Aplio/Phone, the Wizard that slashes your phone bills
Aplio/Phone, the Wizard that slashes your phone bills
Melbourne-Jakarta: Rp 7,800/hour
From her rented apartment in Melbourne, Australia, the blossoming and spoiled Jessi made an international call to Jakarta almost every other night. A typical upper middle-class 19-year-old studying at an Australian university, she would call her home in the West Jakarta area, or her boyfriend, or any of her many friends, and chat for 15 to 30 minutes. Whenever she quarreled with her boyfriend, however, it could last for more than one hour. After that there would customarily be a brief cooling-off period, and then she would call him back and the reconciliation process would take at least another 15 minutes.
To pass all the costs on to her parents, she would make a collect call home, and tell her parents' maid to call her boyfriend and connect the two of them through the conference call facility. Needless to say, her parents were shocked each time they saw their monthly phone bill. "We couldn't do much about it. Jessi is our only daughter," they rationalized.
Well, it turned out there was actually something they could do. They heard about the revolutionary Aplio/Phone, a solution brought by technological advances in Internet telephone technology, and decided to give it a try. One month after they started using it, their phone bill was down from Rp 5 million to only Rp 700,000. They were so excited they immediately bought another unit for Jessi's boyfriend so the two of them could communicate directly. Or, more precisely, so that they could get rid of the mountainous monthly phone bills.
Aplio may not be a household name yet, but thanks to its effectiveness in slashing long-distance and international phone costs by up to 95 percent, it has already created ripples in a growing number of countries around the world.
Computer enthusiasts have been communicating by voice with their friends and colleagues half the world away with the help of their PCs and the Internet. Thanks to the rapid progress in Voice over IP (VoIP) technology, they have been able to talk for hours without having to pay international connection charges. But they needed computers to do it, and computers have never been easy to use. A group of young, entrepreneurial scientists from Israel then came up with a brilliant idea: Why not use the same technology with a small, extremely user-friendly PC replacement? Hence the Aplio/Phone.
The concept is very simple. All they had to create was an Internet appliance that would enable people to reroute long- distance and international calls through the Internet using the already available VoIP technology. The tremendous business potential for such a product was immediately visible. For example, according to Intelliquest, in the U.S. there were at least 29 million people paying more than US$60 per month just for long-distance calls in 1998. It was only a small part of the market that they wanted to tap into.
Simple Operation
1. In her Melbourne apartment, Jessi dials her parents' Jakarta number.
2. As soon as the phone is answered, she presses the Aplio button on her Aplio/Phone.
3. Her Aplio/Phone sends a signal to the other Aplio/Phone.
4. After a couple of seconds, she hangs up.
5. Both Aplio/Phones then connect to the Internet (ISP).
6. Within about 45 seconds, the two Aplio/Phones are connected through the Internet.
7. Both Jessi's and her parent's phone rings.
8. Both parties pick up their phone, and the conversation starts on local charges.
The Device
An Aplio/Phone device is basically a full-duplex speakerphone and a modem with a unique, five-digit ID. The handsome box contains a proprietary microprocessor that handles full-duplex audio compression very effectively using Aplio's own PacketPlus technology. This technology delivers the best digital sound quality by continuously monitoring Internet conditions and adjusting the transmission accordingly.
What about sound quality? Depending on the infrastructure, the audio quality is as good as a digital cell phone. In countries with excellent Internet infrastructure, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, there will normally be no delay whatsoever. To further improve audio quality, the device is equipped with a voice enhancer. Aplio/Phone also complies with the ITU's HC323 recommendations, the accepted standards for multimedia communication over the Internet.
All you need in order to be able to use Aplio/Phone are a telephone line and a dial-up Internet account. It can be used with any analog telephone or semi-digital PBX's. It carries a full one-year warranty.
Like many other alternative solutions to what has been available to us for a long time, the public may be asking themselves how lawful this new technology is and whether or not a regulation will be created to ban it. However, one should keep in mind that not only has technology outpaced regulations, worldwide trends are moving toward liberalization and Indonesia will be no exception. Using Aplio/Phone is just as legal as sending E-mail over the Internet, and it is quite unlikely that this will change. The Telecommunications Authority of Singapore has given its approval to Aplio/Phone by issuing it a license. Ever since the first product was shipped in March 1998, 50,000 satisfied customers have been enjoying it in more than 50 countries around the world.
In addition, as our telecom operators have a potentially huge customer base and not all of these customers will need to make long-distance or international calls on a regular basis, there is no reason why Aplio should be of concern to them. Furthermore, most large businesses, which comprise the bulk of our operators' long-distance and international call customers, will always prefer the faster direct dial calls and they do not mind paying for the convenience of IDD.
Clearly, Aplio/Phone suits the need of families like Jessi's, where family members spend many hours per week on the phone with other family members who live in another town or another country. Suppliers who spend hours talking with their customers to find out about their specific requirements will also benefit from using Aplio/Phone.
Aplio/Phone cuts communication costs because the only things that the users will have to pay are the local phone charges and Internet usage. Currently, these charges will come to about Rp 7,000 per hour, regardless of whether you are calling a person in a different calling area in Indonesia or someone in a far away place in Europe. Thus, the sooner you start using Aplio, the more savings you can enjoy.
For further information or a product demo, contact:
Central Jakarta:
1. Chugani Impex -- 3853413
2. HK Trading -- 3840680, 0816926119
3. Kingtron Ps. Baru -- 3521055, 3521075
4. Centrin Computer -- 6000364
5. COM1 - 6000055
6. Multi Graha -- 4251240, 4251278
7. Vista Com -- 6126002, 6126003
North Jakarta:
Matrix Komputindo -- 6509520, 6508714
South Jakarta :
1. MegaNet -- 7293844
2. Kingtron Ps. Festival -- 5263125
West Jakarta:
1. Safir Alam -- 6326303, 6327273
2. CTC Komputer -- 5868077,08161950614
3. Laba Electronic -- 7398812
Outside Jakarta :
Semarang : Mahesa Komputer -- (024) 447289, 314638
Medan: Pt. Laras Maju -- (061) 7356666
Malang: PT. Abakus -- (0341) 486111
Bali: Aplio-Bali -- (0361) 734577
Surabaya: Multi Graha (031) 3821412