Jaxtr introduces direct-from-phone access

Jake Widman
Friday, 27 March 2009 02:38

Your IT - Mobility

Low-cost VoIP calling provider Jaxtr has launched Jaxtr On-The-Go, which allows users to make calls without having to go online first.

The new service provides more than 150 local numbers in major cities around the world. Using either a mobile phone or a land line, a caller dials one of the local numbers directly without having to register with Jaxtr first. Once the connection is made, the caller enters the number they're trying to reach, starting with the country code.

If the destination number is in one of the 50 countries already supported by the Jaxtr FreeConnect service, the person being called gets a text message with a local number for them to use. At the appointed time, both parties call their own local number and converse as though they were on a conference call.

Jaxtr On-The-Go is an extension of the FreeConnect service, which the company launched last December. With FreeConnect, both users have to be registered with Jaxtr, and the call has to be initiated through the Jaxtr website. The caller can also choose to initiate a direct phone-to-phone call, but those aren't free and require the purchase of calling credits.

On-The-Go enables calls to be initiated directly from a phone (though the caller still has to go online to get a local number), and neither party has to be registered first. The service has launched as a beta program; once it's out of beta, users will be able to purchase calling credits directly from their phones as well.