Indian IT graduate launches AWAAZ, a free VoIP Android app
Awaaz voice call app allows users to make free and private voice calls over mobile phones via Internet.
A new VOIP (Voice over IP telephony) app has been released for Android. The app called AWAAZ Android app allows users to call each other using their mobile phones for free as all calls get routed over the Internet automatically. The app has been developed by Anuj Jain, who is an IT graduate from Delhi University.
The app runs more like a plug-in than an app, as the user doesn’t need to run the application after installing it for the first time. The user can make calls using the regular phone dialer and the app automatically takes over the call if both phones have it installed and are connected to the Internet. Users can also see which contacts are currently online on the app. Like WhatsApp, a user’s phone number becomes their identity, and apart from that the app doesn’t ask for any more details. If your contacts start using the app, your calls are automatically routed over the internet with no input from you or your contact.
All voice data is encrypted using a 256-bit AES key exchanged using 2048-bit RSA, and new keys are generated for every call. Just a few days after the launch, the app already has registered more than 5500 users in US, Europe and Australia. The app is currently available for Android devices running Gingerbread or higher and will also be launched for iOS soon.
Anuj Jain, developer of Awaaz, said, “The idea behind this creation was to give a parallel to telephony the same magic that Whatsapp has fashioned in messaging. I am extremely overwhelmed at the response that the app has received from its users.”
Recently Indian students launched a free offline voice calling service called FreeKall. The app makes money by making users listen to ten second advertisements every two minutes during calls. Registered users can make 12 minute calls in a day while unregistered users can make 3 minute calls in a day. The company expects a revenue of $30 million by the end of this fiscal year.