VOXOX Blog

Not that I'm complaining, but somehow in America we turn every holiday into a big pig-out fest. Christmas is all about the cookies; Halloween we not only chow down on candy, we explicitly solicit it from our neighbors; St. Patrick's Day we drink ridiculous amounts of artificially colored green beer; and, of course, on Thanksgiving we eat ourselves into a food coma. So what's left when July 4th rolls around and we want to celebrate our independence? Oh right, BBQs with endless hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, and beer. If you think this eat-to-celebrate lifestyle is hurting your waistline, you should check your wallet.

Topics: Voxox

Ever wondered what a video call will be like in 2025? Will there be facial recognition technology that interprets emoticons in video to text? Or meta data that describes exactly what you’re trying to say?  Or real-time text suggestions that impact how you speak with other parties?

Topics: Telecommunication Trends, Voxox, Events

Topics: iPhone, Telecommunication Trends, Voxox

Topics: Communication, Telecommunication Trends, Voxox

You're giving your dad a call this Father's Day, right? Of course you are! How else would you say, "I love you Dad!" or stay updated on the tentative weather forecast for a city you don't live in, or hear about how your mom ran into the curb again, or that the neighbor kids are doing a bottle drive? This is all very important information and with all the ways we have to stay connected - email, SMS, call, and video calling, just to name a few - there's no reason not to.

Although some of these new communication tools can seem impersonal,  video chatting is different because it's like talking face-to-face in the same room! Take a lesson from my dad and I - although we live thousands of miles apart, we don't go more than a week without seeing one another thanks to Voxox video chat, and this Father's Day will be no different! Voxox to Voxox video chat is simple. It's just the same as placing a phone call, but better! Check out this step-by-step to get you on your way to some face-time with Dad.

Step 1: Turn on Voxox to Voxox video chat capability. First, sign into your Voxox account. Once logged in, go to File and choose Preferences from the drop-down. A new window will open, and from there choose Video on the left hand side. See the red circle below? To enable Voxox to Voxox video chat, simply check the box. This indicates all Voxox to Voxox calls will have video chat enabled. Then hit OK. Hint: Make sure the person on the other end has video enabled too!

 

Step 2: Choose the contact you'd like to call (aka your dad!) and click the black triangle by their name to open the call menu. From there, choose their Voxox number and a call box will automatically pop-up indicating the call has been initiated.

Step 3: Smile for the camera and chat away! A streaming video will automatically pop-up once the call has connected.


Simple, huh? Don't waste anymore time, get your dad on a Voxox video chat now! If you don't already have a Voxox number, you can get one for free here and explore all that Voxox has to offer.


A special thanks to my dad for starring in today's blog, lookin' good Dad!! And to all of the wonderful dads out there, Happy Father's Day from Voxox!

Topics: Voxox, SMS

Topics: Communication, iPhone, Voxox

Flag Day is a special day dedicated to celebrating America's red, white, and blue. A holiday set aside to celebrate the symbol that most widely represents us, the American flag! Just like our Voxox users that span the globe, here at Voxox we have many nationalities to represent and wanted to share with you (and vice versa!) where we come from. Check out the flags and let us know from where you hail!

Want to share your flag? Visit the Voxox Facebook page and post your colors on our wall! Remember, no matter where you're from or which language you speak, with the Voxox Universal translator, it's easy to 2-way chat, text, and email in realtime. Break down the barriers and Unify Your Conversation!

Topics: Voxox, SMS

A few weeks ago, Skype suspended their online numbers in Brazil. This was said to be a temporary arrangement; however, we have not seen the numbers become available yet.  So, we wanted to share some helpful tips on how folks in Brazil (and 45 other countries/territories) can receive free calls on their  desktop from any phone by using Voxox and our special iNum integration.

This is huge!  Not only do you get calls for free on your desktop, but also friends and family who call YOU from landlines, mobiles, etc. pay a local rate in these 45 regions. Here's how it works:

First, active your (FREE) iNum number at the Voxox online store.

