SOURCE: Talkster

December 15, 2008 04:11 ET

Talk Is Cheap but talki Is Cheaper

Talkster Introduces Software for Mobile Phones That Gives You Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging Plus Long Distance and International Calls for a Fraction of What You Pay Now

TORONTO--(Marketwire - December 15, 2008) - Talkster (www.Talkster.com) today announced the launch of new mobile software to save consumers money on mobile communications. Called talki™, the new software gives users unlimited free text and picture messaging and makes long distance and international calling cost the same as a local call. Built on Talkster's award-winning Free World Dialing™ service used for millions of calls all over the world since it launched in October 2008, the talki software is built in the Java programming language for use on the widest number of phones possible. In time for people to call friends and family for the Christmas Holidays, the first phase of talki's launch makes the software available to consumers in Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, though calls can be placed to any country in the Talkster global network.

Last Fall, Talkster revolutionized telephone calls by introducing the first advertising-supported service for placing long distance and international calls. Talkster's Free World Dialing service assigns a local number for the people in your address book who live outside your calling area. You simply call the local Talkster number, listen to a ten-second, interactive advert and you can talk as long as you want, all for the cost of a local call. Now Talkster is revolutionizing Free World Dialing with talki, software built especially to make it even easier to use the Talkster service on your mobile phone. Not only will you be able to place the same high-quality and low-cost long distance and international calls, but when you and your friends all have talki on your phones you also get unlimited text and picture messaging.

"Last year when we began planning for the talki launch we did not know the economy would become so bad, and so close to the holidays," said James Wanless, the COO of Talkster. "With talki we are not only going to save our customers up to 75 percent over their normal mobile plans, we're making it even easier for them to user their mobile phones to communicate with their family and friends."

Today, people pay for both sending and receiving text (SMS) and picture (MMS) messages, and the cost can be high. In the UK one might expect to pay 20p to 40p for each text message and 36p or more for each MMS message either sent or received. But with talki the cost of these messages is eliminated. The only requirement is that both the sender and the recipient are using talki. If the recipient isn't using talki, then Talkster can send your message by SMS (regular SMS charges apply); Talkster even gives you 10 free SMS messages every week which you can send anywhere in the world. By the way, SMS text messages are limited to 160 characters each, but messages on talki have no character limit.

Talki, available in more than 35 countries, turns all calls placed on Free World Dialing into local calls. This means international calls will cost the same as a local call -- using only the minutes in a mobile service plan. Visit http://www.talkster.com/Countries.aspx to see where the Talkster service is available.

How to start using talki?

Step 1: Installing talki

You can install talki directly to your mobile phone by surfing to the talki mobile site at http://m.talki.me and clicking the download link. You can also use your computer to get the download link sent to your mobile phone by text message by surfing to the talki website www.talki.me (standard messaging rates apply). The installation process is quick and easy.

Step 2: Register your phone

Simply fill in your mobile phone number when prompted to complete the installation process. Once you've installed talki, you'll get an activation code by text message (SMS). Simply enter the activation code.

Step 3: Start communicating!

Talki works on most java-enabled phones as well as BlackBerry smartphones. The service costs about the same as the ten SMS messages Talkster is giving you; in the UK that's £1.50 per week. Talkster offers talki with a no-risk seven day trial so people can download talki and try the service for a week before deciding to keep it for the low weekly cost.

About Talkster

Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World Dialing™ service and talki™ mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster's talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://free.talkster.com to start using Free World Dialing, and http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.