Ribbit Launches Mobile Version

Upping the stakes in the mobile call-management sector, IP telephony provider Ribbit today said it is launching Ribbit Mobile, a versatile Web-based platform for mobile calls and messaging that gives users access to their mobile phone from a variety of devices and screens.

Offering many of the same features as such Web-based services as Google Voice and VoxOx, Ribbit Mobile has one important benefit: It does not require users to change numbers. (Google last week said it will offer a “Google Voice lite” edition that allows users to use their existing mobile numbers while giving up certain features.) Nor does it require a software download: Ribbit, a subsidiary of BT Group (BT), says the cloud-based service can be activated on any mobile device in less than five minutes.

"Up until now the ways in which we most commonly communicate – voice, text, e-mail, IM – exist in largely separate online and offline worlds,” Ribbit CEO Ted Griggs said in a statement. “Ribbit Mobile is changing all of that."

Offering a set of features that includes voice mail transcription, smart call routing and Web-based calling, Ribbit Mobile allows users to route calls to their mobile device to other phones and answer mobile calls on the Web. It can also convert voice mail to text, delivering it via SMS and e-mail, thus eliminating the need to dial into voice mail and listen to messages and offering access to messages even when mobile service is unavailable. Users of the service, which is currently in beta, also receive a persistent online message inbox where messages can be stored and managed.

Ribbit is particularly targeting mobile professionals, such as salespeople and contractors, who receive multiple messages throughout the work day. Users can select where the platform routes calls – to a landline, a VoIP phone, a laptop, a widget on their home page, or to any of several other VoIP services including Skype and Google Talk. Finally, the platform is open to third-party developers, who will be compensated according to the usage of their app even if it’s provided for free.

The beta version of Ribbit Mobile is available for free; on official launch, in a couple of months, the professional version will cost $30 a month while a basic version is still free.