Vonage outs an Android VoIP app, says its rates are 30% cheaper than Skype, Fring smiles

Vonage, which made a name with its funny TV ads, and the vow to take on the home phone providers with its affordable VoIP offerings, today outed the Vonage Mobile app on Android Market.

We had Vonage Extension there until now, which was more limited, as it served as a supplement to your Vonage home phone service. With Vonage Mobile standalone app now you can call or message the other users of the app for free with supposedly "HD quality" voice.

What's more, Vonage Mobile offers an introductory offer to make free calls to phones in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, although this is capped at 3000 minutes per user - still good.

Vonage says its VoIP international calling rates are 70% cheaper than the carriers, and 30% cheaper than Skype on average, based on the 50 most popular calling destinations. In our comparison chart of the VoIP apps (on the right), we found out recently that it is not that hard to beat Skype in terms of rates, but the real low-baller was Fring. A quick glimpse through Vonage's calling rates revealed that it sometimes beats those of Fring, but only if you are a subscriber to one of its monthly calling plans.

source: VonageMobile (Android Market)