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VOIPoTim
06-22-2012, 06:54 PM
Exciting things are happening at VOIPo.

The new vPanel is FINALLY done and is being tested now. Here's a preview of what's coming in July.

1) New vPanel - Redesigned control panel based on 2 years of your work and your feedback. Less clunky, better navigation and easier to find what you're looking for.

2) SMS Text Messaging - Send and receive text messages on your VOIPo phone number.

3) Lower International Rates - New international rates with significant reductions to most destinations.

4) Portable International Calling - Access your VOIPo account from virtually any phone (including cell phones) to make international calls with our low international rates from that external phone.

5) New Small Business Options - New options for small businesses including easy to add rollover options that support up to 8 rollover/hunting lines on a single phone number.

6) Less Restrictive BYOD Options - Less restrictive BYOD options to allow you to use other IP phones, SIP software, and mobile SIP clients for international calling.

7) Outbound Caller ID Name - We're happy to announce that we've finally reached an agreement with our core carrier partners to begin offering Outbound Caller ID Name for nearly all numbers. The new vPanel has a section for submitting requests to add/update the name associated with a number in your account.

We have a lot planned. After a lot of debate, we recently decided to shift our focus and we'll soon be moving away from the heavily discounted prepaid promotions and renewal offers. We'll be moving away from the heavy prepaid discounts shifting toward monthly plans so that we can focus on providing the highest quality service with the best features and support rather than simply trying to provide cheap phone service. We'd love to keep providing huge discounts, but we'd rather just focus on providing great service instead and have the margins to innovate.



https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/456999_10150896861143173_2004830904_o.jpg

holmes4
06-22-2012, 07:04 PM
Interesting. Will there be an email gateway and will all the companies that ask for a mobile number for text messages accept a VOIPo number? (They don't with Google Voice's SMS, for example.) I'm just trying to figure out who would use this.

VOIPoTim
06-22-2012, 07:05 PM
Interesting. Will there be an email gateway and will all the companies that ask for a mobile number for text messages accept a VOIPo number? (They don't with Google Voice's SMS, for example.) I'm just trying to figure out who would use this.

It's real SMS. So you've be able to text your VOIPo number from any cell phone. The messages would show up in your vPanel and you could also reply from there. The e-mail destination field is just to forward a copy of the message to to alert you so you don't need to keep checking the panel. Alternatively it could also be forwarded back out via SMS to another number such as a cell phone. The view posted is a "conversational" view which basically shows all the messages to/from a specific external number kind of in the same format as an instant message.

An example where this is very useful would be someone who ports a cell phone number to VOIPo (they could still receive text messages on it).

Tumultus
06-23-2012, 12:50 AM
Sounds cool! I am especially looking forward to the redesigned CP, the old one was sort of "unfinished". It sure worked but, well, "better and improved" is better! :)

I would love an addition to the SMS feature though: the ability to respond to an SMS via my VOIPO registered email. For example, if I get an SMS forwarded via email, I would love to be able to simply reply to it and it then gets sent out to the recipient without me having to go into my VOIPO CP and send it from there. Well, maybe something for a future improvement. :)

Russell
06-23-2012, 05:11 AM
It's real SMS. So you've be able to text your VOIPo number from any cell phone. The messages would show up in your vPanel and you could also reply from there. The e-mail destination field is just to forward a copy of the message to to alert you so you don't need to keep checking the panel. Alternatively it could also be forwarded back out via SMS to another number such as a cell phone. The view posted is a "conversational" view which basically shows all the messages to/from a specific external number kind of in the same format as an instant message.

An example where this is very useful would be someone who ports a cell phone number to VOIPo (they could still receive text messages on it).

These are really exciting new features. I'm looking forward to them!

Tim, if it doesn't cost VOIPo more, please see if you can integrate into the various gateways. I've got a Telna Mobile cell phone number. I can send and receive texts fine to other cells, but for some reason it does not participate in various gateways or short codes. e.g. you can't receive Facebook or Twitter notifications. Or, use it for my bank or investment accounts' SMS notification. So, if VOIPo's SMS does not have these limitations it would be awesome.

holmes4
06-23-2012, 06:59 AM
Russel's concerns are what I was trying to get at. Being able to exchange SMS with cellphones is great, but there are many services that send text messages that just don' work with non-cellphone SMS (and apparently some cellular carriers.) You don't get any errors when you enter a number for these services, you just don't get the message. If all you use SMS for is texting friends, then great. But for most purposes, I find I need to use my "real" cellphone number or I won't get the message.

VOIPoTim
06-23-2012, 08:40 AM
Russell and holmes4, I'm not really sure. Our SMS solution is using Syniverse which is the major SMS partner out there. If you guys want, you can try sending a test message to my test account number 3047096900 (it'll just go to me so it's safe) and I can let you know if I receive it.

We've tested with all the major cell carriers, but there may be some smaller ones that don't support it.

Russell
06-23-2012, 08:51 AM
Tim, I've no doubt if I send you an SMS from a cell it'll come through. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, see if you can switch your cell number for those accounts to your test number. That was one of the use cases my telna cell number can't handle and one I was hoping your provider would.

VOIPoTim
06-23-2012, 09:04 AM
Tim, I've no doubt if I send you an SMS from a cell it'll come through. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, see if you can switch your cell number for those accounts to your test number. That was one of the use cases my telna cell number can't handle and one I was hoping your provider would.

So it's mainly receiving messages you're thinking may be issue? If so I could try messaging you from it?

Or is it isolated only to shortcodes (which are an entirely more complex beast...we know this all too well because we have a VOIPo shortcode now to launch a short code/SMS marketing service for our business customers later this year). Shartcodes are a lot more complex because each individual cell carrier has to approve a shortcode on their network. For our shortcode as an example we essentially had to submit different applications to each carrier and they all approved based on their own timelines/criteria, so we had Verizon approval before Sprint approval, etc. Shortcodes are very convoluted and if someone doesn't have their shortcode setup with a particular carrier it won't work.

Russell
06-23-2012, 09:42 AM
Yes, I suspect most of my issues were short codes related - it's been a couple of months since I got the telna account so my memory is a little fuzzy. All I know is when I got it I thought I'd use it for all kinds of things and it was a disaster. I believe when I tried it with my bank and investment company one said they'd send me an SMS, which I never did receive. The other wanted to use a short code which telna could not handle. With telna, I didn't have an issue sending to individual cell phones or receiving from them. As always, I'll be happy to beta test this.

VOIPoTim
06-23-2012, 10:10 AM
Yes, I suspect most of my issues were short codes related - it's been a couple of months since I got the telna account so my memory is a little fuzzy. All I know is when I got it I thought I'd use it for all kinds of things and it was a disaster. I believe when I tried it with my bank and investment company one said they'd send me an SMS, which I never did receive. The other wanted to use a short code which telna could not handle. With telna, I didn't have an issue sending to individual cell phones or receiving from them. As always, I'll be happy to beta test this.

PM or e-mail me your number and I can send you a test message through it if you want.

