North American consumers can now join the public beta of Zipring—a simple, inexpensive integrated VoIP phone service that works with any phone, mobile or Internet device; requires no contract and is free to try.

Unlike other Internet phone applications and devices on the market, Zipring is based on open standards so it can be used with any VoIP software or phone device. Additionally, because Zipring leverages the internet, it can turn any Internet-based device—such as an iPad, iPod Touch, laptop or desktop computer—into a phone and enable users to make and receive calls to that device using their dedicated Zipring phone number.

Among its many benefits, Zipring has zero roaming charges and does not require a contract. Zipring features include visual voicemail, call recording, voicemail to email, web-based calling and account management, and no contracts. Its flexibility and open-standards design makes Zipring much more comparable to a traditional or mobile phone service than other Internet phone offerings and applications, but far more versatile and inexpensive.

During private beta stages, driven by word-of-mouth and invitation-only access, Zipring is already in use by over 17,000 people and has more than 25,000 downloads of the iPhone application to date.

How it works:

• Get a Zipring phone number nearly anywhere in the US
• One Zipring number calls all your other numbers
• Turn any smartphone into a free or inexpensive calling phone
• Use Zipring’s “follow me” feature to receive calls and access Zipring features on your landline or mobile phone
• Change your Zipring caller ID to match any of your existing numbers

Features:

• No roaming charges
• Free trial (includes outbound calling and SMS) followed by very competitive rates
• Record Calls
• Voicemail Greetings
• Voicemail to Email
• SMS Send and Receive
• SMS to Email
• Share SMS, Voicemail and Recordings
• Block Callers

Zipring is latest in a series of new offerings and acquisitions by Ziplocal, a digital advertising and local search company that is quickly establishing itself as an incubator for digital innovation. The launch of Zipring comes on the heels of Ziplocal’s launch of LocaLeads, a pay-for-performance digital advertising platform that distributes hyperlocal advertising content from small and medium size businesses to web and mobile publishers across North America.