Fring is a new free iPhone application released on Friday that seems to have generated as much buzz in discussion forums about its Skype VOIP capabilities as it has confusion. The application web page describes Fring as:

fring™ is a mobile internet service & community that enables ou to access & interact with your social networks on-the-go, make free calls and live chat with all your fring, Skype®, MSN® Messenger, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!™ and AIM®* friends using your handset’s internet connection.

How well does this all work? Unfortunately in my limited testing and usage I was deeply disappointed. My initial reaction was disdain for yet another social networking application that I’d have to load (and unload) with some frequency on my iPhone (caused mostly by the rule that iPhone apps can’t run in the background). Let me tell you where this application fails.

Fring claims to integrate your social media (Instant messaging, Twitter) into one program. It does this at the most basic level and using it to communicate on Twitter felt like a trip back 2 years.

Some basics about what you’ll need to make this application useful:
- A Skype account and if you want to call landlines you must purchase SkypeOut service (about $29/yr). Fring also integrates with about a half dozen other VOIP providers that I did not test. I’ve included a list of them at the end of this review.
- Instant messaging login - Yahoo, MSN, AOL, ICQ
- Twitter account login

IMPORTANT NOTE: This application will NOT enable VOIP over 3G - you MUST be using Wi-Fi.

If you are beyond a novice computer user, the way that Fring presents your Twitter chats is painful, embarrassing and seemingly the work of someone who never used Twitter beyond figuring out how to make the API work.

First, the interface used to read and send Twitter messages is bare bones. There is no history of your conversations, tweets or any other way to search information. You have no capability to upload photos or do much of anything. The screen below is how you’ll interact with Twitter. Notice how difficult it is to read the Tweets and differentiate one from another.

Several popular instant message services can be setup on Fring - including AOL, Yahoo and MSN. They have a similar bare bones functionality as Twitter with only the capability to enter a text chat. No profile photos, history, nothing that a power (or even semi-seriou) user might expect from modern day Instant Messaging software..

So by this point you’re probably asking yourself “what’s so hot about this program”?

I had to message Dan several times during the course of my evaluation to make sure I wasn’t overlooking some functionality in the program. Indeed it seems the main “claim to fame” of Fring is the ability to make Skype phone calls - basically a phone call over your Wi-Fi connection (you cannot make the call via EDGE or 3G).

As seen in the photo above, I was able to complete a few Skype calls. Unfortunately my failure rate is probably 8 out of 10. For every 10 calls I made, I’d be greeted 8 times with the message below:

The Skype functionality within Fring has several major problems:

1. It is unreliable - I was unable to consistently make an outgoing call.

2. The integration with the phonebook (so you know the number you are calling) is non-existent. You need to memorize the phone number (be sure you put the number 001 in front or your call will always fail) that you need to dial.

3. On several Skype test calls the quality was poor. I could hear the person who I had called but there was a severe echo and/or delay to the other person who struggled to hear my voice.

4. I was not able to test the ability to receive incoming calls due to the very inconsistent nature of the service. It’s unlikely that Fring could be used as a primary phone to dodge your normal cellular charges since (a) you can only use it on Wi-Fi and (b) you must have the Fring application open in order for it to work.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Fring also claims to integrate with several other VOIP providers (Sipnet, Gizmo, Free World DialUp, VoipCheap, VoipStunt, A1, VoipBuster, Other) in addition to Skype. My experience with the Skype portion was so poor and the Instant Messaging clients so basic that I didn’t bother to test the other half dozen or so VOIP services it claims to connect to. The main feature for many is the Skype service which is widely used. You may have better luck with a VOIP provider other than Skype.

In it’s current form I can’t recommend Fring to anyone. The sole apparent feature - Skype VOIP - is buggy, poorly implemented and had terrible call quality. There are half a dozen better instant messaging programs for iPhone and either Twittelator Pro or Twitterific run circles around Fring in terms of Twitter functionality.

Skip this download.

Link: Fring

Cost: Free

What Could Be Improved:
- Start over with a fresh design for the Twitter and Instant Message clients
- Have Skype work consistently and with average quality
- Integrate address book to phone dialer

What I Liked:

- It was free so I didn’t feel upset when I took it off my iPhone
- The review got me to look at Skype again and renew my account, though I definitely won’t use Fring in it’s current form to connect to Skype