If you want to save some money on your wireless bill, ditch your minutes and use a mobile VoIP app to make your calls. It's not difficult, and many are either free or low-cost depending on who you call. Here are five of the best VoIP apps for your smartphone, based on your nominations.
Earlier in the week we asked you for your favorite mobile VoIP apps. You weighed in with tons of great options, way more than we have room to highlight here, so make sure you head back to the call for contenders if you don't see your favorite listed here. With that aside, here are the five that got the most nominations and made it to this round, in no particular order:
Viber
Viber made an appearance when we looked at your favorite alternative texting apps, and it's earned another place here now that we're discussing free calling. In addition to free, texts, Viber allows you to place voice calls over data or Wi-Fi to any other Viber users, anywhere in the world, for free. If you'd like to play VoIP calls to landlines and other mobile users, you can, using Viber's Viber Out service. Viber Out calls will cost you, but they start at 1.9 cents per minute and vary depending on the country you're calling. Viber-to-viber calls are always completely free. Viber is also cross platform, with apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and more.
Those of you who nominated Viber praised the service's mobile apps for moving between Wi-Fi and 3G/EDGE networks without dropping calls, great audio quality even in coverage-poor areas, and the fact that it's features are the same regardless of the mobile OS you choose. Pricing for international calls is as good as domestic, too, so you don't have to spend a ton of money to talk to people abroad. The app even integrates with your existing contact list. Read more in its nomination thread here.
Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts is at an interesting place in development where it can offer you free calling for some users, but not for others. For example, the iOS app includes the ability to place voice or video calls over Wi-Fi or data to anyone else who uses Hangouts, but Android users can only place video calls over data networks—voice calls get routed back to your carrier. Even so, Hangouts made an appearance when we talked about great free texting apps, and it's right to be back here too—it supports Android, iOS, and you can even take and make voice and video calls from your computer. Even outgoing calls is a snap, and you can place outgoing voice or video calls right from your computer. As always, if you're calling another Hangouts user, everything is completely free. If you're calling someone's landline or mobile phone directly, you'll be subject to Google Voice in Hangouts' rates, which admittedly are low (starting at 2 cents/min) depending on who you need to call.
Those of you who praised Hangouts in the nominations phase noted that it's all but quickly reached critical mass. Almost everyone has a Google account, and Hangouts comes with your Google account, so it's easy to call people if you let them know they should use Hangouts to take calls and texts. Similarly, if you're an Android user, it's already right there on your device, likely your default texting/SMS app. You may already be logged in. Best of all, since everyone has a Google account, you can use it for a long time without paying a cent, forgetting you'd have to spend money on it at all in the first place. Read more in the nomination thread here.
Skype
Skype is a bit of a hotbutton service. It has a massive following of passionate and devoted users, but every time it's mentioned we also hear from people who swear off it completely for one reason or another, or because of historic performance issues. Regardless, it's still a major player when it comes to free VoIP calling and texting, and like many of the others in the roundup, it offers absolutely free voice and video calls to other people who also use Skype. Skype was one of the first services to really give you totally free calling in-network and then charge you nominal rates to call out, thanks to Skype Out and Skype To Go. Skype also incorporates a number of features other services don't match well, including support for large conference calls and, now, free group video calls.
Skype is cross platform, with apps for desktop OSes along with apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. Even though calling and video calling are where it's at with Skype, you can also use it for completely free texting. Many of you who nominated Skype have a love-hate relationship with it, though, and even though the rates are low and the call quality is good, you can read more in the nomination thread here.
MagicApp
Most people know MagicJack as that plug that lets you use your home phones as VoIP phones and send your calls over the internet instead of your residential carrier's lines (and also an honorable mention when we looked at ways to use your home phone for internet calling). It definitely works for that, but the MagicJack app—MagicApp—for iOS and Android lets you place voice calls over data or Wi-Fi to any domestic or international number for super-low rates from the US and Canada. You get a special number when you use the app, and calls in network to other MagicApp users are, as usual, completely free. If you have a MagicJack device, you can use the number assigned to it for your mobile calls as well, and even get calls from your device at home routed to your smartphone when you're away.
A number of you called out MagicApp, and highlighted that in the US and Canada, even without a MagicJack subscription at home, the app works on your smartphone to give you free domestic calls and cheap international calls without hassle or fuss—no accounts or subscriptions. The tradeoff there is that you don't get a specific, constant number, but it's a great way to work with people where you don't want them to have your real phone number. Read more in the nomination thread here and here.
Vonage Mobile
Vonage was one of our favorite ways to make internet calls from your home phone, and the Vonage Mobile apps for iOS and Android let you take that flexibility on the go. The service allows you to place voice calls over data or Wi-Fi using your own number, as long as you're a Vonage subscriber. Voice calls, video calls, and messaging to other Vonage users is completely free, and affordable voice calls to domestic and international numbers—you'll just need to pony up for Vonage credits, which are available via in-app purchase in the mobile apps (or by inviting friends to the service.) Vonage boasts that its rates are significantly lower than Skype and other similar services, but you should do the math before you sign up.
Those of you who praised the service noted that install and setup is simple (all you need is a phone number), the mobile app itself is lean, and you praised call quality and reception over data. Plus, Vonage has been around a long time, and while we wouldn't say getting support and help from them is super-easy, it's definitely easier than other, smaller operations. Read more in the nomination thread here.
Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to an all-out vote to determine the community favorite!
This week's honorable mention goes out to
Republic Wireless , which many of you called out specifically because it's a carrier with great pay as you go options that also rolls in technology to its devices that let you essentially have a data-only phone and direct all of your calls and texts out over data. If you're a fan of VoIP calling and don't want to deal with minutes at all, Republic Wireless is a great option, and while they don't have a super-broad phone selection, they do have the Moto X and Moto G, two amazing handsets. If you're ready to give up a traditional carrier and save a ton of money on calls and data, give them a look.
Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week . Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!
Title photo by Álvaro Ibáñez.
0 comments:
Post a Comment