Last week, Vonage released a new VoIP app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch called Time to Call™. This pay-per-call international calling app allows users to make short, 15-minute calls to 190 countries with competitive rates ranging from 99 cents to $9.99 per call. It is FREE to download with no monthly charges and no commitments. 

So what sets Time to Call apart from its competitors? Payments are processed through iTunes®, so you don’t need to create an account with Vonage or another third party.

  

  

According to Vonage’s official page, Time to Call offers the following:

• Pay per call and talk up to 15 minutes to 100 countries for $1.99 or less¹
• For an additional 90+ countries, talk up to 15 minutes for $2.99 to $9.99¹
• Works on Wi-Fi worldwide
• Also for use on high quality 3G networks² in the U.S. and Canada
• Significant savings over mobile carrier rates
• FREE download

¹Excluding applicable taxes
²Carrier charges may apply if you have a limited data plan

PLUS, for a limited time, Vonage is offering a FREE 15-minute call to landlines and mobiles in 100 countries when you download the app!

I’ve had the chance to play around with Time to Call, and even asked friends to help me test out the app. (Who can turn down a free 15-minute international call?) Our verdict:

1. The quality of calls was pretty good, but this definitely depends on the type of connection you use. In our tests, WiFi considerably beat out both mobile connections and 3G.
2. The app is easy to download and pretty intuitive. However, one tester noted that choosing the country at the beginning of the call was a bit confusing, since that led her to believe that she wouldn’t need to input the country code. (Choosing the country seems to only set the rate of the call.)
3. Everyone liked the fact that there was no need to set up a separate account or plan with Vonage, since everything was pre-paid through iTunes.
4. Another big “PRO” is that you have up to a year to use up your unused minutes. However, the unused minutes can only be used for the same country or calling region.
5. One minute before your 15 minutes is up, you will get a notification alerting you of this. I wish that you can buy more than 15 minutes at a time, or have an option to buy more minutes while making the call. According to Vonage, they are working to possibly include this feature in a future update.
6. There is not yet an Android app, but Vonage says that it is on its way.

Now, on to what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for — the iPad 2 giveaway!

In an effort to promote Time to Call, Vonage is sponsoring 75 different websites to give away an Apple iPad 2 32GB WiFi and a $15 iTunes gift card to use with the device…and this blog is one of those lucky sites!

The Geek in Heels iPad 2 Giveaway will officially begin August 13, 2011, at 12:00am EDT and will come to a close August 17, 2011 at 11:59pm EDT. So please check back tomorrow to see exactly how you can win!

Since EACH site is giving away a separate iPad 2, you are more than free to enter the other giveaways too! (But please note that each site will have its own set of giveaway rules, and if you win via one of the sites, you can’t win again on another participating site.)

You can find a list of participating websites, as well as more information on Time to Call, on the continually-updated site http://www.callsfromsmartphone.com/. And, for your convenience, here is the latest list of the sites and the run-times of their giveaways:

Aug 10 ~ Aug 14
http://geekdad.daddyforever.com/
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/
http://smallbiztrends.com/

Aug 11 ~ Aug 15
http://the-gadgeteer.com/
http://www.mouthyhousewives.com/
http://www.mobilityminded.com/

Aug 12 ~ Aug 16
http://www.gearlive.com/
http://www.mobilitysite.com/
http://collegecandy.com/

Aug 13 ~ Aug 17
http://www.neowin.net/
https://www.geekinheels.com/
http://www.whatthetech.com/

Aug 14 ~ Aug 18
**link removed per website’s request**
http://boardingarea….iewfromthewing/
http://www.geardiary.com/

Aug 15 ~ Aug 19
http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/
http://dailysocial.net/en/
http://smallbiztechnology.com

Aug 16 ~ Aug 20
http://www.autechheads.com/
http://thestudyabroadblog.com/
http://iphonenewzealand.co.nz

Aug 17 ~ Aug 21
http://HerCampus.com
http://www.busymom.net/
http://www.ben.geek.nz

Aug 18 ~ Aug 22
http://www.soldiersperspective.us
http://eliax.com/
http://www.hackcollege.com/
http://geeksroom.com

Good luck to everyone reading this, and please check back tomorrow for the official Geek in Heels iPad 2 Giveaway!