Telefonica Releases TU Me Skype Rival iPhone App

Telefonica Digital has unveiled TU Me, a VoIP application designed to compete with rival services such as Skype.

The app is available to download immediately from the App Store for iOS devices, but an Android version is also in development.

TU Me TU You

Users will be able to send texts, voicemails, make phone calls, send photos and share location information using the application, which Telefonica claims is the first to provide all these features in one app. The service will be free to use at launch, and is the first product to be released by Telefonica worldwide, irrespective of the user’s location or mobile operator.

All communications can be made over a Wi-Fi or mobile connection and are recorded onto a searchable timeline with data stored in the cloud. This is in contrast to Skype, which does not store any of its users’ information on its servers as it operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis, which means all calls are anonymous in its eyes.

“We’ve seen the growing popularity of communications apps on smartphones but we believe we’ve gone one better with TU Me using our knowledge and insights of how people use their devices,” said Stephen Shurrock, chief commercial officer at Telefonica Digital. “TU Me puts all your communications needs into one place, for free, and is a great way for people to stay in touch with those close to them.”

Last October, Telefonica Digital announced that was working on a VoIP service called O2 Connect that would allow smartphone users to make calls over Wi-Fi networks, using technology that Telefonica acquired in its £129 million takeover of JaJah in 2009.

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