Oct/Nov 2007

As the world of mobile phone charging becomes ever more complex, the prospect of free mobile calls is bound to appeal. That's what the new generation of IP-based phone operators are now offering. Basically you make calls over the Internet, rather than through normal mobile phone voice channels, just as you might with an IP phone service such as Skype.

They're not entirely free, of course, since you need a normal mobile phone network operator to as the carrier, and you also need a data contract, which usually means GPRS. For instance EQO (you pronounce it 'echo') says its new Symbian-based IP phone service uses 2 to 4 megabytes of data a month, depending on level of usage.

However, the EQO software (downloadable) is free, and enables you to import your existing address book.

EQO calls aren't actually free, but the company says Symbian smartphone users can save up to 95 per cent on international calls to landlines and mobile phones, and up to 70 per cent on international text messages. Calls and texts exchanged between EQO users are really are free.