Yoomba turns email addresses into phone numbers

Start-up company Yoomba has launched a peer-to-peer service that allows users to click a link within an email message or an address book entry to either chat or make a VoIP call.

The service is accessed simply by going to Yoomba.com and entering an email address. The user then receives an email with a link to click to activate the account and download a 5MB application.

There is no need to register, or even give a user name to join.

It’s worth adding a word of caution here - during the installation process a prompt appears saying “Here are your closest friends on Yoomba, let them know you are on”.

If the user hits the “next” button at this point, an invitation to join Yoomba will be sent to the fifty most used contacts in their address book.

This has led to complaints that the service spams a user’s contact list. Also, the emailed invitation will contain a link to click to contact the sender. This link sets up a VoIP call to the person who has sent the invitation but it also automatically starts the activation process and downloads the Yoomba application to the invitation recipient’s computer.

Yoomba integrates into email applications, adding extra buttons to contact details in email applications such as Outlook Express. A user just clicks the buttons to call or message their contacts. The buttons also show who is online and available.

It looks to be a useful application, but should certainly be clearer about sending e-mails to contacts.