Fortunately, there are now a number of great mobile VoIP services that make international calling from mobile phones dirt cheap.

It can be tricky to search through the sheer number of apps in the iTunes Store, so has Fresh Apps made it a smoother process? 

As AdAge reports, the study, entitled "Global Takeoff of New Products: Culture, Wealth or Vanishing Differences," analyzed data from 31 countries, including developing countries and ranked the countries based on how long it usually took for 16 consumer products to "take off" over the past 50 years.

This week's Web Week in Review has to touch on the financial crisis but there were other tech-only stories that did manage to make it onto my radar.

It was founded by Kristofer Arwin, Magnus Wiberg and Martin Alexanderson, all of whom previously founded PriceRunner back in 1999.

We talked to Kristofer about his plans for the TestFreaks, and how he aims to make it into the world's biggest product review site...

However, Luzern Solutions, a Dublin-based firm that sells such goods via eBay, Amazon and ther online marketplaces, is looking to take them on on their own turf by heading over to the US.

The company's head of marketing Jackie Brannigan tells us how the web is shaping up as an overstock sales channel, and one that many manufacturers and retailers are still to exploit fully.

Brands are increasingly looking at more diverse ways to engage consumers in their products, and I believe there is currently no better opportunity than the Nintendo Wii.

We've put together a list of some of the most useful plugins for Wordpress...

Here, we ask him about the company’s latest efforts around acquisition, conversion and retention, including a current project to digitise its print catalogues.

He also gives us some interesting thoughts on cashback affiliates and shopping comparison sites, as well as the good stuff IT manufacturers are doing to support retailers like Dabs.

The company, which started up only five years ago, is now sixth in Inc. Magazine’s list of America's fastest growing retailers and is reportedly the most rapidly expanding eBay Powerseller on the other side of the pond.

We spoke to Dyscern COO Bill Frischling about the pros and cons of eBay as an e-commerce channel for merchants, and how the firm is looking to ramp up its European sales.

ITV's offering beat the iPlayer to market, launching a 30 day catch-up service back in June, so why has the BBC overtaken it so quickly? Let's take a closer look at the two services to find out...

It seems that Kindle Fever is in full swing, yet the mass consumer adoption of ebook readers seems thoroughly unfeasible in the short term, and I’m not convinced it is a likely scenario in the long term either.

Bruce Tognazzini was Apple's 66th employee, developing the company's first usability guidelines and founding its Human Interface team.

Almost thirty years later, he's a principal at Nielsen Norman Group and still making his feelings known when companies commit design errors.

Here, 'Tog' gives us a variety of thoughts on interface design, freedom, the future of computing, the iPhone's place in world history and why he travels around in a 400 sq ft motorhome while towing a 4x4 and two Segways.

Consumer electronics giant Philips has just launched a major redesign of its consumer website to improve usability and help shoppers “fully experience and interact with products as though they were right in front of them.”

The firm says it’s its biggest upgrade for three years. New features include a Google Maps mashup showing the location of retailers' outlets, as well as tools to allow greater interactivity on product pages. Philips also deployed technology to improve communication with retailers about stock availability and lead generation.

We spoke to Gilles Domartini, Philips Consumer Electronics’ VP & GM of online sales and marketing, to find out a bit more about how the company's e-commerce strategy is changing as brands seek to interact more closely with consumers.