming weeks and don’t forget to use VoxOx to “express yourself” about it!

Matt is a software developer, working tirelessly behind the scenes to give us the tools we need to work faster and smarter. He’s the type of guy that is always updating his status, Tweeting, or jumping in on the newest social media network, which makes VoxOx a more-than-natural home for him. When he manages to disconnect from the Internet, you’ll find him glued to his xbox, enjoying the beautiful scenes of San Diego, or throwing a Frisbee.

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All you do is you paste a URL for the video or graphic you want to send into the area where you type your text chats. Hit enter, and the URL will appear as either a clickable video or an image within your chat thread. Check it out:

Cool, huh?  Well if you think so, get your buddies to download VoxOx so you can have some fun with this feature. Once you get their username, just go to “Actions”, “Add Contact” to add them to your VoxOx buddies list, and chat away!  

By the way, to make your VoxOx window look like mine, go to “View”, “Appearance” and select “Modern Bubbling”. Many other choices there too:

Enjoy and keep on Voxing!

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy, Russia, Lithuania. She’ll be using VoxOx SMS CallBack on her next trip around the globe!

follow natasha.grach twitter.com/natashagrach

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Here’s a little tutorial from our CTO Kevin Hertz on how to use this new feature:

Not convinced? Check out some of the VoxOx Universal Translator news coverage:

“VoxOx Adds Native Translation to Differentiate From Skype, Google Voice” – eWeek

“First Real-Time Language Translation For SMS/Chat/Email/Twitter Makes You Fluent Across the Globe” – Gizmodo

VoxOx Universal Translator makes multilingual communication a breeze – Engadget

VoxOx debuts Universal Translator in real-time for SMS, email and social media – ZDnet

“VoxOx Universal Translation Tool Speaks 50 Languages” - PC Magazine Digital Network

“VoxOx Debuts Translator-in-the-Cloud for Instant Messaging, E-mails, Texting, Social Media” – xconomy

“TelCentris debuts VoxOx universal translator” – TG Daily

Well, what do you think?  If you like what you see, get the latest version of the VoxOx software — available here.  And don’t forget to share your feedback and suggestions with us about this newbie or any other VoxOx features.

Adios!

Natasha, from the PR Team

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy, Russia, Lithuania. She’ll be using VoxOx SMS CallBack on her next trip around the globe!

follow natasha.grach twitter.com/natashagrach

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So what does this mean for VoxOx users?

TelCentris’ CLEC status will provide significant advantages over similar services like Skype and Google Voice. For example, with an operating CLEC, TelCentris can issue its own phone numbers to users (you get a free one upon signup), instead of having to rent them from other providers as many of our competitors do. This provides cost advantages we can pass on to users (VoxOx already has the lowest domestic calling plan in the industry). Another benefit is that because we control our own infrastructure (network + CLEC), we are more in control of quality and reliability and providing a better overall customer experience. Our national CLEC roll-out is not complete yet, but we will keep you posted on its status.

Today’s announcement is just one example of how TelCentris is thinking strategically about how it can better serve customers over the long run.

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy, Russia, Lithuania. She’ll be using VoxOx SMS CallBack on her next trip around the globe!

follow natasha.grach twitter.com/natashagrach

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This looks to be on the heels of moves that Verizon has made with respect to Android phones that “opened” their network. AT&T had to emulate this in some way because of increasing regulatory pressure and their controversial positioning against Google Voice for blocking certain destinations with their calling service. AT&T is likely realizing that customer loyalty is more important than specific revenue streams, and there are two forces working in AT&T’s favor by being open:

(1) A vast majority of users probably won’t bother bypassing their calling plans on AT&T (or any operator) to install a VoIP application and use it to make calls. The overall risk from a business perspective is small in comparison to what something like this does for AT&T’s image.

(2) Over time, it is inevitable that all services will flow over a data connection. Fighting this concept is futile. The fact is, the customer is still using the AT&T network, and this might push more users to buy unlimited data plans to support these services. Most users will not get reliable enough service (yet) on a purely data plan, and without SOME sort of voice plan to rely on when the VoIP quality is not good enough (whenever there isn’t a very good 3G connection), the chances are they will be charging the customer the same or similar amount of money and providing less of the actual calling… this could convert to higher profit margins overall.

So embracing change as it happens keeps AT&T in a leadership position, and in the end they are not really risking much… they may even be increasing their average revenue per user as well as operating margins.

Do you agree? If you own (or will own) an iPhone, how likely are you to install a VoIP application for making cheaper calls?

As CEO, Bryan Hertz operates on many frequencies. Some say Megahertz, others say Gigahertz and when they're really mad, they say Kilohertz. Although there's no known connection to Heinrich Hertz, Bryan likes to think VoxOx will prove to be as important to history as the discoveries of that famous scientist. When he's not geeking out on universal communications, he dabbles in multiple areas of alternative health and Eastern medicine.

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