Low-cost international calls from your mobile phone are now a reality thanks to the new JaJAah Mobile solution being launched today at DEMOfall in San Diego, California. In simple words, from today you can make JaJah calls directly from your existing mobile phone.

Today, 2.5 billion people worldwide use mobile phones as their primary communication device - more than use landlines. But of these 2.5 billion people, most, use their mobile phones almost exclusively for local calling, as prevailing rates for mobile long distance and international calls are indeed quite high.

With the new JaJah Mobile service you can finally make free and low-cost international calls directly from your mobile phone without the need for you to add any extra hardware to your mobile phone, or a new number, calling cards, PINs, or recurring monthly fees.

None of that is necessary.

The system simply dials any of your international calls from your mobile to go through the JaJah system, saving you lots of money in between while taking the computer completely out of the equation.
You get the convenience of direct mobile calling combined with ultra-low rates.

Here is how it works:

In short, you go to the Jajah site, look to see if your phone is currently supported - the first phones supported are Symbian-based, like Nokia N70 and Java-based such as the Nokia 6630.

If your phone is supported, you pull down a small plugin. Your phone will then know that when you dial an international number, it will send the call through the JaJah "network" (you can change theses preferences if you wish and make only some calls, or all calls, go through JaJah). Regardless, you just dial the number and JaJah makes the call. That's it.

How inexpensive are JaJah calls?

Here some examples:

a) To make an international call from your US T-Mobile cell phone to a friend in the UK0 it will cost you $0.34 per minute. Using the same T-Mobile cell phone but using JaJah instead, that same call will cost you $0.025 per minute.

b) To call a colleague in Australia from your mobile phone while you’re sitting in Seattle Airport, (on a US T-Mobile phone) would cost $0.025 per minute.

It goes without saying that you can talk as long as you like while paying these very low rates and you have access to the exact same price structure adopted by JaJah on standard calls: free calls to other JaJah users, etc. (I can call from my European / Italian landline your US cell phone for free without a computer).

More info:
JaJah international calling rates.

Depending on your mobile phone, you have a choice of ways to access the JaJah Mobile Suite:

1. JAJAH for Symbian OS

Phones have operating systems, much like PCs. Millions of phones use the Symbian OS. The JaJah / Symbian solution offers a truly effective and friction-free user experience. You simply dial the long distance number and JaJah automatically makes the call over the JaJah Network. This system is also integrated into your JaJah address book, making one-button JaJah calls to any number in the world a reality. If for some reason, you want some calls not to be routed over the JaJahnetwork, you can set these preferences on your phone.

2. Your Java-enabled phone

Many of the worlds phones, are called “Java-enabled phones.” With Java-enabled (J2ME) phones, you simply download a very small Jajah application at jajah.com and install it on your phone. After that, JaJah calls are like any other: dial the number and press Call. Using the Java version is almost as seamless as the Symbian version; it involves only a few extra steps. However the end result is the same: the ability to initiate free or low cost international calls from your mobile phone without using a computer.

3. Send a text message (SMS)

Virtually all mobile phones can do text messaging. Now you can use text messaging to initiate a JaJah call. With SMS / text messaging phones, you send a text message to JaJah, with your number and the number you want to call - JaJah calls and connects you.

4. Access JAJAH through your phone’s web browser

With browser-equipped smart phones, you place JaJah calls from your mobile browser as you do with a PC. On your phone, browse to jajah.com and enter the number you want to call. Available on most mobile browsers.

The calls you make on your mobile phone are recorded in the “My account” area at jajah.com. By logging into JaJah you can see your account balance, your call history, and you can easily make payments or make pre-payments.

To find out which solution is best suited for your phone, go to the JaJah website www.jajah.com/info/tools

Cons: Not all of the already popular JaJah services work on the new JaJah Mobile platform including conference calls, scheduled calls and text messaging. They will be adapted to work with JaJah Mobile in the near future, but if you want to use them now you need to access JaJah from your computer.

I think JaJah is well set on its track to become a new type of telecom company: one that provides lots of value to its users in an effort not just to squeeze more money out of them (like all telcos do in more or less ethical ways), but to provide a true high-quality user experience, in which the opportunities and options built around the old metaphor of telephone calling are going to grow unlimited.

Hats to this company for the progress and innovation it has made in such little time while always adding something new and of value to its products. I am happy I didn't see wrong when over a year ago I wrote "we have a new Skype killer".

If you want to see and learn more about this fast-growing company, make sure you don't miss JaJah's co-founder Daniel Mattes sharing some of the best lessons learned by his JaJah startup in this fantastic one year (video clip).

More info:
To find lout which mobile phones work with JaJah Mobile please go to:
http://www.jajah.com/tools/mobile