VentureBeat

Nimbuzz, the mobile VoIP and IM startup based in the Netherlands that offers you the kitchen sink of services — all for free, except for data charges, of course — has raised $15 million more in a second round of financing led by Naspers/MIH.

Meanwhile, competitor Fring announced the first add-ons developed by Fring and thifd parties via its API platform.

VentureBeat covered Nimbuzz’s impressive VoIP shotgun offering (including its social networking widgets, etc.) last month. However, there are so many competitors in this VoIP area (130 startups, according to one count) and such small margins, it’s very difficult to see how a company can make it big. Nimbuzz also appears to be doing too much. Indeed, its client software is about a 1 megabyte download, as Techcrunch UK points out.

Our internal panel decided not to make Nimbuzz or Fring nominees for MobileBeat’s best mobile companies. As we said at the time, we hope they can prove us wrong and become a big hit regardless. Nimbuzz’ Tobias Kemper said the company is focused this year almost exclusively on growth but plans to make money eventually via white-label services, advertising and deals with carriers and social networking companies.

Nimbuzz is certainly doing a lot, and swinging for the fences. They told Techcrunch UK they have a million registered mobile users so far — as recently as May, CMO Tariq Dag Khan mentioned that they had only half that number. The company hopes to get to 5 million users by the end of the year and has been helped with significant funding. It’s already taken $10 million from Mangrove Capital Partners. Mangrove, an early Skype investor, also participated in the latest round.

Nimbuzz first launched Java and Symbian versions to support 500 handsets in 50 countries. The latest cash will be used to extend to Windows Mobile, iPhone and Android.

However, it’s worth noting that players like Fring have already released an iPhone version (that works with jailbroken iPhones).

Fring released a taste of the first add-ons built via its APIs, which include features such as social networking (interacting on Facebook and Orkut), video and email notification features. Screenshots and YouTube clip below.

Fring, a successful mobile application that merges an instant-messenger with the ability to place calls over the internet, has recently opened its application programming interface (API) to other developers.

The new API will allow developers to build applications that deploy Fring’s interface, instant messenger, file transfer and, perhaps most significantly, its “presence” awareness capability. Fring taps into MSN Messenger, ICQ, Skype and Google Talk. Like any IM service, it lets other users know when you are available online. Together, presence and location awareness could in theory combine to create some interesting applications.

Fring’s API currently only works with Nokia’s S60, v. 9.2 phones and the company has not developed any of its own spin-off apps to show off the API’s capabilities. However, the company says it’s only a matter of time before it becomes available across multiple platforms and hundreds of devices worldwide, a reach that may make even eager iPhone developers drool. Fring actually does have a version of its app for hacked iPhones, which, as Read/Write Web’s Marshall Kirkpatrick reports, is getting over 100,000 monthly downloads globally.

The Israeli company raised $12M last year.

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Most users love their iPhones. Fewer love AT&T’s mobile service. So what if you could use your iPhone without using AT&T’s cellular network? Better yet, what if you could talk use it to talk for free over the Internet? Behold, the power of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) on mobile devices.

Mobile communication platform Fring says it has made the first VoIP application that is publicly available for the iPhone. Now, before you go getting all excited, there is fine print.

You will need to “jailbreak” your iPhone to use the app. Jailbreaking is the process in which you basically hack the iPhone’s operating system to grant you access to install third party applications. Obviously Apple does not support this, and many of the company’s regular updates have removed the functionality that a jailbreak brings.

Fring clearly tries to downplay this jailbreaking part (which they term “open”) by making you go to no less than three separate pages to from their announcement to get directions on how to install the application. When you finally get there, you’ll see the sly first step:

In order to install fring, you need to have your iPhone “opened” first to accept 3rd party applications.
Refer to the Internet for details.

Ah yes, “refer to the Internet for details.” Fring isn’t going to tell you, because that would be illegal.

Still, if you happen to have an iPhone that is already “open” you may want to check out Fring’s new VoIP application. That should hold you over until the official 3rd party VoIP apps developed with the iPhone’s SDK (software development kit) start coming out this summer — which undoubtedly will include Fring.

Find more of our coverage on VoIP on mobile phones here.

Fring, which makes a VoIP application for 3G and WiFi-enabled mobile phones, has raised $12 million in its second round of capital.

Israel’s Fring, like other mobile VoIP services Yeigo and Truphone, lets you use your data plan — and not your mobile minutes — to make cheaper calls. Considering that stand-alone unlimited data plans go for $80/month, compared to around $200/month for unlimited minutes, this is at once a compelling value proposition for users and a potential threat to mobile carriers’ status-quo.

In Britain, T-Mobile UK has tried to thwart the menace by blocking calls to Truphone numbers, preventing Truphone users from accepting incoming calls. But these services are bound to proliferate, and T-Mobile’s blunt-edged approach is unlikely to fend off the challenge from mobile VoIP for long. (Jesse Kopelman has an in-depth look at the carriers’ problems here.)

Israel’s Fring offers a downloadable application that works on Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. It allows free calls to other VoIP users and charges the standard VoIP rates for calls to landlines and mobile phones. It also connects to multiple IM services like Google Talk, MSN Messenger, and ICQ. (CrunchGear has a review here)

North Bridge Venture Partners led the round, which included VenFind LTD and Fring’s existing investors, Pitango Venture Capital, Veritas Venture Partners, and Yossi Vardi.