Jajah, Jaxtr, Jangl - How Are These Skype Alternatives Different ?

from Digital Inspiration by Amit

Jajah, Jangl and Jaxtr have very similar-sounding names and what further adds to the confusion is that all of them are in the web-calling (VoIP) space each trying to make their presence strong on online social networks and at the same time, grab a piece of pie from big daddy Skype.

Jajah, Jaxtr and Jangle make it possible for you to receive calls without revealing your phone number. They all work with regular phones without the computer. They provide widgets allowing readers and friends to connect with you without leaving your website. And none of them will require you to download or install any software on your computer or phone.

So what are some unique features that makes each of these "Ja.." (fill in the blanks) service different? Let's take a look:

JAJAH - Jajah lets you make phone calls over the internet but using regular telephone lines. Type in your phone number on the Jajah website and also the phone number of the person you wish to reach – Jajah will then connect the two numbers seamlessly.

Jajah will also let you send SMS text messages to any mobile phone in the world. And they have just introduced a new service called Jajah Direct which lets you make Internet calls even without a computer or an Internet connection.

You can add Jajah call buttons to your website, social networks or email signatures and receive calls without giving away your phone number. The call charges in this case will be paid by the person who is receiving calls through Jajah (i.e., you).

Jajah supports voice conference calls and call scheduling so you will never forget calling your aunt on her birthday as Jajah will automatically make the call for you.

JAXTR - Jaxtr provides a simple click-to-call widget that you can embed in your social web profiles or blogs.

Anyone on the web can can type his phone number inside this widget on your web page and Jaxtr will then connect his phone to your phone almost immediately.

When you register with Jaxtr, you also get a local phone number and any calls made to this number are automatically redirected to your main phone number.  

The best part about Jaxtr is the simplicity - it doesn't require the caller to register before placing a call - they can just key in their own phone number and wait for Jaxtr to connect.

JANGL - Like Jajah and Jaxtr, Jangl also allows anyone to call you without knowing your phone number but there's a difference in approach - when you have to make a phone call through Jangl, you first have to provide Jangl an email address of the person you wish to reach.

Jangl will then give you a local phone number, you call that and leave a voice mail message that will be delivered to the recipient over email. Once they agree to connect with you, the recipient receives instructions to get a number – local to them – to call you back. (read that line again, it may take a while for you to understand the Jangle concept but its actually quite simple)

The interesting feature here is that all phone numbers assigned by Jangl are always different - so if you have five friends who you have allowed to connect through Jangl, they will all be assigned unique phone numbers .

Jangl is quite popular on dating websites but unfortunately, India in not in their list of supported countries yet.