Also I got your e-mail about BETA testing. We'll be opening it up for public testing in the next 1-2 weeks.

sama123
06-23-2012, 10:20 AM
Great,I am looking forward and excited about testing these new features

Brian
06-23-2012, 10:25 AM
This is awesome news! One question - Portable International Calling - Access your VOIPo account from virtually any phone (including cell phones) to make international calls with our low international rates from that external phone. - Can you give us any details on how this will work?

holmes4
06-23-2012, 10:49 AM
For me it isn't shortcodes - it's signing up for services such as flight notifications or Twitter, or Amazon shipment tracking, etc. Sometimes the sites will have a pulldown list of carriers, but many other times they just ask for the number. I know that if I put in a Google Voice number, I never get the message from these services.

VOIPoTim
06-23-2012, 10:50 AM
For me it isn't shortcodes - it's signing up for services such as flight notifications or Twitter, or Amazon shipment tracking, etc. Sometimes the sites will have a pulldown list of carriers, but many other times they just ask for the number. I know that if I put in a Google Voice number, I never get the message from these services.

Most likely they would be using shortcodes to send the notifications. This is kind of simplistic explanation but the reason I said that is that carriers are pretty restrictive in that SMS on regular phone numbers is to be used only for "person to person" communication and any kind of automated notifications have to be routed through a shortcode gateway which are more heavily controlled. This is basically to prevent SPAM/abuse as all the shortcodes have a clearcut opt out process to stop receiving messages (replying with STOP). So anything not send by a human is supposed to either use a shortcode gateway or e-mail gateway.

RingyDingyDave
06-23-2012, 11:21 AM
I'm not so excited about the addition of these "exciting" new features--features I do not need--and the inevitable increase in rates. What is wrong with "simply trying to provide cheap phone service?" That is exactly what I want, and what initially attracted me to Voipo.

Russell
06-23-2012, 11:22 AM
For me it isn't shortcodes - it's signing up for services such as flight notifications or Twitter, or Amazon shipment tracking, etc. Sometimes the sites will have a pulldown list of carriers, but many other times they just ask for the number. I know that if I put in a Google Voice number, I never get the message from these services.

Now that you mention it, yes, my telna number did not work with one of the airline notification systems either.

Russell
06-23-2012, 11:29 AM
PM or e-mail me your number and I can send you a test message through it if you want.

Also I got your e-mail about BETA testing. We'll be opening it up for public testing in the next 1-2 weeks.

Great to hear about the beta testing! I'll be sure to sign up. The reason I've yet to send you my number is I've no doubt that cell to cell SMS will work with your system (as shown by the graphic in your first post). It's all those other non-cell-to-cell SMS applications that I was wondering about.

Russell
06-23-2012, 11:31 AM
I'm not so excited about the addition of these "exciting" new features--features I do not need--and the inevitable increase in rates. What is wrong with "simply trying to provide cheap phone service?" That is exactly what I want, and what initially attracted me to Voipo.

Good point. I and most of my referrals (not that I have that many) were attracted by the "cheap phone service".

mikeb
06-23-2012, 11:33 AM
Hi,

I'm really looking forward to the new vPanel. Thank you!

Will the texting service include an SMS gateway that will allow us to send an email to our Voipo number (4445551212@voipo.com) that is forwarded as a text message to the Voipo SMS?

VOIPoTim
06-23-2012, 12:12 PM
Hi,

I'm really looking forward to the new vPanel. Thank you!

Will the texting service include an SMS gateway that will allow us to send an email to our Voipo number (4445551212@voipo.com) that is forwarded as a text message to the Voipo SMS?

Right now the sending is all web-based, but we're looking into an e-mail gateway. One thing that complicates it is that that would make it easier for people to try to use it for automated/commercial messages and the wireless industry is super strict about SMS on regular numbers only being person to person with 0 tolerance for automated stuff, so we'd have to built in some kind of protection to prevent that.

For incoming messages, they will show in the control panel and can also be either forwarded to an e-mail or on to another number as an SMS (such as forwarding messages sent to the VOIPo number on to a cell phone).

MarkTomlinson
06-23-2012, 09:14 PM
I'm not so excited about the addition of these "exciting" new features--features I do not need--and the inevitable increase in rates. What is wrong with "simply trying to provide cheap phone service?" That is exactly what I want, and what initially attracted me to Voipo.Personally, I'm not too concerned about a slight increase in rates. Mostly because I've taken advantage of the special and I'm good for another couple of years at least. But also because compared to my previous VoIP provider (Comcast/Xfinity), VOIPo's rates are ridiculously low and the features are already better. So as long as VOIPo doesn't jack the rates up too much, I'll probably still be a happy camper.

chevyman
06-24-2012, 01:16 PM
Tim

what about resellers? Anything new for them.

VOIPoTim
06-24-2012, 01:19 PM
Tim

what about resellers? Anything new for them.

Yes, we do have some things in the works for resellers but we're not ready to announce them yet.

VOIPoTim
06-24-2012, 02:57 PM
This is awesome news! One question - Portable International Calling - Access your VOIPo account from virtually any phone (including cell phones) to make international calls with our low international rates from that external phone. - Can you give us any details on how this will work?

I was just looking back through this thread and it looks like I missed this question. Sorry!

We looked at a few possibilities and ultimately decided to use a "calling card" approach where you dial an access number and authenticate. You'll also be able to "register" certain numbers to speed this up when calling from one of them so you only enter a PIN number rather than having to enter your full VOIPo number.

The main reason for this approach is that it encompasses all phone types. We looked at things like smartphone apps for this like many competitors use, but that turns into a situation where it's only useful for a segment of our users (ones that have the type of phone the app is for) and complicates it. An access number/calling card approach opens it up to everyone and should be super simple for someone to just program into their cell as a contact, enter their PIN and dial.

We have a lot more coming than what was announced though. As an example, this access number also allows you to use VOIPo * codes to control your account remotely from another phone. So you could in theory call it and change your failover number.

Besides international calling, here's a list of the supported functions when dialing in:

*21 - Disable Call Forwarding
*22 - Enable DND Busy
*23 - Enable DND Voicemail
*24 - Disable DND
*25 - Set Failover Destination (PSTN forward - phone number only)
*26 - Set Failover Destination (voicemail)
*67 - Prompts for phone number to call ( Anonymously )
*30 - Enable Block Caller-ID (permanently)
*31 - Disable Block Caller-ID (permanently)
*68 - Prompts for phone number to call ( Removes Anonymity)
*82 - Prompts for phone number to call ( Removes Anonymity)

chevyman
06-24-2012, 07:02 PM
I was just looking back through this thread and it looks like I missed this question. Sorry!

We looked at a few possibilities and ultimately decided to use a "calling card" approach where you dial an access number and authenticate. You'll also be able to "register" certain numbers to speed this up when calling from one of them so you only enter a PIN number rather than having to enter your full VOIPo number.

The main reason for this approach is that it encompasses all phone types. We looked at things like smartphone apps for this like many competitors use, but that turns into a situation where it's only useful for a segment of our users (ones that have the type of phone the app is for) and complicates it. An access number/calling card approach opens it up to everyone and should be super simple for someone to just program into their cell as a contact, enter their PIN and dial.

We have a lot more coming than what was announced though. As an example, this access number also allows you to use VOIPo * codes to control your account remotely from another phone. So you could in theory call it and change your failover number.

