Flashphone Computer Calling

I've been looking for a web-based alternative to Skype for phone-like calling over the Internet. Apparently Flashphone is attempting to fill that void. I tested it a little bit this weekend and found the sound quality to be pretty good on calls to a couple of different cell phones. You do have to create an account (free) but there is nothing to download and install on your computer. Whenever possible (if other things are equal), I would prefer to use a web-based tool rather than a local install.

As the name suggests, this service is flash based. Currently there are limitations on using the service as you are only allowed to call 3 times a day and for a maximum of 3 minutes per call. I'm sure that this is because the service is still in beta testing. Apparently you will able to call for free for longer times after the beta testing has ended. Free calling is supported to most but not all of the different countries, but I have read that it will soon work world-wide. This comes from a Russian company which explains the .ru web address.

This is clearly not yet ready for prime time - but it holds some promise for the future. A couple of other current drawbacks (besides the 3 minute thing) include a) no video/webcam support and b) no conference calling, or anything else similar to Skypecasts.