If you’re a techno-freak who thinks the Internet is uber cool, the in-thing right now is to have VOIP (Voice over IP)-enabled ISD on your mobile phone.

Using GPRS and services like Fring and Nimbuzz, several youngsters are now online on their phones 24/7. Not only does this elevate their coolness, it also helps them make international calls at practically zero charges. And they stay connected with friends living abroad too.

Explaining the technology, Jamshed B. Rajan, AVP, Ibibo, says, “Software like Fring and Nimbuzz allow for mobile-to-mobile communication using the Internet. It allows people to use a tool they’ve always used for talking, and make calls free of cost provided there’s a WiFi connection. Since many people aren’t used to sitting in front of a PC, this is convenient in more ways than one.”

For youngsters who’re in a long-distance relationship and want to talk to their loved ones for hours on end, such technology comes in real handy. Says Deepthi Krishna, a B.Com student, “My boyfriend and I talk for long hours on the phone. But at least now my mobile bill doesn’t shoot through the roof.”

Deepthi’s Fring-installed phone has other advantages as well, she says. “My boyfriend is quite possessive and doesn’t like me talking to my other friends, especially guys, late at night. But I have friends abroad and that’s the time when we are free. If I’m talking to someone using Fring and my boyfriend calls at the same time, the phone will ring and won’t go on a second call. He just assumes I’m sleeping or tied up with something and not know I’m actually talking to someone else,” she grins.

Students who want to be on top of everything, and want to know what’s happening every minute of the day, are also in love with their GPRS phones.

Nithya B, a postgraduate student of mass communication, beams, “The fact that I can constantly stay on Twitter and know what everyone on my list is tweeting about is a high. Also, whether it’s a new video that’s come out or any important news, I get to know it first.”

With many colleges having WiFi facilities on their campuses, students using their Internet-enabled phones says it’s more convenient than carrying laptops. Paras B, a student says, “We save our presentations on our phones, and use them in classrooms as all info is available on the phone.”