Besides international calling, here's a list of the supported functions when dialing in:

*68 - Prompts for phone number to call ( Removes Anonymity)
*82 - Prompts for phone number to call ( Removes Anonymity)


I'm glad to see that you are fixing the *82 problem with not have to use *68 instead. Now if only i could get my android phone to quit deleting the * from my contacts every time i back them up. :)

New question-- with everyone dropping there pots for cell and voip service, the need to fax is needed, i know you can use your cpanel to do that but is there any plan to do like efax does, and let you send a fax by email like 1xxx5551212@voipwelcome.com(fax-number@voipwelcome.com) but they require that the email is sent from the fax email account, to keep anyone from sending faxes. thanks

ymhee_bcex
06-25-2012, 05:08 PM
For me it isn't shortcodes - it's signing up for services such as flight notifications or Twitter, or Amazon shipment tracking, etc. Sometimes the sites will have a pulldown list of carriers, but many other times they just ask for the number. I know that if I put in a Google Voice number, I never get the message from these services.

So, does SMS'ing from GV number to Tim's number work? And what about SMS'ing from Tim to GV? Making these two connections will probably cover most non-short-code situations...

Russell
06-25-2012, 07:05 PM
So, does SMS'ing from GV number to Tim's number work? And what about SMS'ing from Tim to GV? Making these two connections will probably cover most non-short-code situations...

Since I have a Google Voice number and Tim's number is shown ... I can confirm that SMSing from GV to VOIPo and back works and is very very fast.

davefred99
06-27-2012, 05:07 PM
I'm not so excited about the addition of these "exciting" new features--features I do not need--and the inevitable increase in rates. What is wrong with "simply trying to provide cheap phone service?" That is exactly what I want, and what initially attracted me to Voipo.

Don't get me wrong I think Voipo is a good value but I came to Voipo from another company that just kept increasing there rates to a point I said enough. I am a light user and do not use a lot of minutes per month but liked the fact that Voipo gave me basically unlimited use for a very reasonable fixed price. If in the future the annual prepaid rates are going to be going up I will not likely renew as there are lots of other good Voip providers out there that will be cheaper for my usage patterns. Unless Voipo offers some alternate lower price plans for light users I think this is going to be a negative move. Sorry I vote with my pocket book and in these times every nickle matters.

buzzvoip
06-27-2012, 08:04 PM
Will the SMS / New panel be available to resellers to or just clients of VOIPO only.

djd
06-27-2012, 11:38 PM
Personally, I'm not too concerned about a slight increase in rates. Mostly because I've taken advantage of the special and I'm good for another couple of years at least. But also because compared to my previous VoIP provider (Comcast/Xfinity), VOIPo's rates are ridiculously low and the features are already better. So as long as VOIPo doesn't jack the rates up too much, I'll probably still be a happy camper.


I agree. I've always thought VOIPo rates were too low and the service suffered as a result. I have been teetering on the edge of leaving for awhile now because I have been plagued by problems calling and receiving calls from other VOIP systems, such as Star2Star, Cisco, etc. I get one fixed and then another will not work. Also incoming call routing has been spotty and have to reset the adapter frequently. At 1/4 the price (or less) than other vendors, the savings have been worth the occasional hassles, but I would have always been willing to pay a few more dollars per month for better performance and reliability.

PLEASE keep the included 2nd line and the ability to assign a second number to that line for $2/mo (or thereabouts). That's probably the most valuable feature - having the 2nd line be on the same plan/minutes as the first line.

VOIPoTim
06-28-2012, 03:15 AM
Will the SMS / New panel be available to resellers to or just clients of VOIPO only.

Initially it's just our core panel, but we plan to roll out the new panel and SMS feature to resellers eventually as well.

Imbred
06-30-2012, 01:24 PM
Is the promotion still valid. I want to renew my service before the monthly billing occurs. Thanks =)

VOIPoTim
06-30-2012, 02:00 PM
Is the promotion still valid. I want to renew my service before the monthly billing occurs. Thanks =)

This particular promotion ended. You can always contact billing@voipo.com asking about early renewal options and they will be able to tell you your options. Sometimes there are unadvertised account specific promos based on the account and its history, usage, etc.

davefred99
07-03-2012, 12:17 AM
Tim, I have a few questions?
Do you have a timeline for when the new website will go live?
Do you have plans to offer any plans for less than the unlimited rates?
How will the new BYOD plans work ? Will they support multiple Channels. In other words will we be able to use our on device without requiring your device be activated first. the way it is now it seems we can only use multiple channels if we yous the Voipo supplied ATA + on softhpone. I would like to use something like the new Obiahi 202 device that allows for up to 4 sip accounts and has 2 phone line ports. If I were to use 2 of them I could theoretically have 8 separate sip accounts or Channels and 4 phone lines.

I have to be honest I am not crazy about a one size fits all monthly plan because most months I do not use that many minutes and a Pay as you go model would work out better than your current $18 per monthly rate. What has made Voipo appealing to me in the past is the Annual or 2 yr prepaid discount rates. I realize you have to make a profit but in this day and age you have to stay competitive and offer good service to keep your customers from moving to a competitor. I have mostly been a happy customer to date but lately have had more than my share of missed calls where the caller called me but could not hear me so they hung up. I hope this is just a minor problem and will get better with more investment into better equipment and tech support.

VOIPPRO
07-03-2012, 05:50 PM
Hi...

Can't wait to get portable international calling. When are new features getting released?

VOIPoTim
07-05-2012, 02:02 PM
Hi...

Can't wait to get portable international calling. When are new features getting released?

All the stuff we mentioned for July will be coming out this month.

VOIPoTim
07-05-2012, 02:05 PM
Tim, I have a few questions?
Do you have a timeline for when the new website will go live?
Do you have plans to offer any plans for less than the unlimited rates?
How will the new BYOD plans work ? Will they support multiple Channels. In other words will we be able to use our on device without requiring your device be activated first. the way it is now it seems we can only use multiple channels if we yous the Voipo supplied ATA + on softhpone. I would like to use something like the new Obiahi 202 device that allows for up to 4 sip accounts and has 2 phone line ports. If I were to use 2 of them I could theoretically have 8 separate sip accounts or Channels and 4 phone lines.

I have to be honest I am not crazy about a one size fits all monthly plan because most months I do not use that many minutes and a Pay as you go model would work out better than your current $18 per monthly rate. What has made Voipo appealing to me in the past is the Annual or 2 yr prepaid discount rates. I realize you have to make a profit but in this day and age you have to stay competitive and offer good service to keep your customers from moving to a competitor. I have mostly been a happy customer to date but lately have had more than my share of missed calls where the caller called me but could not hear me so they hung up. I hope this is just a minor problem and will get better with more investment into better equipment and tech support.

Our unlimited/flat rate plans will remain an important part of our offering. Those aren't going away. Due to those being unlimited, we can't offer multiple channel stuff on that since they're really designed for a single line and the usage a single line produces.

In the future though we do have plans to launch a separate service that is "pay per minute" and is 100% BYOD focused. We actually already have this "done" and just need to test it more, but it's an entirely different model than what we offer now. It won't replace the current only...it'll just be an alternative for those users that need more flexibility, more channels, etc. Basically for most home and small business users, the unlimited plans are perfect, but this offering will be intended to supplement it for those that don't fit into the average usage box.

VOIPPRO
07-07-2012, 08:28 PM
Hi Tim,

One of the feature I am expecting to see in new release is with regards to billing.

Currently, as an international calling customer, there is no easy way to view month to date number of minutes used on international calls. I have to manually calculate every month to make sure i am inside 1200 min limit.

