Ribbit, the software-based Silicon Valley phone company, has launched Ribbit Mobile, a Google Voice-type service with some useful extras thrown in.
The start-up, which was bought by BT of the UK last year, adds “social address book” features to its service and allows users to keep their own mobile number.
Once registered, users can set up the ability to call from their computer through a web browser window or make incoming calls to their mobile phone also ring their office and home phones or Skype and Google Talk numbers.
Ribbit says its service makes every mobile phone a smart phone. When a contact calls, users can get an immediate view of the caller’s latest tweets, Facebook status updates, LinkedIn profile and Flickr photo stream. Voicemails left on the system are automatically transcribed and can be delivered as email.
Crick Waters, Ribbit co-founder, told me the biggest difference between Ribbit and Google Voice was that Ribbit was fully SIP-compliant, meaning you could add internet-based networks [IPNs] such as Skype and Google Talk – Google Voice only links to regular landline and mobile numbers.
“The other really compelling difference is we’re a platform – so developers can create widgets that work with your account,” he said.
“So keep your mobile phone as your primary identity, add any phone that you want to it, route those calls to web pages, to regular telephones or to IPN points and then use widgets and so forth that developers create.”
Ribbit also announced a Developer Rewards programme to encourage developers to create applications for its platform. There seem little available at present, other than a conference call widget and a software phone skinned as a chalkboard.
The service is only available in the US initially and iPhone and BlackBerry apps are still under development.
While Google Voice offers free calls to US numbers, Ribbit will charge $30 a month for a Pro Version that allows this. The Pro version is currently free for a trial period, while a Basic version will remain free but does not allow for any Web calls to US numbers.
