VOXOX Blog

A recent Nielsen study on teenagers and mobiles found that data usage on mobile devices tripled last year, with an average of a whopping 320mb per month! Add to that a survey by mobile social entertainment company, FunMobility, which found that teens are spending more time on their mobiles than any other device. Not surprising, right?  Well, the survey also shows a glimpse into what they're doing. The top four mobile activities are: sending text message or chatting, downloading applications, playing games, and browsing the Internet. Here are a few other revealing stats:

Topics: Telecommunication Trends, SMS

Have you ever needed to attach a file too large to email?  (Even Gmail has its limits!) Or wanted to transfer a file in a Facebook chat? Well, the great thing about Voxox is that you can send files up to 100MB through a simple little URL – via email, Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or any other form of electronic communication that lets you add a link – and you can do it for free!

It's so easy, too. You just open up the Voxox Unified Messaging Window, and click the icon that looks like a page (it represents a file). You can find it at the bottom of the chat window, to the right of the fax icon.






Another window will pop up where you can browse for the file on your computer:






As soon as you add the file, a short link will appear in the chat window. You can send it instantly to the person with whom you're having your conversation – whether you're chatting with a Facebook friend, DMing someone on Twitter, text messaging, etc... all from Voxox! Or you can just copy the link that appears in the chat window and paste it anywhere you like!






Pretty neat, right?  It can definitely be a lifesaver when you need to get a large file across real quick.

Have you tried it? Let us know!


Note: This service is meant for person-to-person file sharing, not hosting a file for a large audience to access. Hence, each link expires after a couple of downloads of the specified file.

Topics: Voxox, SMS

Once every four years we have an opportunity to say that it's leap year day. That day is today! February 29th was added to the calendar as a corrective measure because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days. So, why do we care?  Well, it's kinda cool and it gives us a couple of fun things to chat about (via Voxox, of course!)

First of all, you may wonder what happens to people who are born on leap day. According to Wikipedia, A person born on February 29 may be called a "leapling" or a "leaper" and in common years they typically celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1. But technically, a leapling will have fewer birthday anniversaries. Way to stay young, right? In the Chinese calendar, which is lunisolar, a leap year actually has an extra month. That's a lot of leaplings.


Second, remember that movie, Leap Year starring Amy Adams? (She decides to propose to her boyfriend in Scotland on leap year day.) Well, in the British Isles, it is tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years. Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland levied fines if a marriage proposal was refused by the man with compensation ranging from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown.


So there you have it -- excellent discussions topics and food for thought for your Voxox'ing pleasure.  Oh, and ladies, let us know if you decide to propose today and if you're owed a silk gown as a result.

Topics: Voxox, SMS

With the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this week, we figured it's a great time to talk about our awesome, free SMS language translation feature, recently added to our free iPhone app, Voxox Call.  If you liked the new outbound mobile faxing functionality I wrote about in late December, you're going to LOVE the real-time, 2-way

Topics: iPhone, Voxox, SMS

The Voxox team isn't just your ordinary group of geeks, we're a group of wild and enthusiastic people who love what we do! "Just another day at the office" doesn't apply here. Whether it's Nerf gun wars, free ice cream extravaganzas, or Monday morning bagels, there's always something for us to get excited about! Get to know the team with our new behind the scenes, Q&A style blog series, "The People Who Make Voxox Rock"...




Nickname: "The Magician"


Department: Software Development


What should people know about Voxox?"Voxox has some amazing and powerful calling features. There's lots of flexibility, which allows you to control your own calling experience. Call screening and personal assistant, all the free features, making inexpensive calls to mobiles and landlines around the world, the ability to SMS from your computer... the list goes on."


How would you explain Software Development? "We take ideas and make them happen with our own twists and influence. The biggest challenge is to make sure what we build is maintainable, scalable, and stable."


What did you do before you started developing? "Well, in high school and college I worked as a magician and Yo-Yo artist. I used to entertain at private parties until I began inventing my own magic tricks. Some of them eventually went to market for professionals and sold at magic shops. Since then, I've still held on to my Yo-Yo collection and I have about 200 Yo-Yos now. The rarest is a Pedro Flores, but my favorite is my Coca-Cola Duncan, Rainbow. Oh, did I mention I also opened the curtains for the Smothers' Brothers?"



What are three things you can't live without? "Showers, sleeping, and... showers. That's where I do all my thinking. If I can't figure something out I go to sleep and take a shower. It's amazing what your brain can accomplish while it's sleeping."



What's the last thing you ate? "In-N-Out. Double meat, grilled onion, ketchup and mustard 'instead'."


What have you learned since joining the Voxox team? "I've learned a lot about Voice over IP technologies and managing teams. What I'm really into are learning new design patterns, software concept, ways of software architecture."

Topics: Voxox, SMS

I just recently went on vacation to the Dominican Republic with some friends. Before I left, I contacted my mobile carrier to see how much calls, texts and data would cost while I was traveling abroad. After doing this research and confirming how expensive all this would be on my iPhone, I decided that the best option for me would be to turn off data roaming and calling, and instead use the SMS feature of my Voxox iPhone app in combination with the resort's Wi-Fi.

Topics: Voxox, SMS

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

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

Topics: Voxox, SMS

Topics: iPhone, Telecommunication Trends, Voxox, VoIP, SMS