Hopefully, this simple feature gets added in the new release and help us all.

zraken
07-11-2012, 05:56 AM
Hi Tim,

One of the feature I am expecting to see in new release is with regards to billing.

Currently, as an international calling customer, there is no easy way to view month to date number of minutes used on international calls. I have to manually calculate every month to make sure i am inside 1200 min limit.

Hopefully, this simple feature gets added in the new release and help us all.

Agreed. This is the most annoying thing for me, almost without fail in spite of trying to keep track of the minutes I keep going over 1200 minutes. Every time it turns out that I missed something about the start date of billing or start date of international cycle or some crazy stuff that I just can't figure out.
Did I mention this is very annoying :(

VOIPoTim
07-11-2012, 09:05 AM
We'll keep the feedback regarding that in mind and consider it for future releases.


Also as a general update, everything is still on track to be released into BETA for you guys sometime this month. Watch for updates. :)

VOIPoTim
07-15-2012, 02:39 PM
I've updated the original posting with an additional option we're going to be rolling out, but wanted to post in the thread again as well in case you guys don't notice the update.

Outbound Caller ID Name

We're happy to announce that we've finally reached an agreement with our core carrier partners to begin offering Outbound Caller ID Name for nearly all numbers. The new vPanel has a section for submitting requests to add/update the name associated with a number in your account.

Lisaweb
07-19-2012, 10:18 AM
Please, whatever you do,

1) Put a "Select All" checkbox on the Voicemail page so we can move or delete all the VM's at once, without having to take a 1/2 an hour to check each one individually. Drives me crazy....
2) Have an auto-delete feature, where once the VM is emailed to you, you can have the system delete it after 24 hours. (My other service has this feature, it really helps keep the mailbox from filling up.)

I can live without #2, but please, add feature #1. As a programmer myself, I know it would only take a couple of minutes to do. So please, pretty please with sugar on top? :-)

Thanks for listening!

Tumultus
07-19-2012, 10:28 AM
Please, whatever you do,

1) Put a "Select All" checkbox on the Voicemail page so we can move or delete all the VM's at once, without having to take a 1/2 an hour to check each one individually. Drives me crazy....
2) Have an auto-delete feature, where once the VM is emailed to you, you can have the system delete it after 24 hours. (My other service has this feature, it really helps keep the mailbox from filling up.)

I can live without #2, but please, add feature #1. As a programmer myself, I know it would only take a couple of minutes to do. So please, pretty please with sugar on top? :-)

Thanks for listening!

Scrap idea #2! If, in any case, an email doesn't make it through the junk filter or the attached audio file gets corrupted, you lost the voicemail message. Idea #1 is nice. :)

jfh
07-23-2012, 10:11 PM
Agree with Lisaweb #1 request.

VOIPoTim
07-24-2012, 01:07 AM
Please, whatever you do,

1) Put a "Select All" checkbox on the Voicemail page so we can move or delete all the VM's at once, without having to take a 1/2 an hour to check each one individually. Drives me crazy....


This was a pretty easy request for us to implement (and I agree needed) so we've added it. The new vPanel Voicemail now has a "Select All" feature.

VOIPoTim
07-24-2012, 01:10 AM
For those asking, yes, we will still be releasing the new vPanel to you guys this month. It's basically done now and we're working on killing any last minute bugs in it, tweaking some pages, and writing the documentation.

The new vPanel will be available in addition to the old panel for a while so you'll be able to use either (or both). They'll just be at different URLs but will use the same data. This way you'll have access to both the old and new while we work out any bugs we miss in the new one.'

We'll post here with the URL when it's ready for you guys (by end of month) and you'll also see a link in the current vPanel to try to new one at that point.

sweetfriend
07-24-2012, 10:56 PM
Liked them on facebook then sent a message and got a quick response.I signed up and should get my service started in about one week.Customer service goes the extra mile and I am well pleased so far.

ericd
07-26-2012, 10:35 AM
Tim, Is there any indication as to when this panel and sms will be available to resellers. I know you can only give a rough time line. I only have a few people through voipo, most of mine old accounts are with another company and i am not looking forward to transferring. But More options are need for the customers.

Thanks

VOIPoTim
07-26-2012, 12:57 PM
Tim, Is there any indication as to when this panel and sms will be available to resellers. I know you can only give a rough time line. I only have a few people through voipo, most of mine old accounts are with another company and i am not looking forward to transferring. But More options are need for the customers.

Thanks

No ETA on the reseller launch for it at this time. I think it really depends on how well the direct launch goes in terms of if we find more bugs, etc. We do plan to release it for resellers though.

dtrose
07-28-2012, 12:14 PM
You guys are pushing the whole "coming in July" timeframe! It's the 28th! Hopefully you are not waiting until July 31 at 11:59p Pacific. :confused:



"The new vPanel is FINALLY done and is being tested now. Here's a preview of what's coming in July......."

VOIPoTim
07-28-2012, 12:47 PM
You guys are pushing the whole "coming in July" timeframe! It's the 28th! Hopefully you are not waiting until July 31 at 11:59p Pacific. :confused:[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Helvetica]

It's still July until 11:59PM the 31st ;)

ericd
07-28-2012, 07:55 PM
Is there going to be a demo so that resellers can see how it looks and functions, since the red headed step children will not see it till next year lol. Just messing with you Tim

zraken
07-30-2012, 08:36 AM
It's still July until 11:59PM the 31st ;)

Tick tock tick tock :p

dtrose
07-30-2012, 08:39 AM
You should have said August..................Just Sayin

holmes4
07-30-2012, 12:02 PM
Don't you know that there are 35 days in July? :cool:

VOIPoTim
07-31-2012, 05:03 PM
Cross posting in this thread to make sure everyone sees:

We committed to opening the new panel up for everyone to see in July and we still have a few more hours left in July. It'll be open for testing before 11:59PM Pacific Time.

It will run side by side with the other one now. Users will just access it at a different URL and can use either/both. Then once it's out of BETA and all bugs are worked out, we'll eventually phase the old one out.

We'll post here on the forums tonight with the info to access it and also there will be a link in the header of the current panel to "try the new panel".

Here's a preview of the new panel that'll be available to use tonight...


http://i.imgur.com/9qDeo.png

VOIPoTim
07-31-2012, 05:43 PM
To access the BETA release of the new vPanel, you'll simply use your existing login info at the new panel URL. The initial release is only for residential and small business customers. In the future, we will migrate resellers and cloud/express customers to the new design as well.

Remember, this is a BETA release so there may still be bugs in it and it still will lack some polish. For the time being, both the old and new vPanels will be accessible so if there is a bug in the new one, simply report it and use the old one.

The new vPanel BETA will be accessible at 11:59PM Pacific Time tonight.

vPanel: https://secure.voipo.com

New vPanel BETA: https://beta.voipo.com

(https://beta.voipo.com)

holmes4
07-31-2012, 05:51 PM
I suppose that counts as "July" for those on the west coast. It will already be August for me by then. ;)

VOIPoTim
07-31-2012, 05:53 PM
I suppose that counts as "July" for those on the west coast. It will already be August for me by then. ;)

True, but we're in California so it's still July for our developers :)

redoneusa
07-31-2012, 07:28 PM
The new vpanel looks exciting. Thanks for the updates Tim.

zraken
08-01-2012, 05:38 AM
Do you have an ETA for the Dial-in access for making International calls ?
That was the bait I fell for when signing up for another 2 years >:(

VOIPPRO
08-01-2012, 09:10 AM
Same here..I am waiting for ability to call international from my mobile.