When you sign up for Voxox, you get a free U.S. phone number. You also get an option to grab a free iNum number for your Voxox account at our online Store at My.Voxox:







You can then use the vanity search when selecting your iNum number -- stick to 3 or 4 letters or numbers for best results. When you've found a number you like, click Activate:







Now you can receive calls to your Voxox number through iNum. Here's how:

Let’s say your family lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and your mom wants to call you from her home phone.

1. Send her your new iNum number that you activated, and tell her to save it in her records as "[your name]‘s iNum." (Tip: your iNum number does not change.)
2. Point her to this list of local access phone numbers.
3. When she is ready to call you, she should dial the local access number that is closest to her location (Tip: in this case, it would be +55 1137119355 for Sao Paolo)
4. When prompted, she should enter your iNum number, which you gave her in Step 1.
5. Her call will immediately be routed to your Voxox account wherever you are, and follow any forwarding rules you’ve set up. Pick up and say hello!

In this scenario, your mom is just paying her carrier for a local Sao Paolo call. If you're receiving the call with Voxox for the desktop, you're paying nothing. Period. If you're forwarding calls to other phones, there's a small outbound usage charge, according to our cheap VoIP rates. You get other perks too - check out our How-To Guide on iNum to learn more about using iNum with your Voxox account.

One last thing... in addition to low cost and free Internet-based calling, users who receive inbound calls to a Voxox phone number get a ton of other perks, including the ability to simultaneously forward calls to any 5 calling devices (similar to the Google Voice), digitally record calls, transfer calls to other devices and create a 20-party conference call all by simply pressing star commands (like *1) on their phone's keypad.

So why now get your free iNum number today?  Go to the Voxox store to activate yours for free.

Topics: Voxox

Topics: Voxox, SMS

While tinkering around the internet the other day, I stumbled upon an article from TechCrunch outlining the Geosocial Universe of 2011 and instantly thought, "This must be shared this with the world." So, here we are.


What is a Geosocial Universe you ask? It is the virtual landscape of social networks and how many registered users each network has. Similar to how our Earth's landscape changes, the Geosocial Universe changes as well. First it was MySpace, then Facebook... so what's next? New networks are cropping up all the time, and we're always looking for a different way to communicate. Call me a geek, but it's really interesting how many people are connected via social media - a member of  Facebook alone has potential access to 629 million individuals! Even sites you and I may not have heard of have more subscribers than I ever imagined.



Check out these stats from TechCrunch to get a better idea:

• Facebook: 629 million registered users with almost 250 million people accessing the site via mobile

• Qzone: China’s version of Facebook, Qzone, has 480 million registered users

• Twitter: 200 million registered users with nearly 40% of people tweeting via mobile

• Email: Hotmail still dominates, but Gmail's popularity is gaining fast

• Yelp: Yelp tops 50 million unique visitors per month, and  it's made moves to team up with OpenTable

• Foursquare and Gowalla: These geographically based medias are still growing

• Smartphones: 21.8% of all mobile devices are smart phones, with Nokia on top the list in sales

For all you visual folks, take a look at this infograph that outlines the number active users on the top 19 social media sites. (P.S. I'm sure you can't miss that big blue bubble indicating 5.3 billion cell phone are used worldwide - that's 77% of the world's population!):

Photo Caption Credit: TechCruch and JESS3

Crazy stuff, huh? I can only imagine what these stats will be next year, or even six months from now. Are you registered on any, or maybe even all of these networks? If you fall into the latter, Voxox can help keep all your buddies, friends, fans, and followers organized by integrating them into one interface where you chat, Tweet, post, call, fax, update, email, and a ton of other cool things. According to Entrepreneur magazine (6/11 issue), "next to Skype’s limited, walled garden approach, Voxox is a cross-platform love fest." But don't take their word for it, try the "love fest" out for yourself!


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Topics: Telecommunication Trends, Voxox, VoIP