Richmond, BC based EQO (pronounced “echo”) launched a new version of their mobile VOIP, IM and Messaging platform today. It is available for just about any J2ME phone available today, which is an amazing feat for a startup (most usually launch on one platform and slowly expand). My initial impression is that this app is very good competition for the likes of Truphone who is in the same space.

Getting started was fairly easy, I just signed up and it sent me a text message with a link to download the app to my Nokia N95. After downloading, I logged in and it sucked in my contact list. The app sends a VOIP call over the IP network of the phone at substantially reduced rates. EQO is targeting international calls and text messaging. For instance, a call from the US to a UK land line is billed over the EQO network at 2.3 cents per minute while AT&T charges $1.49 at standard rates and 6 cents on their “World Connect” plan. Text messages are somewhat discounted as well (15 cents on EQO vs. 20 cents on AT&T). A nice touch is that EQO gives you $2.50 on your account to start.

The application’s greatest feature, in my opinion, is the inclusion of a multi-network IM client for free. For far too long mobile providers and software vendors have attempted to bilk mobile users out of extra money for a service that is essentially free. They charge you money to use IM services or they try to charge $30 for some junky software that barely works. This IM client is really good and works very well over both the wifi and EDGE connections off of my phone. Thanks EQO for giving me a great IM client, even if I never use your phone service.

Personally, I usually use Jajah or my regular VOIP line when I need to dial internationally. Jajah has a great user experience, equally good rates and I can use it on any phone I have without installing any software. I also question the quality of VOIP calls over mobile networks. I’ve had mostly poor experiences, and I don’t expect this one will be much different. I’ll let you all know what I think in a follow up post.