Internet

Jajah VoIP - Skype killer on the loose in China

jajah_logo.gif
Last week saw the launch of Jajah.com, a new service that is set to revolutionize the way people use the Internet to make phone calls. The VoIP industry has been heating up for a good while, climaxing with eBay’s purchase of Skype at the end of 2005. Skype’s software enables people to make PC to PC calls for free, and make PC to mobile/landline calls for competitive rates.

eBay paid billions of dollars to gain access to Skype’s technology and user base ( more than 250 million downloads to date). However, this is only the beginning. eBay makes money from facilitating trade. eBay users pay commission for sales they make through the site, sales leads, and for promoting their services on the web site. In the (near) future, a buyer could call a seller directly from eBay’s web site, using Skype’s technology. Imagine the increase in transactions this may bring.

This is also the imperative behind Google’s GoogleTalk. Advertisers that pay for every visitor Google sends to their web site will be happy to pay even more for every client that rings them directly. Instead of the traditional model of paying per click or per sale, web sites will be able to charge advertisers for direct calls they receive from clients. PPC ( pay per click ) is dead, long live PPC ( pay per call ). Well, maybe one day.

Despite Skype’s popularity, VoIP is yet to become a mass product. Skype and similar services’ growth is hindered by several factors:

1. They require users to download and install a software on their computer;
2. They require a functioning microphone and headset/speakers;
3. The voice and service quality varies in accord with the user’s internet connection;
4. Users still differentiate between “internet calls” and normal calls, and tend to use Skype for leisure and long distance calls, while sticking to a “real” phone for business calls.

Jajah.com offers quality VoIP service at low rates with a "twist" that enables it to overcome the aforementioned hindrances. The process is simple: A user visits Jajah’s web site, enters the number he wishes to call and his own mobile or landline number. Jajah then connects the two. Hence, the web is used to initialize the call, but the actual talking takes place on a normal phone. This eliminates the need for additional software or hardware and the dependence on the user’s bandwidth. The only bandwidth necessary is to send two phone numbers through an online form. In fact, a user does not even need a computer to make a call. Mobile internet users can visit Jajah.com and make calls from their mobile to other mobiles or landlines for low rates.

The service is already available in China, and a full Chinese version of the Jajah web site is expected in the near future. Jajah is backed by technology heavyweights and it would not be surprising if its service will soon be integrated with one or two other Internet giants. Stay tuned for further developments.

Check out Jajah.com for more info and a test run.

There are currently 1 Comments for Jajah VoIP - Skype killer on the loose in China.

Comments on Jajah VoIP - Skype killer on the loose in China

Interesting read.

Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
090609guardian2.png 090609CNN3.png
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
laomo2008fpA.jpg
Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
AXL091030storiesforthcoming.jpg
Princess Der Ling: Two Years in the Forbidden City: Two years in the Forbidden City is largely a reminiscence of the minutiae of life for one of history's most powerful women, by one of her court attendants, a Manchu noble's daughter by the name of Der Ling.
Carl Crow's The Long Road Back to China: In 1939 Carl Crow - an American journalist, advertising executive and author who had lived in Shanghai for 25 years until forced out by the Japanese - travelled up the Burma Road from Rangoon to Chongqing on assignment for Liberty magazine - 'the most interesting assignment I have ever been given'.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ The top Chinese books in 2007 (2008.02): China Reading Journal (中华读书报), Yazhou Zhoukan (亚洲周刊), and City Pictorial (城市画报) choose mainland China's top books for 2007.
+ Men behind the Nanny (2005.04): The Publicity Department (formerly known as the Propaganda Department) has held a "forum" in Beijing to promote what it calls "news editorial staff management regulations (in testing phase)". These regulations appear to be same the set of rules earlier reported on Danwei of which the stated intent is to clear up corrupt journalistic practices.
+ Asimov Published, Interviewed in Beijing (2005.03): Cover story from this week's Book Review section of The Beijing News announces the publication of a Chinese translation of Isaac Asimov's complete Foundation series. Yup, the Beijing News has scored a fictional interview with "I, Asimov". They've been taking similar liberties recently in their entertainment sections, captioning photographs of celebrities with made-up quotes.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky rsschiclet2.png (on the mainland)
or Feedburner rsschiclet.gif (blocked in China)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Top Links: Links from the top bar
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Jobs: Want ads
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30