VOIPoTim
08-01-2012, 12:54 PM
Do you have an ETA for the Dial-in access for making International calls ?

This is a feature we expect to release in BETA in the very near future. Def not years. Info about it will be under the BETA - Remote Access link.

Tumultus
08-01-2012, 11:34 PM
To access the BETA release of the new vPanel, you'll simply use your existing login info at the new panel URL. The initial release is only for residential and small business customers. In the future, we will migrate resellers and cloud/express customers to the new design as well.

Remember, this is a BETA release so there may still be bugs in it and it still will lack some polish. For the time being, both the old and new vPanels will be accessible so if there is a bug in the new one, simply report it and use the old one.

The new vPanel BETA will be accessible at 11:59PM Pacific Time tonight.

vPanel: https://secure.voipo.com

New vPanel BETA: https://beta.voipo.com

(https://beta.voipo.com)
Just a tiny bug with the new vPanel but probably, the problem lays with the dual vPanel setup rather than anything else:

I created a new ticket in the new vPanel. After I was done writing everything down, I hit the SUBMIT button and, sadly, instead of posting my ticket, it redirected me to the login of the old vPanel. I suppose that the "submit" link / script / code points to a script in the folder of the old vPanel and therefore, it just throw me over to the login since I wasn't logged in at the old vPanel?

As a result, I lost my ticket post since, naturally, hitting the back button in online forms will give you a blank form once you hit the submit button.

VOIPoTim
08-01-2012, 11:41 PM
Just a tiny bug with the new vPanel but probably, the problem lays with the dual vPanel setup rather than anything else:

I created a new ticket in the new vPanel. After I was done writing everything down, I hit the SUBMIT button and, sadly, instead of posting my ticket, it redirected me to the login of the old vPanel. I suppose that the "submit" link / script / code points to a script in the folder of the old vPanel and therefore, it just throw me over to the login since I wasn't logged in at the old vPanel?

As a result, I lost my ticket post since, naturally, hitting the back button in online forms will give you a blank form once you hit the submit button.

Can you please submit this using the "Bug Report" link at the top of the panel. It'll send it right to our developers and also capture some additional info such as what browser version you are using and what exact pages you were on. It just makes it a lot easier for them to track down since they have some info to work with to reproduce.

ymhee_bcex
08-01-2012, 11:58 PM
This is a feature we expect to release in BETA in the very near future. Def not years. Info about it will be under the BETA - Remote Access link.
What about the ability to call international from BYOD devices? I am still getting "rejected - 403"

ymhee_bcex
08-02-2012, 12:17 AM
I was also hoping for "call forward if no answer". Cell phone users (and Voip users as well) got used to this feature in the last 10 years... I know about simul ring - but it's really not the same

zraken
08-02-2012, 06:01 AM
This is a feature we expect to release in BETA in the very near future. Def not years. Info about it will be under the BETA - Remote Access link.

Hmmm... if coming in July means July 31 at 11:59 pm I shudder to imagine when "very near future" might really be. Still can't believe I fell for that bait.
C'mon Tim, you can do better than a shady salesman. Please be honest and admit that this promised feature is not coming in 2012.

VOIPoTim
08-02-2012, 11:18 AM
Hmmm... if coming in July means July 31 at 11:59 pm I shudder to imagine when "very near future" might really be.

The new control panel is here.

We do have several new features coming in the very near future as well (such as the international one you're asking about.

chevyman
08-02-2012, 12:15 PM
Hey Tim

How about a demo login so us resellers can see what we are missing out on :)

VOIPoTim
08-02-2012, 07:21 PM
Hey Tim

How about a demo login so us resellers can see what we are missing out on :)

https://beta.voipo.com
User: 5618860661
Pass: demo

redoneusa
08-02-2012, 08:21 PM
Hmmm... if coming in July means July 31 at 11:59 pm I shudder to imagine when "very near future" might really be. Still can't believe I fell for that bait.
C'mon Tim, you can do better than a shady salesman. Please be honest and admit that this promised feature is not coming in 2012.
To be fair that's uncalled for.

Junior Barnes
08-02-2012, 09:55 PM
Can someone please explain how the rollover options will work?

VOIPoTim
08-02-2012, 10:16 PM
Can someone please explain how the rollover options will work?

We will announce new rollover options soon. It will be an addon to existing accounts that essentially allow you to add additional lines to the account. It's mainly intended for situations where multiple lines may be needed and all calls come into the same number. Similar to the "cloned line" concept that many of our plans include, but expandable to 8 lines instead of 2 (primary + the clone).

ymhee_bcex
08-02-2012, 11:22 PM
I for the life of me can't find how long my account is paid for...

ymhee_bcex
08-02-2012, 11:26 PM
Unfortunately, my Aunt Millie who wants to use speed dials the way she used it on her first touch-tone phone 30 years ago (you know - speed dial number / name / optional telephone number) still can't do it. I tried to explain that in the new VOIPo world speed dial is called "outgoing call routing", and she can add her brother Henry to "contacts", and then add a speed dial under outgoing call routing. It's only 10 clicks more, and instead of retyping Henry's phone number she can just cut-and-paste... but apparently she dozed off while I was explaining.

On the upside, I am glad to see that outgoing call routing still has "Blocked", "Busy signal" and "Disconnected". So those who want to be very granular in preventing their family members from using telephone are well taken care of!

VOIPoTim
08-02-2012, 11:37 PM
I for the life of me can't find how long my account is paid for...

Go to Account - Services. It should be listed in the "Next Renewal Date" column. If it's not or you need further help with it, just e-mail support@voipo.com and we can look it up for you.



Unfortunately, my Aunt Millie who wants to use speed dials the way she used it on her first touch-tone phone 30 years ago (you know - speed dial number / name / optional telephone number) still can't do it. I tried to explain that in the new VOIPo world speed dial is called "outgoing call routing", and she can add her brother Henry to "contacts", and then add a speed dial under outgoing call routing. It's only 10 clicks more, and instead of retyping Henry's phone number she can just cut-and-paste... but apparently she dozed off while I was explaining.

On the upside, I am glad to see that outgoing call routing still has "Blocked", "Busy signal" and "Disconnected". So those who want to be very granular in preventing their family members from using telephone are well taken care of!

We actually added a simplified "Speed Dial" page today which technically just creates call routes, but it's a simple page. All it asks for/shows is "Code" and "Destination".

zraken
08-03-2012, 08:02 AM
To be fair that's uncalled for.
I apologize if the language was rather crude, but I can't help feel let down by Tim when a concrete promise is now turning to be a vague hope of something happening in the "near future". Again, sorry if that came out bad.

VOIPoTim
08-03-2012, 11:43 AM
I apologize if the language was rather crude, but I can't help feel let down by Tim when a concrete promise is now turning to be a vague hope of something happening in the "near future". Again, sorry if that came out bad.

I understand that it can be frustrating when new features aren't released as quickly as we'd hoped for.

Unfortunately, sometimes we run into issues where it takes longer than planned. That's really just part of software development. It's not that we don't want to release things quickly...it's just that if we run into issues, we have to work through those issues and sometimes that takes time.

