Jangl, which is one of the most creative and forward-looking of the web-based calling services, today released a significant update. The old service was based on the concept of a proprietary "Jangl ID" which a subscriber could hand out to potential callers. The caller would go to the Jangl web site and exchange the ID for a dedicated phone number that could be used to make the call, subject to Jangl's call screening application. In an advance over the typical anonymous calling service, Jangl provided a return path such that either party could call the other without revealing his or her own phone number. The process was a bit cumbersome but the subscriber could simplify things by creating a widget that could be posted on a blog or social networking site.
In the new release, Jangl has ditched the proprietary ID in favor of using the recipient's email address, in essence providing a way to make a phone call to anyone via that email address. While the concept of making phone calls to user@domain instead of a phone number was part of SIP, Jangl has created a complete service for doing the mapping, including the human part of getting people to offer up their phone numbers to be mapped, and protecting their privacy in the process.
To make a call, the caller must join the Jangl service (free for now) which requires providing an email address and a phone number. The new subscriber provides the email address of the intended recipient and is given a phone number to call. That number, which only works from the subscriber's phone, will reach voice mail the first time it is used. The recipient then gets an email with a link back to the Jangl site where the voice mail can be played. If the recipient wants to return the call, he or she must also join the Jangl service and get a number that he or she can use to call back the original caller.
Once everyone is signed up, the process gets easier. The web site provides the subscriber with a Contact list where he can specify on a per-caller basis whether calls are sent directly to voice mail (the default) or whether they are forwarded on to the subscriber's real phone.
There is also an slick integrated voice mail system, similar to Grand Central, where all the voice mails can be viewed and played.
Jangl will provision local numbers in 32 countries, allowing it to compete with companies such as Jajah to provide cheap or free international long distance, but without requiring the use of the web site except for the initial call.
There are still some rough edges. On the first day of service the site occasionally stopped responding, GIFs were misplaced, and numbers didn't work. By the end of the day it all appeared to be working smoothly, although some features were still missing, such as the ability for the subscriber to update his own phone number. In all it appears to be a creative approach to the problem of getting people connected while protecting their privacy and maybe even saving some money. I look forward to using it some more to see how well it works out in practice.
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