I have for what ever reason have never been a really big fan of Nokias’ N95 series. I really don’t know why, they are utterly phenomenal phones and the world over agrees seeing as they have purchased millions of these handsets.

Well last week I had my friend James Whatley and his lovely girl friend Vikki Chowney stay with me and we got to hang out for a few hours at Mobile Geeks of LA and Tuttle Club LA. During that time I noticed James still uses his trusty N95-8gig that he’s had for over a year now. I was a bit surprised, James is extremely well connected in the mobile industry and he could just Tweet that he wants a new phone and one would show up at his doorstep the next morning. So when I saw James still using his N95-8gig I thought maybe I should give mine another shot. I have been using it to make videos about Emoze mobile email and run Defi Mobile VOIP. Today I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and grabbed my N95-8gig to play with. I tossed in my spare T-Mobile sim and off we went. I took a bunch of pictures and posted a few of them. I can see why James still uses this phone, the pics are great and I’m able to geo tag them with Location Tagger. It also just feels really good in my hand. I think I just might start carrying this phone as my digital camera and my back up handset.

Thanks James for reminding me how cool the N95-4 the black 8gigr really is.

If you want to purchase the N95 8gig talked about in this post please click the link below that leads to Amazon, you will help support this blog.
Nokia N95-4 8GB Unlocked Cell Phone with 5 MP Camera, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Media Player--U.S. Version with Warranty (Black)


By Jeb Brilliant
Chief Editor
I had a really nice conversation with Jeff Rice today.  He’s the CEO at DeFi Mobile (disclosure, they provide me with VOIP).  I had some pointed questions I wanted to ask but we started off with what they are up to right now (the good stuff).  First though I should tell you that DeFi is a Mobile VOIP provider, working over wifi networks with a list of thousands it auto connects to and only costs $40/month for unlimited calls.

Now to let the cat out of the bag, DeFi has their app being reviewed by the iPhone people so they can get it into the iPhone App Store.  This is big for people living in the States.  There are many times more iPhones here then Nokia N and E Series devices, so they hope this means that the general public here in the US will start to download DeFi on to their iPhones and get a taste of Mobile VOIP.  And DeFi will be offering all new accounts a 101 free minutes anytime and to anywhere in the world.  So you can call landlines and mobiles.  You will also be able to always call for free other DeFi users, other VOIP providers, iNum #rs, Google Chat folks, and hopefully soon Skype folks.  So that’s what’s going on at the moment with DeFi.

To get started with DeFi once their iPhone app is available you will just have to download it and give them your mobile # and email address and poof your in business.  This is a great opportunity for couples to talk to each other for hours at a time or companies with globally located employees to talk, all for free.  This is just a stepping stone for folks to then pay the $40/month and get flat rate unlimited calls to anybody on any network, anywhere in the world.  Maybe even disrupt the big telcos by lowering your minute plans with them.

One very interesting and important innovation by DeFi is that they are going to be giving out iNum numbers in the future.  This iNum is a very new concept giving people a # geared toward being used around the world and not being chained to a geographic location.

On a side note, Jeff is currently using a Nokia E51, E71 and iPhone.

Thank you to Jeff Rice for his time and Tim Warner for making this happen.

I was just at a Burger King in Tel Aviv, more specifically in Ramot Tzhala and was I happily surprised to see that they offered free WiFi.  It was a treat I didn’t expect to find.  I didn’t test the speeds but I was able to make a VOIP phone call via DeFi Mobile on an N95-4.  Good job Burger King and I hope this trend spreads.

I had to reinstall Defi a mobile VOIP application for Nokia E and N series devices that support wifi last week.  So I thought I would record it and show you how easy it is to do.  Unfortunately the only other device I had with me at the time was a Nokia E71 that as you will see does not have the greatest camera.  Honestly the video is less important then the audio and to be see how easy it is to install.  I am putting both videos below for your viewing pleasure.

The first video is  me downloading the Defi application and installing it.

The second video is me again (surprise surprise) downloading the Defi Global applications (all the hotspots for free use).  I believe the total time it took for both apps was about 5 minutes.  Amazing in my opinion.

Anyways, check out Defi and their mobile VOIP for a great and VOIP experience.  It’s $40 for unlimited (3,000 fair use) phone calls to any number mobile or land line around the globe.

I have been testing DeFi a Mobile VOIP for a few weeks now on the Nokia N 95-4 . Let me tell you, DeFi has it pegged. I am not an economist and I don’t have a masters in business but I think if they can get DeFi in front of the right people they will have it made. DeFi charges $40 per month for unlimited calling (3,000 min/month fair use policy) on any of the dozen plus Nokia Symbian smart phones that support wifi (mostly the E and N series). It is pretty simple, just go online, register with them, they will send you an sms with the download link. At that point you go to the website in the link and download the app. Within 5 minutes you should be making phone calls around the world.

I have been able to plan an event in China, call Israel to chat with friends, and spend hours talking to my sister, her husband and son in Argentina. All of this is for just $40/month. This may be steep if you only make a few calls internationally a month but keep in mind you can make calls to the US also. The unlimited calls include land line and mobile numbers to. So if you use a lot of minutes calling the US this might be a good deal for you also.

I see DeFi competing directly with other major Mobile VOIP MNOs but also with some of our local operators. For example Metro PCS here in the US offers unlimited calls for $35/month, but your restricted to their small footprint. You can use DeFi anywhere you have access to wifi, anywhere in the world. I also suspect you can use it over 3G. This means you have a roaming free handset, which I forgot to mention also provides a phone number for you.

My only complaint and this may be more a hardware/software restriction is that I can’t have DeFi on the same phone I have Truphone and run both at the same time.

All in all I would suggest DeFi to anybody.Visit www.DeFiMobile.com to get started.
Note after the fact: The DeFi customer service is superb.