The new iPhone interface for PhoneGnome

The new iPhone app for PhoneGnome offers calling using your PhoneGnome account, or, in other words, remote access to your fixed, cable, ooma, Magic Jack, or VoIP phone service. Place calls directly using the iPhone-styled dialer, or by selecting from your My PhoneGnome contacts. Listen to your voicemail with random access, and without making a phone call, directly on your iPhone. You can also send international SMS at low PhoneGnome rates.

David Beckemeyer, leading the PhoneGnome iPhone project, said, ”It’s got a great new look and has some great new touches that will make your PhoneGnome experience on iPhone a bit more fun and a lot more useful.”

Across the bottom are shown four primary configurations of PhoneGnome service, split between US and International (non-US in our case) and customers using the PhoneGnome-box (add-on device), shown in blue, and those using the service without the PhoneGnome-box hardware.

Within each configuration are the listed benefits to the user corresponding with that configuration.

At the top of the chart is the flowchart decision tree that arrives at one of the possible configurations.

I think from this chart, it make it pretty obvious why PhoneGnome is really hard to message and explain to new customers. First, the four configurations have different value stories. Second, even within a single configuration different customer segments will prioritize and value the benefits differently.

The two blue boxes, labeled “Full Impact” and “High Impact” represent “PhoneGnome 1.0″ – the initial 2005 focus of PhoneGnome, users connecting the box to their fixed-line (home) telephone service to obtain new benefits. Our early research broke these users into three main groups: Traditionalists, Globalists, and Gurus.

Traditionalists value plug-and-play simplicity, safety of real 911, and mostly care about the benefits of cheap calling and telemarketer screening. Globalists have high usage and enjoy the benefit of free and cheap calling, along with voicemail. Gurus are more tech. savvy and value cheap calling, voicemail, telemarketer screening, and other features (softphone, online call logs, etc.)

In late 2006, we introduced “PhoneGnome 2.0″ and the option to use PhoneGnome service without the PhoneGnome add-on device (no hardware). This added the other two configuration options shown on the chart. This expanded the addressable market, but made describing PhoneGnome even more complicated.

From the chart below, it’s no wonder that it’s difficult to boil PhoneGnome down to a single simple sentence – and that’s a recipe for disaster in terms of marketing.

So what would you do? Let us know in the comments below.

Comprehensive service and support

• Extends email technical support from 90 days to up to three years from original purchase date
• Extends hardware repair coverage to up to three years from original purchase date.

Quality and convenience

• Expert PhoneGnome personal technical support through email.
• Repairs performed by PhoneGnome-authorized technicians using genuine PhoneGnome parts.
• Service plans are renewable if submitted 30 days prior to the original plan’s expiration.
• Service plans plans are 100% transferable.
• No deductables – we are committed to cover 100% parts and labor costs on any authorized claim.

Available Plans

Plans purchased within 30-days of original sales receipt
Coverage Term	Cost	Buy
One year – 12 months	$20.00
Three years – 36 months	$40.00
Plans purchased more than 30-days after date of original sales receipt
Coverage Term	Cost	Buy
One year – 12 months	$55.00
Three years – 36 months	$75.00

Learn More About PhoneGnome Protection Plans

If you want to call a Skype user named echo123 you simply call SIP address sip:echo123@opensky.gizmo5.com

Enter the opensky.gizmo5.com SIP address, formatted as above, into the “Quick Call” field on your My PhoneGnome home page, and click ‘Call’. You can also enter the address into a contact in your PhoneGnome Phone Book and dial directly from your PhoneGnome connected handset (for box users) with a speed-dial code.

With the free service, calls are limited to 3-5 minutes.

Here’s how:

1. Create a PhoneGnome account for your iPhone number. It’s free. Get a free account here.
2. Sign in to your account at http://my.phonegnome.com and activate the integrated voovox service – start with as little as $5. Go to the Features page and click Low Cost Internet Calling or click this shortcut on your My PhoneGnome home page:
   
3. Open Safari on your iPhone and visit m.phonegnome.com.
4. Sign in with your iPhone number and PIN. Bookmark this page, or save it to your iPhone Home Screen to get back here in one click in the future.
5. Click the Send SMS link

   

6. Enter the phone number (full inernational number) and type the message you wish to send.
7. When the recipient gets the message they will see it as a normal SMS from you to which they can reply normally. Their replies will arrive at your iPhone the normal way.

Calls can be directed to any person, in any location, anywhere in the world. Unlike some other business-grade phone systems, there are no setup fees, no hardware or software to buy. Best of all, there is nothing to maintain.

