Fring has announced that it will no longer offer its apps for Windows Mobile, UIQ, or J2ME users. This even after launching an update to its voice and video chat app for iPhone users.

The move is in respond to market changes with the number of phones and other telcommunication devices that are installed with Windows Mobile has slowed to a crawl. Even when Microsoft pushes its new Windows Phone 7 operating system and Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Symbian continue to dominate the smartphone device market.

Fring will continue to support existing users of its Windows Mobile, Java, and UIQ clients although its quite unfortunate for them as they have no means to update their apps. Fring is concentrating on offering downloads of its apps for iOS, Android, and Symbian.

“fring” is a free software program and service for Windows Mobile 5, 6 and Symbian phones that uses VoIP to allow you to make cheap and free calls and instant messages. Fring helps to lower the cost of your international calls. Fring’s unique feature is that it brings together connections to Skype, SIP, GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, plus the sub-blogging service Twitter. You can choose whichever SIP service for example the GizmoProject, VoipCheap, VoipStunt, Free World DialUp and others, and even use SIP on fring with other non-SIP enabled devices.

The arrangement works over 3G, GPRS and Wi-Fi networks regardless of your carrier. With the current efferverscence of free public internet, you’re good to go to make a free or low cost VoIP call in any location. It allows you to conserve your airtime and save it for circumstances when no Wi-Fi connection is available. In addition, fring to fring calls are entirely free which makes buddy-to-buddy communications a snap.

fring allows you to organize all your IM and phone contacts in one place and rather than using SMS, you can chat freely using Messenger. For $30 per year you can use your SkypeOut account to make free calls to any phone in North America and low cost international calls. If you have a lot of IM contacts, you can not only see when your friends are online, you can also see if they’re typing or not. It makes the chat feel more like a real conversation instead of waiting in limbo as they type their responses. The advantage of the chat feature as compared to SMS, is that you can view your entire chat conversation in real-time on your handset and reduce the high accumulated costs of SMS.

Fring has announced its Android version. With fring on android, users can make free VoIP calls over Skype, MSN, Google Talk or other SIP providers like those supported by betamax voip applications. The app also supports live chatting through ICQ, Yahoo, and also supports Twitter. Fring on Android works over 3G, GPRS or WiFi connection.

There are 2 ways to installed fring onto your Android device:

1. Android Market
• Start the Market application on your phone
• Search for fring and install

2. Fring’s WAP site:
• On your Android phone, go to Settings > Applications and check the box to allow ’unknown sources’
• Point your phone browser to m.fring.com and download

Fring 3.40 is now available for Samsung (Symbian) handsets. This include the Omnia HD.

Version 3.40 include the following features:
- Unification hints (manual/ GSM+IM services)
- User profiles
- Bug fixes

Push Notification is a new feature in the new iPhone 3.0. This feature allows dynamic applications such as fring, to run in the background even when you’re not logged on. So when you log out of fring, it keeps you in “online” status so your buddies can contact you, and you can choose whether to respond to an alert notifying you that someone is trying to chat, call, send you files, etc. It does this by emiting a beep sound and a pop-up window, telling you that your friend is trying to contact you. Once you click on that pop-up window, it’ll log you back into fring and take you straight to the relevant window. You can enable the option for fring on the phone.

Mobile VoIP and IM service fring is launching a custom mobile-optimized Last.fm music radio add-on that brings a lot of the music recommendation service to the fring client. Frimg also integrates with the latter’s social and communication features. Fringsters are now able to fire up streamed music radio channels, including their own Last.fm library, tag favourites, ban disliked tracks, view album artwork etc.