We released Internet Call feature last year and have received plenty of feedback from users. As we know, Internet call quality is very dependent on the connection quality to the internet. For example, calling via 3G. Sometimes, the call quality is good because there is not many users in the 3G network. However, in a certain ocassion, the call quality is bad because there are a lot of people using the 3G bandwidth. Thus, it will be good for users if they know how the quality of their network is before making Internet Call. If it is good, then users can proceed with the Internet Call. Otherwise, they can switch to use Callback feature that is independent of internet-connection quality.

In Hoiio Phone version 2.2.0, we created an Internet-Call indicator. This is how it works:

When you open the app, Hoiio Phone will check your internet-connection quality. If your internet connection is good and stable (e.g. you’re on WiFi), we will say “Excellent” and you can confidently proceed to make the call. If the network condition is “Poor” (e.g. no 3G or WiFi), it is better for you to switch to Callback.

Also, what is included in this release are the following improvements:

• - Display number of minutes left for Callback
• - Smoother phonebook UI
• - Send invitation by SMS or Email

Now, update Hoiio Phone app on your iPhone and let us know how you think about the improvements.

Last year, Hoiio gave free registration credit only to users from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, USA, Canada and Australia. Now, we have extended the promotion and give free registration credit to users from all over the world (except for China). With the free credit, your first call via Hoiio Phone will be on us.

Hoiio Phone promises good call quality at a very low rate. Definitely, our internet call rate is lower than Skype Out, and our international SMS charges are lower than what mobile operators used to charge you. So, if you have any friends who call overseas and they have not used Hoiio yet, please help them to save some money by telling them to use Hoiio. Also, don’t forget to add: When they register to Hoiio, their first call is FREE. Click here to see our rates.

• Singapore
• Philippines (3 cents/SMS)
• Australia
• Canada
• USA
• HK
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Vietnam

If you don’t find your destination above, don’t worry. We’re going to add more countries in the list. Drop us a comment at support@hoiio.com.

We said that we could only slash one country at a time, but this week, we slash four countries. All in one single stroke. Now, from Singapore, you can call/send SMS cheaper to Philippines, India, HK, and Australia. Below are some highlights on our amazing slash promotion. Check out the full rates by logging in to www.hoiio.com.

Philippines

• Call to Philippines fixed line at SGD 18 cents/minute (slashed 28%), and mobile at SGD 22 cents/min (slashed 12%)
• Piso Text. Send SMS from Singapore to Philippines at One Peso/SMS (SGD 3 cents/SMS).

India

• Call any destination in India at SGD 4.8 cents/minute (slashed 40%).
• Global SMS at local rates. Send SMS to India from Singapore only at SGD 5 cents/SMS.

Hong Kong

• Call any destination in HK at SGD 4.5 cents/minute (slashed 42%).
• Global SMS at local rates. Send SMS to HK from Singapore only at SGD 5 cents/SMS.

Australia

• Call to Australia fixed line at SGD 6.8 cents/minute (slashed 19%), and mobile at SGD 18 cents/min (slashed 22%).

We hope that you like this, and share this to your friends. The more people using Hoiio, the more competitive we can be!

We really love it when our users are engaged with us by leaving their “thumbs” and commenting on our posts :).

Few days after that, we did what we said. We slash Hoiio calling rates from Singapore to Malaysia by 30%. With SGD 10, now you can call Malaysia for more than 3.5 hours. All rates below are in SGD cents.

Now, that we’ve lowered down our rates, now the ball is in your hand. Help us to spread this to your friends who call to Malaysia. Let them know that Hoiio is one of the best communication provider around.

Btw, if you have not likened us on Facebook, then you should! Visit our Facebook page and engage with us there.

1. Change your caller ID as you like

You’re calling a stranger and you’re not convenient to expose your mobile number to him. Click the icon on the top right hand corner to turn your caller ID to Private Number. Once you’re done, tap it again to change the caller ID to your mobile number.

2. Toggle between Call Back and Internet Call easily

Before version 2.0, it was a little bit tricky to enable Hoiio Internet Call. After feedback from users, we make the internet call more accessible. Simply press the ▲ icon located at the green button and select Internet Call as your calling method. For a good call quality, try to use Hoiio Internet Call when you’re on WiFi zone. With Hoiio Internet Call you can:

• Avoid expensive roaming charges
• Get better calling rates than Skype Out

3. Access updates and promotions with a tap

From time to time, Hoiio will come out with promotions like

• 1 Million free minutes to be given away,
• 6.8 cents call to Vietnam,
• Reduction of calling rate to Japan after in response to the Tsunami, etc

You won’t miss those any more because you can easily access them by tapping Events icon on the bottom right.

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I hope that these can help your day-to-day communication needs. As always, we welcome any of your feedback.

The receipt will be sent to your email address registered at www.hoiio.com for every successful top up (be it manual, SMS or auto top up). Therefore, it’s recommended that you verify the email address by logging in today.

We hope that this feature will be useful to you. As always, if you have any feedback, just leave a comment below, write on our Facebook page, or send an email to support@hoiio.com.

Worry not. In case you’re travelling overseas and you have an access to Wi-Fi, then we have a solution for you. You can use Hoiio Phone app to save on your outgoing and SMS roaming charges.

Saving when calling out

Change your Hoiio Phone’s calling method to: Internet Call. Go to Settings > Calling Method > Internet Call. After that, call with Hoiio. Calling to Singapore through Hoiio Phone app will be  1.9 cents/minute.  Huge savings.

Saving when sending SMSes

When your friends send SMS to your Singapore mobile number, if you’re connected to Wi-Fi, reply them through Hoiio Phone. It will cost you SGD 0.088/SMS. You will save up to 45%.

Those are some tips to save on roaming charges if you’re connected to Wi-Fi. Have a pleasant trips or holidays. For more tips, stay tuned on Hoiio Blog.

“With Hoiio Chat, you can bring together 20 friends in a group, while the other app can only do 6.”

What is optimum size of a group? We don’t know, and it’s very hard to argue. It can be small or it can be big. Small: me and my girlfriend. Big group: my soccer mates.

WhatsApp, one of the popular messaging app, allows you to up to 5 friends to a group chat (that’s 6 people, including you). However, if you think 6 is not enough, you can use Hoiio Chat. We’ve got larger room so can bring together up to 20 of your friends. That would be enough for soccer team, study group, etc. Left no one behind =P.

And for sure, you can always tell us if 20 is not enough.

Our team at Hoiio thought about bringing the awesomeness of mIRC group chat to mobile phone. The challenge that we face was more on concept than technical. We made some conceptual assumptions when we released the first version of Hoiio Chat on 8 February 2011. However, we received some valuable feedbacks (which some are already implemented) from our users to make Hoiio Chat a better app.

One of the feedback that keeps coming constantly is to implement push notification for group chat. We understand that it is important to keep the conversation “real time”. Responding to the feedback, in Hoiio Chat iPhone version 1.0.8 (and Android app version 1.0.7), we have implemented one major update: Push Notification for Group Chat.

We coupled this feature with Smart Alert for users who don’t want to be swarmed with plenty of push notifications (especially when the group is really chatty). The smart alert will give users option to personalise the push notification when there is a new message. The options are notification to be always delivered, every 5 minutes, every 30 minutes or Never.

We hope that this will give a better experience when you use Hoiio Chat. So download Hoiio Chat now if you want to communicate in groups (App Store or Android Marketplace).