In earlier posts (here and here) I’ve talked about my frustration with contracts and crummy service from AT&T, and my quest to find an alternative. Skype + Peek was fine as an interim solution, but being tied to hotspot access only for voice was a problem. Furthermore, the Skype App won’t ring the iPhone, so it was basically useless as a real-time voice call solution.
I’ve discovered a better way. The missing links were SIPdroid for Android and Datajack 3G. SIPdroid allows calls via Junction Networks OnSip service (per minute VOIP), and datajack gives me unlimited 3G at $40/month, no contract. The datajack is a usb device that is intended for use with laptops, but I discovered that it has a T-mobile SIM that can be popped out and inserted into an unlocked phone (an Android G1 dev phone in my case). I have Google Voice setup with my OnSip number, and the GV app on the phone. I have yet to determine how to make calls from GV with the OnSip number, but for now I simply specified my caller id as my name and GV number in the OnSip admin panel.
I’ve been reading your Twitter posts on the whole ordeal, I’m fascinated! Is 3g really good enough for phone calls? Is there a delay with running through a second patch?
The call quality suffers some on 3G, but certainly not garbled or unintelligible. It seems to cut out for a fraction of a second here and there, but on a whole I’d say it is fair to good at 3 bars. I imagine it would deteriorate with a poor connection, but coverage is solid with datajack so far.
There is no delay in conversation or in making calls, but I think there seem to be delays when terminating calls (long enough to go to the recipients voicemail, which is annoying). I want to determine how to get google voice to place calls through my SIP number. Right now I’m using the SIPdroid app itself for outgoing calls. Google Voice handles incoming calls and SMS.
All told, I’m thrilled to be making and receiving calls in real-time and on-the-go. I admit it has been tough for the past couple months without consistent voice capability. I’m looking forward to seeing more innovations in VOIP on mobile devices that will make things less complicated. In the meantime, I’ll continue to post my experiences and experiments, and hopefully outline some shortcuts for others.
Thanks for your interest!
I’m trying to do a variation of this right now, but I’m getting a timeout response. What were your settings in sipdroid?
Jason: if you are using onsip, the server is sip.jnctn.net. I left the port and protocol at the default: 5060 and UDP. The password is different from your onsip account password. It is listed in the configuration tab of you onsip admin panel.
David: I’ve determined that there’s a 1-2 second delay between when the call recipient answers and when you can hear them. Admittedly annoying, but tolerable.