Pros and Cons
Pros
- Very cheap international rates – among the cheapest rates on the market
- Good call quality
- Simple to use
- Credit updated and shown at all times
Cons
- Requires a computer to make calls
- No free computer-computer in-network calls
- Supports only SIP mobile phones
Review
Nymgo allows you to make calls to any landline and mobile phone worldwide, using your computer. You only require a computer with a good Internet connection, a hearing device and a microphone (a headset will be ideal). But then, you do require a computer, which is a limitation in itself. You have to download a softphone application and install on your computer. When you register online, you will have login credentials which you will use for logging in the application.
The Nymgo application is light to download and easy to install. It runs on my machine right now and before writing this line, I checked its resource consumption. It is light on the processor but takes up an unexpected 25 MB in memory – quite a lot for a small application. But that’s not big compared to the bulk that Skype or some other common VoIP applications require.
Actually, when you make your calls with Nymgo, the recipient sees Unknown Number on their phone, but Nymgo gives a Caller ID feature, through which you can have a phone number of your choice (e.g. your mobile phone number) displayed as your calling number. This however does not mean that you need a phone number (whether new or old) to be able to use Nymgo VoIP service; Nymgo does not use your phone line to make the calls.
Quite a number of Nymgo users have complained of having problems buying credit. Much is asked for verification and this ends up bureaucratizing the whole procedure.
On the mobile side, Nymgo works with SIP, which means that you can make calls over a phone that supports SIP. That’s not a big range of phones, as most mobile phones and handsets do not support SIP. But with that kind of service, we expect the list of supported phones to lengthen. Nymgo is working to release a mobile client that would work on iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile and Android devices by the end of 2010. Nymgo is also available through Fring, which supports thousands of devices across multiple platforms including Symbian S60, iPhone/iPod touch, Android, Windows Mobile, J2ME and Linux devices and operates on any available mobile internet connection (3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE and WiMax)
Nymgo does not offer free computer-to-computer calls between Nymgo users, as most other computer-based VoIP service providers do. Nymgo is focused on providing consumers with the lowest possible prices on convenient international calls to landline and mobile phones. The decision not to offer computer-to-computer calls, which are usually free to users but cost the provider money to support, allows Nymgo’s international calling rates to be drastically lower than competitors, according to Omar Onsi, Nymgo founder.
Nymgo does not offer any monthly subscriptions or fancy promotions, only pay-as-you-go calling plans. This pay structure is the best way to make sure the customer is paying the lowest possible rate to any destination without having to incur lost minutes due to date expiry.
