theregoesdave

With the T-Mobile G1 slated to be in the hands of expectant users on October 22nd, the race to release a voice application for the Android platform is heating up. Whether it’s a Voice over IP (VOIP) application or a Voice over IM (VOIM) application, the open Android model should allow users to help conserve their minutes.

These applications might be reserved for use over Wifi, as T-Mobile is likely to filter voice traffic over their 3G network, but could still provide a great alternative for G1 owners. Om Malik has confirmed that the GTalk application that will be included in the initial release will not have VOIM functionality in the first release, however there’s nothing stopping developers from creating one.

D2 Technologies has created an Enterprise phone client for Android called mCue that will work with corporate PBX systems, SIP providers like Skype and XMPP based VOIM such as Google Talk, however they don’t seem to be targeting individual consumers. This software allows users to have one unified contact and service list for all of these services and would be a powerful option for consumers.

There’s also a rumor circulating that Fring may be readying a release of their free chat, VoIP and VoIM client for Android phones. They currently have versions out for Windows Mobile, Symbian, unlocked iPhones and virtually any Java or Linux-based phones. I’m working to confirm the rumors and will keep you posted on what I discover.

• Android Skype Lite client coming to the App Market
• Power Play: Android and Skype
• iSkoot: Android Skype Application that still uses minutes?
• TellMe Location-Based Mobile Voice Search for Blackberry
• Skype Testing Java-based Mobile Client