Viber for iPhone joins the mobile VoIP race

There’s a new playa’ in the mobile VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) market called Viber. Initially released as an iPhone app in Israel, Viber soon became one of the top downloaded apps in the country and now it wants to grab a piece of the global market, as well.

I haven’t tried it myself, but from what I’ve read, it’s apparently super easy to use, allowing folks with Viber installed on their iDevices to make and take free phone calls. And that’s just a start.

For the future, Viber plans to cover additional platforms, including Android, Symbian and BlackBerry. Moreover, new features are coming like text messaging support, custom ringtones, wallpapers and even integration of location-based services.

Mobile VoIP market keeps growing with more folks grabbing smart over feature phones. And now that Skype has decided to jump ships and embrace the “closed strategy” pulling the plug off of Fring and NimBuzz, the market is opening-up for other companies. Does Viber have what it takes to compete? Maybe… We’ll definitely keep watching…