It looks like Michael isn't wasting any time, he's launching a new service today that lets anyone get a new Area775 phone number for free and of course it runs on.. SIP. Michael-Robertson-Area775.mp3 Subscribe to the Podcast
I spoke with Michael about Area775 and his foray into the Mobile and WiFi world. He also speaks to the recent injection of $6M and what those funds will be used for. The podcast starts off with a demo of Area775 and later gets into very good overview of Area775 features including... * Free U.S. based telephone number assigned to your computer and any phone * Dual Ring - Incoming calls simultaneously ring computer and regular phone* * Call Screening - Listen to callers leave messages in real time (press 1 to take the call) * Transfer Calls - You can transfer any call to any phone by pressing 2 * Voicemail (email and phone) * SMS notification Yes you will have to pay if you want to answer calls on your normal phone but he has to make it pay somehow. For a small monthly fee you can: * Choose from a list of 775 numbers as well as other area codes * Answer calls to your regular phone (cell or landline) free. * Get a fax number * Toll Free access for voicemail Press Release SIPphone Offers Free U.S. Telephone Numbers Which Ring Computer and Mobile Identity; New Area775 Service is First to Link VOIP and Traditional Phone System SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2006--SIPphone today announced Area775, a new VOIP service where one personal phone number can ring a landline, mobile phone or any computer connected to the Internet, so incoming calls can be answered from anywhere. With the service, available immediately from www.area775.com, users can sign up for a free U.S. telephone number that, when dialed, will ring both their computer and any U.S. mobile phone or landline. Incoming calls can be screened from any phone or computer by listening to voicemail messages callers leave while they are speaking. Desired calls can be answered and unwanted calls can be ignored with resulting voicemail messages sent to an email account as an audio attachment. "VOIP has been all about free PC-to-PC calls," said Michael Robertson, CEO of SIPphone. "Area775 is the first service that links VOIP to the traditional phone world and gives users unprecedented power to manage their voice communications by screening and answering calls on any SIP device, computer or regular phone, as well as transferring calls between their devices." Area775 offers unique calling features that give consumers the ability to easily manage calls in a sophisticated manner. Users can take advantage of a free U.S. telephone number in the 775 area code or pay $3.95 per month and select a different U.S. area code. Consumers and small businesses now have access to a sophisticated phone system without the expense or complexity of setting up a PBX. In just seconds, multiple accounts can be set up, linking together remote offices, mobile phones and landlines using in a cost effective but advanced VOIP-based system. A complete set of call-management features are included with each Area775 account, which are easily managed from the Web site, including: -- Dual Ring -- Incoming calls simultaneously ring computer and a designated landline or mobile phone. Calls can be answered at either location. -- Call Screening -- Much like a traditional home answering machine, callers can be routed to a voicemail greeting where they can leave a message. As callers speak, their message can be heard on either the computer or mobile phone, at which time the call can be answered by pushing the number 2 or left in voicemail. -- Call Transfer -- Calls answered at the computer can be transferred mid-call to a landline or mobile phone by pressing the number 1. Similarly, calls answered on a mobile phone or landline can be transferred to a computer phone. -- Voicemail -- Voicemail is provided including the ability to create a customized greeting and receive audio calls via an email attachment. A SMS notification system can be configured to send an alert that a voicemail has been received. Additional information as well as an instructional movie describing this innovative service can be found at: http://area775.com. More comments from Michael Robertson about the impact of this service can be found at: http://michaelrobertson.com. About SIPphone, Inc. SIPphone is a San Diego based voice over IP (VOIP) company that provides a free dial tone service for any SIP-based software or hardware device complete with customizable voicemail. They provide free VOIP Gizmo Project software at http://gizmoproject.com for Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and Linux computers that enables high-quality free calling and IM service worldwide using any Internet-connected computer. SIPphone is a founding member of IM Federation (IMfederation.com), which promotes interconnects with all networks and currently connects with Google's Google Talk and more than a hundred other networks. Area775 is a service offered by SIPphone Inc. powered by Callwave. Contacts SIPphone, Inc. Jason Droege, 323-908-4180 (for more information about SIPphone or Gizmo Project) pr@sipphone.com

Michael sent me this Press Release yesterday announcing that SIPphone had just secured $6M in funding to bolster the Gizmo Project with a Mobile and WiFi extension. "The release of Gizmo Project has driven over 400,000 registered users to our PC based service, but our goals go beyond free calls between PCs," says SIPphone CEO, Michael Robertson. "We want to seamlessly link the internet and the traditional calling world of landlines and mobile phones and that's becoming possible as low cost SIP based devices such as dual mode mobile phones and wifi phones become a reality." Apparently Michael plans to expand the San Diego office by 3-fold in order to build this next generation of Gizmo. The financing round was lead by New York based venture firm Dawntreader Ventures and is the first external funding for SIPphone. Joining the board of SIPphone is Dawntreader managing director Edward G. Sim. Private investors from Michael Robertson's previous digital music startup MP3.com Inc. also participated in the funding. It looks like the VCs are making their moves into VoIP and IP Communications in a big way which means great things for the technologies and consumers that use them. I am going to try and catch up with Michael over the next few days and see if I can get a phone interview for the podcast.