The new control panel has been a huge undertaking and we're very happy to have released it. We're hoping to add the other "coming soon" features soon.

ymhee_bcex
08-04-2012, 10:44 AM
We actually added a simplified "Speed Dial" page today which technically just creates call routes, but it's a simple page. All it asks for/shows is "Code" and "Destination".
It's a good start. It has everything that you guys need to implement the speed dial. Aunt Millie, however, thinks that without a Name field the page is peculiar (I would use a stronger word, but she is an old-fashioned lady). Does the page designer expect her to remember who these numbers belong to? Or the developers coded the page without any designer's guidance? Sure, Name is a useless field for them - so why put it!

RingyDingyDave
08-05-2012, 07:49 PM
Would it be possible to put the CallerID info beside the phone number in the Call History list? I know I can click on the number and see the CallerID info the the popup, but I think it would be handy to see it right on the main list.

VOIPoTim
08-05-2012, 11:29 PM
Would it be possible to put the CallerID info beside the phone number in the Call History list? I know I can click on the number and see the CallerID info the the popup, but I think it would be handy to see it right on the main list.

This is one of those things that in theory is simple, but in telecom nothing is :)

It might be possible to show a name stored in "Contacts" (I can pass this suggestion on to our developers), but it's a lot harder to show the Caller ID name that we lookup. The reason is that we pay per lookup and we're contractually not allowed to store the looked up name and must do a new lookup every single time we use the name so that would add up quick if showing it on all of them whereas we only pay for a lookup on ones clicked on the current way.

Now if we used the "Contacts" name which is a name you enter then we don't need to do a lookup and can obviously store stuff that you enter yourself.

Would the contact name be as useful?

RingyDingyDave
08-05-2012, 11:53 PM
This is one of those things that in theory is simple, but in telecom nothing is :)

It might be possible to show a name stored in "Contacts" (I can pass this suggestion on to our developers), but it's a lot harder to show the Caller ID name that we lookup. The reason is that we pay per lookup and we're contractually not allowed to store the looked up name and must do a new lookup every single time we use the name so that would add up quick if showing it on all of them whereas we only pay for a lookup on ones clicked on the current way.

Now if we used the "Contacts" name which is a name you enter then we don't need to do a lookup and can obviously store stuff that you enter yourself.

Would the contact name be as useful?

Sure, that would be better than nothing. But let me point out that CallerID info for each call is already buried in the Call History page-- it's there for the popup. Would you have to pay again to put the same data on the same page twice, once in a visible spot? (If so, I would suggest putting it in the visible spot, and removing it from the popup box.)

MarkTomlinson
08-06-2012, 09:40 PM
I've been hesitant to critique the new vPanel because it really is a lot better than the old one, and I can see a lot of work went into it. But it is beta, after all, so you are looking for feedback.

The first issue I've got is that all the "features" are buried under one menu item. That's a long list to hunt through when I want to check voice-mail or look at my call history. I would rather look through a short list of dad-to-day features, with the once, seldom, or never used features tucked under another menu. For instance, how often do you set your caller ID? Once, maybe? Why must I scroll past that on the way to finding my voice-mail?

The other issue I have is that I was hoping for sortable lists. I've mentioned it here before and was really hoping for it. This would be especially helpful with call routing, so I could click on a heading and get a sorted list of blocked numbers. Then I could look for patterns (a lot of spam calls from the same area code and exchange?) and set up one wildcard rule to block the entire range.

Thanks for the fine work you guys are doing.

MHedish
08-07-2012, 06:51 PM
I agree with MarkTonlinson regarding the sortable lists. Being able to sort contacts, call routes, etc. would be huge.

VOIPoTim
08-07-2012, 08:50 PM
I've been hesitant to critique the new vPanel because it really is a lot better than the old one, and I can see a lot of work went into it. But it is beta, after all, so you are looking for feedback.

The first issue I've got is that all the "features" are buried under one menu item. That's a long list to hunt through when I want to check voice-mail or look at my call history. I would rather look through a short list of dad-to-day features, with the once, seldom, or never used features tucked under another menu. For instance, how often do you set your caller ID? Once, maybe? Why must I scroll past that on the way to finding my voice-mail?

The other issue I have is that I was hoping for sortable lists. I've mentioned it here before and was really hoping for it. This would be especially helpful with call routing, so I could click on a heading and get a sorted list of blocked numbers. Then I could look for patterns (a lot of spam calls from the same area code and exchange?) and set up one wildcard rule to block the entire range.

Thanks for the fine work you guys are doing.

In terms of features all being lumped together...one of the biggest complaints we got before is that people couldn't find stuff or didn't like searching. So our thinking with the new one is that by having all the features in one single area alphabetized, it's very easy to find everything and nothing can get "lost" and there's no searching...it's all there in alphabetical order. I do see what you are saying though in that you may not use all of them. We've thought about adding a "Favorites" top level category where you could select any of the "Sub Nav Items" to have show in it. It would be user controllable and you could make a page with your own feature choices basically. This way everything is still in the comprehensive view, but your custom one could only have the ones you use. What do you think about that?

In terms of sortable lists, I agree that that is likely useful and I doubt it's hard to put in place so I'll add it to our list and we'll likely add it as we go through each page fixing formatting/styling.

VOIPoTim
08-07-2012, 08:51 PM
Also..does anyone have any ideas for the "Home Page" or do you guys like it blank?

We're likely just going through put up something explaining the navigation (4 cats + alphabetical), but we're open to good ideas for it.

MarkTomlinson
08-07-2012, 09:12 PM
Also..does anyone have any ideas for the "Home Page" or do you guys like it blank?

I think it would be good if we could configure the 'home page' to be any features page or blank. I, for one, would like the call history to come up when I log in, although I acknowledge others might want to see voice mail or some other.

Regarding your response ahead of this, having everything spread around different menus or piling it all in one place are opposite extremes. My thought was that you could create a 'Configuration' menu that includes things like setting caller ID, device volume control, 411, SIP address and so on. I'd shove the VPanel Preferences under there as well.

usa2k
08-08-2012, 03:54 AM
Maybe an info blurb of some sort. If you were confident enough, something like HostGator had done in news letters:

November 2011 Stats:

Domains Hosted: 7,154,339
Data Hosted: 1.21 PB
Emails Received: 644,193,021
Emails Sent: 503,183,391
Spam Stopped: 2,848,293,522

Tumultus
08-09-2012, 03:16 AM
Also..does anyone have any ideas for the "Home Page" or do you guys like it blank?

We're likely just going through put up something explaining the navigation (4 cats + alphabetical), but we're open to good ideas for it.
Well,
I would like to see some basic information there, a mixed informational page. For example displaying the last 5 made / received calls + the current billing amount + new voicemails + a "quick SMS" box where I can sent a short message instantly without having to go through the menu to the section - all nice aranged in sections (left and right) but then I could have stayed with Von*** and I would have had all of that. :)

At least a "Quick Access" section would be nice; ideally, it should be user configurable, so, users can put their own most used links there.

jfh
08-09-2012, 10:34 PM
I really dislike the home page being blank.

Last few calls, voicemail, quick SMS, next due date, E911, caller ID info would be nice.

inphoenix
08-10-2012, 03:35 PM
Also..does anyone have any ideas for the "Home Page" or do you guys like it blank?

We're likely just going through put up something explaining the navigation (4 cats + alphabetical), but we're open to good ideas for it.

You can add a list of last 5 ot 10 incoming/outgoing calls.