As low as $14.99 per month!

Learn more.

There is a gap in the market for small/medium business (SMB) communication. Consumer services lack automated receptionists and other features that true business users need. Enterprise offerings are expensive and require IT staff support to setup and maintain. These higher end solutions may be appropriate for large companies that have over 100 employees but fall short in delivering the services and features to companies with 5 to 100 employees.

Getting Started with “PhoneGnome for Business!”

Handling calls and minimizing costs are benefits to more effectively managing how your business communicates. As a SMB owner or office manager, you’ll sign up for the service and get a toll free or local number with extensions. Through a very simple to use web page, you’re able to administer all aspects of the service. This includes management of caller greetings, what extension goes where, and what happens when someone dials an extension, no matter where in the world or how virtual your organization is.

Unlike consumer oriented solutions, “PhoneGnome for Business” is geared towards doing business, making sure you never miss an important call or voicemail, while projecting a professional image. There’s no expensive equipment to buy and additional staff to hire.

You customize PhoneGnome to your business. You can save even more by adding the self-contained plug-and-play PhoneGnome box to enjoy unlimited free inbound minutes, unlimited inter-office transfers, unlimited free 3-way conferences, and more.

Give your business a “big business” professional image with “PhoneGnome For Business”.

Plans and Pricing.

The new version is 99.4% smaller and should load over 100 times faster!

To use your iPhone to make International calls at cheap PhoneGnome rates (or even free), or to place calls to VOIP and IM users, and more, simply navigate with your iPhone Safari browser to: m.phonegnome.com

Enjoy!

Once you’ve decided to keep landline service for whatever reason, the PhoneGnome box is a terrific way to make that old landline useful and keep the cost down.

1. Enjoy all those calling features without high telephone company costs – Get the absolute cheapest landline service, and still have Three-way Calling, Call Forwarding, Call Transfer, Speed Dial, Telemarketer Screen, Do Not Disturb, and more, free with no monthly fees.
2. VoIP for long-distance – Use VoIP for long-distance calls seamlessly and automatically. Lowest possible rates – as low as free for many calls. Nothing to learn. Save on all calls made in the household. No computer needed and no software to install. No special phone or training of the household required – they won’t even know it’s VoIP.
3. Internet features – Make your phone work with your email, web, etc. Free voicemail to email. Web phone book with click-to-dial. On-line call logs. Record phone calls to WAV files. Web APIs and widgets. Make calls from your iGoogle page. And much more.
4. Mobile integration – Sling your home POTS phone jack to your mobile phone. Make local POTS calls using your mobile phone from anywhere. No special phone required. Just use m.phonegnome.com on your cell phone – free.
5. Get your geek on – Despite being easy to use, PhoneGnome still has a lot to offer power-users too. SIP credentials for use with any softphone, ATA, Asterisk etc.. Give your home phone a Public SIP address for interop with SIPphone, Gizmoproject, Free World Dialup, Asterisk, Trixbox, PBX integration etc. Free calls to Gtalk, MSN, and Yahoo! IM users. ENUM and SIPbroker support, and more.

You’re paying for that landline, you might as well be getting something out of it besides 911 and power-outage fail over. The $99 PhoneGnome box lets you get the benefits of VoIP without giving up the reliability of a POTS landline – and lower the amount you spend on that landline to the bare minimum at the same time.

PhoneGnome provides an easy way to use your AOL/AIM account for long-distance and international calls placed from your PhoneGnome-enabled home or office phone, seamlessly. You don’t need a computer to place calls, nor do you need to change anything about how you use the phone – you just pick up and dial a number, the same as you always have, and if PhoneGnome can’t place the call for free, it will use your AIM Call Out account. It couldn’t be easier!

To activate your AIM Call Out account on PhoneGnome, simply go to your My PhoneGnome account page and add a new ITSP under Features / Low Cost Internet Calling / Edit / [Add Internet Calling Service] / Manual SIP Settings and on that page use settings as shown below:

That’s all you need to do to use your AIM Call Out service for all your long-distance and international calls, directly on your existing home or office phone – no computer, software, or separate “bat phone” needed.

To send SMS, click the SMS tab and type the recipient’s number in the proper field. The recipient doesn’t need to be a PhoneGnome user.

You can also send SMS by clicking the SMS action icon shown under actions for the contact on your contacts page. The SMS action icon is shown for any contact that is designated as a Mobile number.

In order to send SMS you need to have a PhoneGnome account and enough Calling Credit.

Check out PhoneGnome SMS rates to all destinations.