A few months ago, all of us here at the Rebtel office were in serious scramble mode to finish an early, yet demoable version of our first app for the Android platform. The reason, in addition to huge user demand, was the news we had received of us being accepted as one of the presenting companies at this years DEMO Spring 2010 conference. We were very excited, and with the great honor that comes with being accepted to a reputable event like DEMO, we really wanted to make an impact.
Rebtel for Android Home Screen
By comparison to the “walled garden” of the iPhone platform, Android OS offers an unprecedented level of openness that caters to deep integration of third-party applications with the native device functionality. An example of an app that harnesses that openness, could for instance, be one that handle all your international calls. Imagine if it could intercept all your international calls that you make from your regular address book or dial pad on your Android phone, and connect them via a cheaper service, such as Rebtel, instead of your pricey carrier…
Sounds like an app that would come in handy, doesn’t it? Well, as it happens, this is exactly what we decided to do.
As the 1.0 version of the app went live on Market just a few days ago, Rebtel for Android has now been stripped of its previous beta label, and in this post I will tell you a bit more about two key features. If you’re an Android user and have been longing for a nifty app that could save you money on your international calls , this post should make you ecstatic.
Interception of Your Internationals Calls
After you downloaded the app from, the only thing you have to do to start using is flicking the green On/Off switch. Once that’s done, Rebtel for Android will run in the background and stand-by waiting for you to either dial an international number from the regular dial pad on your phone, or pick a friend with an international number from your address book.
Once a number is dialed, a local number is instantly generated in the background and your call is connected via Rebtel instead of your regular carrier, with savings of up to 90% as a result.
Seamless Rebtel Free Calls
If you’ve read this post up until this point (thank you), but are yet to become ecstatic, the next feature is a sure bet. Namely: Fully automated Rebtel Free Calls to Android devices running our app.
This is how it works: When you select a friend to call that also happens to be a Rebtel and has our app running, the call will automatically become a Rebtel Free Call. That means that you pay nothing for the international part of the call to Rebtel, and if you have inclusive local minutes in your monthly plan, you pay nothing to your regular carrier for the local part of the call either. Pretty great.
An incoming Rebtel Free Call
Now, why is this such a big deal you might ask (except for the fact that you can make free international calls without WiFi)?
See, usually, the process of making a Free Call with Rebtel is made up of you having to wait for your friend to pick, asking him to hang up and then call you back on the number displayed on his phone while you stay on the line. What the Android app does is that it eliminates all these fiddly steps of making a Free Call and fully automates it.
Sounds like something you want to try? Download the app from Android Market (click on the link from your phone) and be sure to tell us what you think in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.
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