Also, it might be a good idea to tell the "1200 international minute package" customers that how many minutes have they used in this billing cycle. That is unless you want them to use more than allowance and bill for rest. :)

chevyman
08-12-2012, 04:58 PM
This is one of those things that in theory is simple, but in telecom nothing is :)

It might be possible to show a name stored in "Contacts" (I can pass this suggestion on to our developers), but it's a lot harder to show the Caller ID name that we lookup. The reason is that we pay per lookup and we're contractually not allowed to store the looked up name and must do a new lookup every single time we use the name so that would add up quick if showing it on all of them whereas we only pay for a lookup on ones clicked on the current way.

Now if we used the "Contacts" name which is a name you enter then we don't need to do a lookup and can obviously store stuff that you enter yourself.

Would the contact name be as useful?

my last voip company has a list of the last 10-20 calls with the callerID name, that isn't stored as when another call comes in another one drops off the list(like the callerID on your home phone), and on the list you can add any of those numbers to Speed dial, forward, contact list, block number, etc(with one click). Right now its is a PAIN to copy and paste a number to anything. I end up writing the number down and finding the function i want to add that number to. then i have to find where i was before to get another number to do it again. I think this type of list might not be considered storing otherwise the other voip companies would be hit with those lookup fees too.

will
08-12-2012, 10:09 PM
my last voip company has a list of the last 10-20 calls with the callerID name, that isn't stored as when another call comes in another one drops off the list(like the callerID on your home phone), and on the list you can add any of those numbers to Speed dial, forward, contact list, block number, etc(with one click). Right now its is a PAIN to copy and paste a number to anything. I end up writing the number down and finding the function i want to add that number to. then i have to find where i was before to get another number to do it again. I think this type of list might not be considered storing otherwise the other voip companies would be hit with those lookup fees too.
If you go to call history, you can click on the listed numbers to see the caller ID info and a drop-down menu to select routing options for future calls from and/or to each number. Just select your desired routing option and click the apply button.

RingyDingyDave
08-13-2012, 12:06 PM
If you go to call history, you can click on the listed numbers to see the caller ID info and a drop-down menu to select routing options for future calls from and/or to each number. Just select your desired routing option and click the apply button.

I still think it would be nice to have the CallerID data presented on the Call History page, right beside the phone number, just so I can easily see who called me. I don't necessarily want to establish routes for those calls. There would be no additional lookups required because the CallerID data is already present in the Call History page (do a View Source and you can see it). Does anyone else agree?

VOIPoTim
08-13-2012, 01:19 PM
I still think it would be nice to have the CallerID data presented on the Call History page, right beside the phone number, just so I can easily see who called me. I don't necessarily want to establish routes for those calls. There would be no additional lookups required because the CallerID data is already present in the Call History page (do a View Source and you can see it). Does anyone else agree?

We will keep your suggestion of adding the name to the main page in mind, but at this time we're not doing so since we'd need to do a double lookup to display it in 2 locations. Again, we'll keep it in mind for future consideration.

will
08-14-2012, 07:55 PM
(snip)
We have a lot planned. After a lot of debate, we recently decided to shift our focus and we'll soon be moving away from the heavily discounted prepaid promotions and renewal offers. We'll be moving away from the heavy prepaid discounts shifting toward monthly plans so that we can focus on providing the highest quality service with the best features and support rather than simply trying to provide cheap phone service. We'd love to keep providing huge discounts, but we'd rather just focus on providing great service instead and have the margins to innovate.(snip)

Consider my input on this issue a vote in favor of a grandfather clause for existing customers. From VOIPo's point of view, the whole point of having an annual billing cycle is to reduce overhead in the billing department, and the bulk discount for annual billing reflects that reduction in billing overhead. If VOIPo's desire to raise rates is based on the need for venture capital to "innovate" (whatever that means?), then it's only fair to put that burden on those of us who cost you more to do business with by forcing you to generate 12 invoices per year instead of just one.

VOIPPRO
08-19-2012, 04:57 PM
Hi There,

Its been 20 days since the new portal launch. I am eagerly waiting for ability to make international calls from my mobile. I travel a lot and I need this ability to talk to my family abroad. I dont want to carry VOIPO adapter with me since my wife also need to make international calls when I am out.

Please expedite !!!

As requested earlier, can you please display month to date minute usage of international calls made in the new vPanel.

With Regards

VOIPoTim
08-19-2012, 09:26 PM
Hi There,

Its been 20 days since the new portal launch. I am eagerly waiting for ability to make international calls from my mobile. I travel a lot and I need this ability to talk to my family abroad. I dont want to carry VOIPO adapter with me since my wife also need to make international calls when I am out.

Please expedite !!!

As requested earlier, can you please display month to date minute usage of international calls made in the new vPanel.

With Regards

We haven't announced this yet, but the ability to call international destinations using BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has already been added. You would simply install a SIP softphone on your mobile device.

To enable international calling, login to the BETA control panel at https://beta.voipo.com and go to BETA - International Calling Security. Then set the BYOD toggle to "Enabled" and add the destinations you wish to call with BYOD to your "Whitelist" by following the instructions. You will then be able to call those whitelisted destinations via BYOD. You may have up to 5 countries on your BYOD whitelist at any given time. High-risk and high-fraud destinations remain blocked and cannot be whitelisted.

In the near future, we're also adding an "access number" that works like a calling card to call from registered external numbers as well. In the meantime, you should be able to access this using BYOD.

iamok123
08-20-2012, 10:24 AM
Hello Tim,

Like so many other users, simply can't wait to see the portable international calling feature work using an access number. Could you please be a little more specific when you say

"In the near future, we're also adding an "access number" that works like a calling card to call from registered external numbers as well"?

Are we talking by the end of August? I am afraid I don't have all the tech details to be able to install a SIP phone on my mobile (blackberry) so am eagerly waiting for int'l calling via access number.

Thanks!

iamok123
08-21-2012, 08:03 AM
Hi Tim,

Regarding this:

"The main reason for this approach is that it encompasses all phone types. We looked at things like smartphone apps for this like many competitors use, but that turns into a situation where it's only useful for a segment of our users (ones that have the type of phone the app is for) and complicates it. An access number/calling card approach opens it up to everyone and should be super simple for someone to just program into their cell as a contact, enter their PIN and dial."

International numbers can be very long and painful to dial-in. Will you allow us to enter short codes or speed dial codes in lieu of the entire number, i.e., 011+country code+local number??

Thanks!

VOIPoTim
08-21-2012, 11:41 AM
Hi Tim,

Regarding this:

"The main reason for this approach is that it encompasses all phone types. We looked at things like smartphone apps for this like many competitors use, but that turns into a situation where it's only useful for a segment of our users (ones that have the type of phone the app is for) and complicates it. An access number/calling card approach opens it up to everyone and should be super simple for someone to just program into their cell as a contact, enter their PIN and dial."

International numbers can be very long and painful to dial-in. Will you allow us to enter short codes or speed dial codes in lieu of the entire number, i.e., 011+country code+local number??

Thanks!

