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Despite the ability to install almost any kind of application (yes, any!), something which makes the iPhone a powerful portable computer, it’s pretty clear that Apple’s most famous gadget is mainly a communication device, both for telephony and internet.

The main goal is to provide users with a good substitute to their laptop while on the go and I can say the iPhone does this job very well. In this perspective, there are some applications that are not mainstream yet but can offer iPhone owners some very useful services at their fingertips. Here are three (actually five) must-have applications which make your iPhone experience even better.

1) Calliflower

Iotum’s Calliflower is currently one of the most comprehensive and powerful services to manage conference calls straight from the Web. They started with a Facebook app which has now evolved and has been brought out of FB to become a stand alone communication platform for online collaboration.

One of the latest killer-features they added is the ability to manage everything from your iPhone with a clean and effective user interface.

The iPhone application will be free until Jan 1, 2009, then it will cost $9.99 (that it’s like free, to me). They also just launched a premium service which adds new collaboration tools to the standard free service. Check out Calliflower website for more details.

2) Palringo

I already reviewed this service over two months ago and it seems they are growing more and more and adding new cool features.

Palringo is a rich Text & Voice Instant Messaging service which lets you get in touch with your contacts over multiple IM services, share pictures, join chat groups and share voice messages with your friends.

In particular, one of the latest features they introduced is the ability to get the position of your friends in your buddy list, making it easier to create new opportunities to meet / interact.

3) Let’s VoIP!

While Palringo is a great IM (and more), it lacks the ability to make phone calls. Ok, you have a phone, you can make phone calls of course. The point is that there are a few popular VoIP applications which can be easily found at the App Store, all worth noting, and the choice it’s up to you, depending on what are you looking for.

Truphone

Truphone is one of the first mobile VoIP apps, ever, released in 2004. This, alone, should be enough to make you understand that the keyword here is: realiability.

Pros:

• very robust, the first one available for the iPhone since its launch by Apple
• usability (open the app and dial)

Cons:

• no VoIP over 3G, WiFi only (but it’s more an Apple problem… take a look here for a viable solution)

Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz for the iPhone has just been announced and it’s really promising. Unlike Truphone, it offers the ability to get all your IM contacts in a single interface, making it easy to get in touch with them without having to install another application to be used for instant messaging. Definitely one of the most complete and the number of social networks supported is impressive.

Pros:

• all major IM and social networks are available

Cons:

• no VoIP over 3G, WiFi only (but it’s more an Apple problem… take a look here for a viable solution)

Fring

Similar to Nimbuzz, the features made available by this service are very similar to those found in the previous one. The choice is up to you.

Pros:

• all major IM and social networks are available
• twitter integration and SIP calls

Cons:

• no VoIP over 3G, WiFi only (but it’s more an Apple problem… take a look here for a viable solution)

What do you like better? Leave your comments here and tell me what your favorite communication applications are.

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Technorati Tags: App Store, Apple, calliflower, facebook, fring, Instant messaging, iphone, luca filigheddu, nimbuzz, palringo, truphone, Wi-Fi

Mobile VoIP operator Nimbuzz, discussed many times in this blog, just received 15M $ in a second round of financing. Investors include Naspers/MIH and Mangrove. Very good news for the mobile VoIP environment. I might be wrong, but I remember this is the second biggest round in this space just behind Truphone.

Congrats to all the team at Nimbuzz. More here.

Technorati Tags: Deals, luca filigheddu, Mobile, nimbuzz, Voice 2.0, VoIP

Nimbuzz, the mobile VoIP/IM service I blogged about a couple of times in the past, announced today the availability of some new interesting features that help them to target social networks more closely and to offer mobile users an integrated and effective user experience.

“Everyone loves Skype (on the PC). But when it comes to the mobile, we believe we offer a better solution,” said Tariq Dag Steinberg Khan, the London-based Chief Marketing Officer for Nimbuzz. “Nimbuzz works across all the major communities and on more than 500 handsets worldwide. With this new release, we now also have a genuine free mobile VoIP solution that works on more than 90 handsets including Nokia, Samsung and LG.”

Nimbuzz adds some interesting features like a button for outgoing emails and a widget for social networks. 

In the widget, you can also see the Twitter stream of the user (useful or useless?…). 

This is surely one of the major improvements launched my Nimbuzz in the last months after having been quiet for a while. With 500.000 registered users and 1M weekly logins, Nimbuzz is taking on the other players in this market very seriously. Is it enough to compete with Fring as well as the new Skype mobile?

Technorati Tags: luca filigheddu, Mobile, nimbuzz, VoIP