VoIP Applications No Longer Supported On Nokia N-Series Phones

When speaking of mobile VoIP tools and services, I always consider the mobile phone model as a major cost element - you need to have a compatible cell phone. The list of compatible cell phones has shrinked with Nokia removing VoIP functionality from its N-series mobile phones, particularly the N78 and N96. New Nokia N phones are not shipped with the usual VoIP applications. People already using Nokia N phones can no longer make and receive VoIP calls through these. The most common VoIP applications people use on Nokia phones are Truphone, Gizmo, Fring and Yeigo.

The SIP stack - the layer that supports VoIP on the phone - will still be there, Nokia reassured, but users will have to install their own VoIP applications, adapted to the SIP layer. Truphone is already working on a new version that will fit on that SIP stack, so as to keep its numerous Nokia-using subscribers.

The main speculation about this matter is that Nokia discarded VoIP from some of its (most popular?) phones due to pressure from mobile carrier companies, which lose considerably to low-cost and sometimes free VoIP. On the other hand, some analysts say that Nokia is stripping itself of cumbersome and less-than-useful features to become sleek and neat, at the image of the iPhone; for users that don’t need every bell and whistle in feature-packed smartphones. I strongly disagree with that. Finally, Gizmo5 comes to Nokia's rescue by saying that Nokia N78 uses the latest Symbian OS (version 3.2), which carries an even more development-friendly SIP stack, and that Gizmo5 is working on a new version of the Gizmo softphone to work on that. Note that Nokia E series still support VoIP, probably to stand in competition against Blackberry, which already supports VoIP, on the business phone market.