We will keep your suggestion in mind. At this time there are no plans to add a "speed dial" functionality to the access number. It's mainly intended to be a method that allows you to make occasional international calls when away from home.

ymhee_bcex
08-21-2012, 08:22 PM
High-risk and high-fraud destinations remain blocked and cannot be whitelisted.
Oh, c'mon - Latvia costs couple pennies a minute with most providers... Is it really high-risk or high-fraud destination? Pardon my scepticism... :rolleyes:

But if there is this manual addition to the whitelisted countries - I would love to be able to add just "included" destination. That is, I would love to add Israel landlines, but not include Israel cell phones (which costs 15 times cheaper with other providers). The way it is now - seems to be worse of both worlds...

davefred99
08-29-2012, 12:29 PM
Voipo Tim,

When can we expect to see and hear about more BYOD features as promised.
I am on the fence as to whether or not I will be renewing my subscription because I really want to use my own device (OBI202) and while it is possible now there is not a lot of support and the Voipo ATA must be online just to setup any BYOD and you loose the ability to have multiple channels as you can only register One Byod at a time. other Byod providers offer sub accounts.
I am also concerned that per your recent messages you are moving away from being a value based discount provider to becoming more mainstream like a Vonage type provider. I left Vonage for Voipo and would never go back they have become to much like a regular Telco provider with to many nuisance fees and hidden costs. I know some of these fees are unavoidable but when I can I will do all I can to minimize them. I would really like to see more monthly options as your current $18 mos subscription is good if you need unlimited but many of us really want lower priced or PayGo plans.

Thanks for listening, Dave

VOIPoTim
08-29-2012, 01:12 PM
Voipo Tim,

When can we expect to see and hear about more BYOD features as promised.
I am on the fence as to whether or not I will be renewing my subscription because I really want to use my own device (OBI202) and while it is possible now there is not a lot of support and the Voipo ATA must be online just to setup any BYOD and you loose the ability to have multiple channels as you can only register One Byod at a time. other Byod providers offer sub accounts.
I am also concerned that per your recent messages you are moving away from being a value based discount provider to becoming more mainstream like a Vonage type provider. I left Vonage for Voipo and would never go back they have become to much like a regular Telco provider with to many nuisance fees and hidden costs. I know some of these fees are unavoidable but when I can I will do all I can to minimize them. I would really like to see more monthly options as your current $18 mos subscription is good if you need unlimited but many of us really want lower priced or PayGo plans.

Thanks for listening, Dave

Hi Dave,

The BYOD functionality has already been released including the new international BYOD calling option. They have been available in the BETA control panel for quite some time now. If you have any questions about them, please e-mail support@voipo.com and an agent will be happy to assist you.

We do still require the VOIPo ATA to be connection to activate the BYOD feature for the first time. Since we only ship the ATA to the billing address, having this requirement verifies that the customer provided an accurate address and received mail there. Since there is a lot of fraud with VoIP, this is a requirement we have in place to protect us and verify the address.

davefred99
08-29-2012, 01:41 PM
Hi Dave,

The BYOD functionality has already been released including the new international BYOD calling option. They have been available in the BETA control panel for quite some time now. If you have any questions about them, please e-mail support@voipo.com and an agent will be happy to assist you.

We do still require the VOIPo ATA to be connection to activate the BYOD feature for the first time. Since we only ship the ATA to the billing address, having this requirement verifies that the customer provided an accurate address and received mail there. Since there is a lot of fraud with VoIP, this is a requirement we have in place to protect us and verify the address.

OK thanks for the response.

I guess I was expecting something more than international calling which is of no use to me. It is what it is, I was hoping for more. I do understand security issues but BYOD use on Voipo is very limited, I guess I should be thankful you offer it at all.

Dave

VOIPoTim
08-29-2012, 02:14 PM
OK thanks for the response.

I guess I was expecting something more than international calling which is of no use to me. It is what it is, I was hoping for more. I do understand security issues but BYOD use on Voipo is very limited, I guess I should be thankful you offer it at all.

Dave

We do have a "PAYG" type offering coming in the future if that's what you're hoping for. It's a lot different than the current offering so it has to be kept somewhat separate in its own "product line" but we do have something like that coming later this year. Is that more along the lines of what you were hoping for?

davefred99
08-29-2012, 11:12 PM
We do have a "PAYG" type offering coming in the future if that's what you're hoping for. It's a lot different than the current offering so it has to be kept somewhat separate in its own "product line" but we do have something like that coming later this year. Is that more along the lines of what you were hoping for?

Yes but the devil is in the details ? How much later this year ?

VOIPPRO
08-31-2012, 12:18 AM
Hi Tim,

Thank you very much for your prompt response. Your option works for me and I am happy.

Go VOIPO!!!

bigwillnola
09-04-2012, 08:32 AM
I'm loving the new control panel layout. The features are outstanding and I understand that more is in store. I have activated the SMS feature on my account but have found that I haven't used it yet. The primary reason is accessibility. I can't really keep the control panel page open all the time to look for new messages. I actually use GVNotify with a google voice number for sms txting from the desktop. That's the primary reason I even have a google voice number. Since I'm at my desk most of the time, this makes it easy to even avoid txting from my cell. A message simply pops up on my screen; I type a quick reply and send. Very convenient and it includes everyone on my contact list. This makes it even easier to simply click a name, see previous message (not many though) and send as needed.

All that to say, is this something that is in the work, planned on, thought about, rejected, reconsidered, or otherwise contemplated?

Thanks much! Keep up the great work!

fergessen
09-07-2012, 10:34 AM
Having just one simultaneous ring has long been a (VOIPo) limitation.

Can we ever expect this to be changed? Even a couple of other numbers would help us greatly.

And, what of the JULY roll-out of the JULY "New Small Business Option" ?

Thanks in advance.


[QUOTE=VOIPoTim;27007]Exciting things are happening at VOIPo.

The new vPanel is FINALLY done and is being tested now. Here's a preview of what's coming in July.

5) New Small Business Options - New options for small businesses including easy to add rollover options that support up to 8 rollover/hunting lines on a single phone number.

VOIPoTim
09-09-2012, 07:29 PM
Having just one simultaneous ring has long been a (VOIPo) limitation.

Can we ever expect this to be changed? Even a couple of other numbers would help us greatly.

And, what of the JULY roll-out of the JULY "New Small Business Option" ?

Thanks in advance.


[QUOTE=VOIPoTim;27007]Exciting things are happening at VOIPo.

The new vPanel is FINALLY done and is being tested now. Here's a preview of what's coming in July.

5) New Small Business Options - New options for small businesses including easy to add rollover options that support up to 8 rollover/hunting lines on a single phone number.


We will add your suggestion about increasing the simul ring destinations to our feedback list for possible consideration in the future. I know some others have suggested it as well and it's there. It's something we may consider in the future if we can get the economics of it to work and come up with some appropriate safeguards to prevent business abuse of the residential line with that option.

In terms of the small business option, that's been available since July. You can contact support to add additional accounts/adapters to your existing account if you have a business requiring more than a single 1/2 line device. For example, if you need 4 adapters for your business, you can add 3 additional "virtual accounts" which are really a single account. You'd simply be paying for the number of accounts you need and we'd consolidate them into a single account with the same phone number (they all would ring in a ring all fashion when calls come in). This gives businesses the flexibility to purchase as many accounts as they need without having to have them actually be "isolated" accounts that don't work together. Support can assist with adding additional accounts if you are interested in this option.

VOIPoTim
09-09-2012, 07:31 PM
At this time, I'm closing this thread since the new control has been out for a while and this thread now has over 100 posts.

If you have feedback or questions, please start a new thread.