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Loading ...By Sharla Sikes
Another company announced plans to introduce ad-supported free calling. Talkster announces its Free World Dialing allows subscribers to make free international and long distance calls from cell phones, landlines, computers or VoIP phones.
The service requires no downloads, just a visit to http://free.talkster.com via web-enabled cellular phone or www.Talkster.com on a pc to enter your name and phone number, and that of the person you’re calling, and Talkster assigns a free local number for that call. Any call placed to that person can be placed through the Talkster-assigned number from that point forward. The service can also be used to set up conference calls.
Talkster says its Free World Dialing will also be available on social networking site Facebook, similar to MySpace’s Skype click-to-call function.
Google first mentioned it, and The Pudding came shortly after. Many other VoIP providers offer very low cost local, long distance and international calling plans.
“We’ve been watching the ‘race to zero’ with companies like Jajah and Rebtel offering increasingly low calling rates; but those calls still cost callers money and nothing beats free,” says James Wanless, COO of Talkster. “We designed Talkster to remain a completely free service forever. In exchange for free calling we merely ask callers to listen to a short audio ad to pay for the cost of their call.”
Ad-supported free calling may be a bit too much to put up with for free calls for most users, but companies who aim for that market segment say that college students and low-income users will jump right on board.
“The ads shouldn’t be a barrier,” said Wanless. “With the right targeting, users will not only get free calls but will also receive valuable offers for discounts and free merchandise. The most important thing for Talkster is to build a relationship with our users so they will enjoy our service and use it for a long time to come, so we paid particular attention not only to the user experience, but also addressing concerns about privacy and sharing personal information.”
Talkster says its ads will be “timely and personally relevant ad offers,” including discounts and coupons.
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Hi Sharla,
Thanks for sharing Talkster with your readers.
Some people that have heard about Talkster’s Free World Dialing have thought it’s too good to be true. It isn’t. We took a moment to address some of the most common questions from people who believe that free international calls just for listening to a 10-second ad can’t possibly be true. You can check out the Q&A here: http://www.mobilitywire.com/consumer/straight-talk-from-talkster