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My Cellphone My Terms

Forget Google Voice Canada, Bud Phone is the answer

Posted on December 16th, 2010Kye Husbands
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Bud Phone to the rescue for Canadians

I know what you are thinking. Bud Who? Yup, thats right, Bud Phone. It’s an application for your smart phone that will give you free long distance in several cities across Canada and it just might be your new found buddy.  Freephoneline.ca and Budweiser have partnered to bring this amazingly simple, yet powerful application to the masses so kudos to them both.

So what do you need to get started?

All you need to have is a smart phone with data as part of your cell phone plan.  If you don’t have a smart phone as yet or you have a smart phone and are just looking for a plan, find your Canada cell phone plan deal at myCELLmyTERMS.

How do I set up Bud Phone?

It couldn’t be easier really.

  1. Visit budphone.ca and create an account by following the 3 step process.

  2. Once you register you will have to confirm your registration and they will send a text message to the number entered on step 1 of registration.  Currently the Bud Phone app has been developed for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android phones so that just about covers all of us. Sorry, early adopters of Windows Phone 7.
  3. Click the link in your text message and install the app on your cell phone.
  4. Run the app and it will ask you to verify your location in order to find a local access number for you to utilize to make your calls.

So what’s the catch?

Bud Phone offers free calling to various cities across Canada so make sure you review the list.  Also note the application relies on GPS in order to locate the appropriate local access number thereby allowing you to make local calls from wherever  you are before your call can get out to its destination.  For example if you lived in Toronto and travel to Montreal for whatever reason. While there you decide you want to call your buddy in Vancouver, Bud Phone will allow you to do this for free. The Bud Phone app will recognize your new location and offer you a list of cities.  Once you select Montreal the application will dial out from that local access number.

So what’s in it for them? As you will notice, the Bud Phone is powered by freephoneline.ca, which is owned and operated by Fibernetics.  Fibernetics is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) located in Cambridge Ontario and they offer a host of other services that by generating awareness through this partnership you may be willing to sign up for.  Services include Highspeed DSL internet, home phone line service over VOIP – so in otherwords you can ditch the computer dialer (i.e. softphone) and with a ATA device make calls with your physical phone – and of course long distance calling at great rates.  For Budweiser it’s an opportunity to gain insight into consumer behaviour given the questions they ask during registration as well as build a healthy database list.

What’s the bottom line?

Download the Bud Phone for your computer or smart phone (BlackBerry, iPhone, Android) or both and enjoy some free calling.  Finally a tool developed for Canadians by Canadians that can help us save some money on our cell phone bills.

16 comments The Cell Phone Blog , , ,
  • philsner

    I like it! I’ve already made one phone call in Alberta and quality was very clear. It’s nice to have an alternative to Google Voice which isn’t available in Canada right now.

  • http://www.mycellphonemyterms.com/General/2010/12/blackberry-must-have-apps-for-2011/ BlackBerry Appworld – What apps do I need?

    [...] an alternative to our current Google Voice exclusion. To learn more about BudPhone our blog – Forget Google Voice Get the BudPhone – is your next [...]

  • teresa

    it’s not working for me! i don’t get the text message for the link to the all :( help!!

  • david

    Will Bud Phone work on the IPod Touch 4?

  • Yale Holder

    David, the Bud Phone dials local numbers to avoid LD charges so it won’t work on the iPod Touch you need an actual data phone.

  • http://johnmiedema.ca/2011/04/14/who-needs-a-cell-phone-plan-when-you-have-a-free-ip-phone/ Who needs a cell phone plan when you have a free IP phone? | Open Reading

    [...] Fed Up with Bell CanadaUpdate 9 PM EST. Americans can use Google Voice but Canadians cannot. The recommended approach in Canada is Bud Phone, affiliated with freephoneline.ca. I have registered and installed the [...]

  • Jerry

    Earlier above you state the Bud Phone will not work with the iPod touch, is this a need for a reliance on the GPS as mentioned in the article?

    If this is so, would not the Novatel 2372 Mifi (which has a GPS) help in this regard?

  • Al Roy

    Just installed and tried it out. Worked great for making the actual call, except that The calling party (me), and the receiving party (my wife, on our land line) could not hear any sound over the connection. Must be some setting that I have to tweak somewhere I guess.

  • Yale Holder

    It works with my BlackBerry Torch, did you set your location first? What kind of phone do you have Al.

  • Ken

    Hows does this compare to Google Voice? Its only available in 4 provinces and only lets you call a handful of places. If you sign up for, expect to start getting calls trying to see you minutes to use this free service.

    Total crap

  • Thufir

    It’s only an alternative to Google Voice because…wait for it…the CRTC prevents Skype and Google Voice from operating in Canada.

    This service from BudPhone, nice as it is, doesn’t compare to the VoIP options in the US, or, and here’s the kicker: *Europe*

    That’s right, in Europe, you can use skype on your ipad (or, in my case, Android Archos). In Canada? Nope, the CRTC prevents those services.

    BudPhone doesn’t compete with Google Voice, nor Skype, because the service offered is *different*. Both Skype and Google Voice let you dial *any* number from any computer (or iPad/whatever).

    BudPhone is a two stage service, completely different. Apples and oranges :(

  • Kycayman

    Does Bud phone work forGoogle’s Nexus S

  • Anonymous

    Absolutely. Budphone can be installed and run on Android devices. There is a also a desktop app for your computer which you can use, but other services like Skype or Gmail’s App are also useful.

  • Rachelle

    Budphone doesn’t work on Nexus S. I own a Nexus S. Installed the app, it doesn’t work — it shows a loading screen and hangs. Plus, the phone isn’t listed in the Budphone registration dropdown, which leads me to believe only the 5 Android phones listed are supported by Budphone. Tried calling their tech support to verify; spent 30 mins as “caller number 1″ in the queue, but never reached to a support person. It was Saturday, so could be why.

  • Morgan T

    I have a Dell Streak 5 (Android phone) and chose the Acer Liquid E. It only crashes when I try to access my regular contacts. You’ll have to manually dial a few numbers and then use ‘More’ touse it’s recent call list. Otherwise it works fine.

  • http://www.mycellphonemyterms.com/General/2011/11/comparing-iphone-plans-in-canada/ Comparing iPhone plans in Canada

    [...] BudPhone – With this free app installed on your iPhone you can call your friends and family across Canada. Budphone offers local access numbers through the app in hundreds of cities and this way you can reduce your long distance needs or better manage your local anytime minutes. [...]