Based in Silicon Valley, Ribbit is an internet telephony startup and a subsidiary of British Telcom. Ribbit has an “open platform for voice innovation”, with API access for developers (see also getting started) and several end-user products.
Ribbit Mobile is similar to Google Voice: it’s a next-generation phone system currently aimed at the US and UK markets. You use your own (presumably mobile) number. What really got my attention, though, was a new social feature they call “Caller ID 2.0”:
Ribbit wants to leverage your social networks for Caller ID
When a call comes in, Ribbit Mobile will reach into the social web and bring you the recent LinkedIn updates, Facebook updates, Tweets, and Flickr photos of the person calling you. Ribbit Mobile lets you know not just who is calling but what the caller has been up to on the web.
I was already excited about Ribbit when I first encountered them.
I guess it’s time to try out their Google Wave gadgets! And if Google Voice or VoIP with your mobile number has any appeal, I’d advise you to request an invite for their beta. Note that they’ve already got plans to charge for their services.