If you are often abroad and want to keep in touch with friends, family and business associates back home, then you should consider StarHub's new, affordable and convenient pay-per-use IP telephony service Digital Voice FlexiTalk. With Digital Voice FlexiTalk, you get free incoming calls and pay only 3 cents per minute for outgoing calls to Singapore, both applicable wherever you are in the world. This service also benefits your Singaporean contacts, as they are charged at local call rates when they call you, regardless of your location in the world. And since it's a pay-per-use service, there are no monthly subscriptions or recurring costs. That's great for both the regular and occasional travelers!
Digital Voice FlexiTalk is much more than just a phone line. It comes with powerful features and Value-added Services, all of which are absolutely free. These include call waiting, call divert, call conferencing for up to 7 persons, caller number display, number blocking and many more. Digital Voice FlexiTalk is a software-based IP telephony service. That means you won't need any additional hardware beyond your PC and your broadband line (recommended minimum broadband speed of 512k downstream and 128K upstream) to use the service. Simply install the "SoftPhone" and use your mouse to point-and-click to operate the phone - like making calls, checking call logs, managing contacts and adding parties to a conference call. You will also be able to make local 1800 toll-free calls, directory enquiry (100) as well as emergency numbers like 995 and 999. International calls to other countries are also available but they will cost the same as making International Direct Dial (IDD) calls from regular StarHub Mobile or residential fixed line phones.
You will also get your own prefix-6 phone number, just like any fixed line number in Singapore. In fact, your contacts won't even know you are talking to them from your PC! Unlike the free IP telephony and instant messaging services like Skype, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger, anyone with a phone line can call you. Skype also has a service called Skype-In which also provides a phone number but Skype-In is not available in Singapore and you have to pay a monthly recurring fee for the number.
Here's a look at some of the amazing features of Digital Voice FlexiTalk.
Importing your contacts from Outlook
One of the biggest obstacles to using any new communications service is that you need to re-enter your address book or contacts list from scratch. Thankfully, with Digital Voice FlexiTalk, you can import your Microsoft Outlook or Exchange address book directly into the SoftPhone client.
Making calls and sending email
You can simply dial the phone number and click on the call button to make a call, just like using a normal phone. Or, from your Contacts list, you can now make calls simply by right clicking on the person you wish to call and select Call. If he has more than one number, all numbers will be displayed, and you can choose specifically which number to call. Using this method also lets you send an email instead of calling!
Recording all your calls
You can easily record all your calls into .wav files and play them back using a media player like Windows Media Player. That's great for making minutes from a business conference call or if you just want to hear the voices of your loved ones over and over again. You can also change the location where the recorded files are stored on your PC.
Multi-party and conference calling
Your Digital Voice FlexiTalk SoftPhone comes with six virtual lines, which means you can be making six different calls at the same time. You can simply switch between calls by clicking on the respective number, just like the way the multiple-lines office phones work.
This means that you are also able to host a conference call with up to seven lines (including your own) at the same time. Even if you are already on a conference call, say with three other persons, if a fourth person calls in, you can immediately add the person to the conference. Similarly, it is possible to remove one or more callers from the conference call and the remainder parties are still on the conference.
You can also set up a multi-party conference call effortlessly by combining the Auto Answer and Auto Conference features. If you turn both these features on, then any call that comes to your phone is immediately added to the conference call. This is great if you set a fixed time for the conference all and everyone can join in immediately without you having to keep clicking to add them to the conference. In fact, you won't even have to be present!
Comprehensive call log
Digital Voice FlexiTalk also comes with a comprehensive call log with a detailed list of your missed calls, received (answered) calls and dialed calls, just like what you find on your mobile phones. It also tells you the date and duration of the calls.
Call divert
If you don't want to be disturbed, you can simply turn on the "Do Not Disturb" feature which automatically sends a busy tone. If you PC is not turned on and you still want to receive calls, like when you are on the move, you can also divert all calls to another number like your mobile phone.
Other features
There are many other features including Caller Number Non-Display where you can make anonymous calls, muting the microphone, importing any sound file as your ringtone and automatically redialing the last number. You can also easily check your usage and call costs by logging in to your accounts page at the Digital Voice FlexiTalk web portal.
You simply need to purchase a Digital Voice FlexiTalk Starter Kit for $19.26 which comes with the installation CD, your own prefix-6 number, initial password to log-in, and $5 worth of credits. Install the phone software or "SoftPhone" on your PC running on Windows 98 (second edition), Windows 2000 or Windows XP and activate the account. You will need a valid credit card to complete the activation. Connect your PC to a broadband connection, wired or wireless, and voila, you are ready to rock and roll. To get your Starter Kit or for more information, simply visit any StarHub retail outlet or click here.
Previously from StarHub | |
