Tag Archives: VoIP

Viber For Windows Phone 8 Gets HD Voice Calls & Better Live Tiles

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When we first covered Viber for Windows Phone a year ago, the app was quite disappointing. For some reason, the team behind the famous messenger didn’t add VoIP calling options to the WP7 client, and even when the calling capabilities did come, they were limited to Nokia devices. On Android and iOS, Viber is used almost exclusively for its free calls, since a lot of other text messengers (like WhatsApp) are already more popular. So, it is nice to see that after a considerable wait, Viber has properly arrived on Windows Phone. The app’s WP8 version has just been updated with several new features, and the most important among them are voice calls (that too in HD quality). Apart from free VoIP calling, the update makes better use of the WP8 Start screen by letting users pin individual conversations as live tiles. Read More

Facebook Messenger For iOS & Android Gets Voice Messaging & VoIP Calls

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In the past few months, Mark Zuckerberg and his team have been working quite hard to beef up the Facebook Messenger app for Android and iOS with some handy features. What started as a rather simple, standalone mobile messaging app for avid Facebookers now qualifies as a handy SMS replacement that doesn’t even require a Facebook account to get configured. So far, the app’s content sharing capabilities revolved around text messages, images, emojis and locations. The latest update brings the added functionality of voice messaging to both Android and iOS variants; instant 1-minute audio messages that can be shared as part of a conversation. A Viber and Vonage-like VoIP calling service is also reported to be under experimentation for iOS users in Canada. The free internet calling facility is expected to be announced for other parts of the world soon. Read More

What Is VoIP And How You Can Use It To Reduce Your Phone Bill

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Voice over Internet Protocol – or VoIP – is the next big revolution in the telecommunication industry. What it does, essentially, is turn analog voice signals into digital packets that can be sent over the Internet instead of going through your wireless carrier, in a way that is no different from other data that is transmitted through the Internet. It’s a lot cheaper for both the customers and the service provider, offers higher quality audio than your standard phone call and is a lot more reliable in many cases. And it’s got wireless carriers scared out of their wits. In what follows, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using VoIP over traditional telecommunication methods. Read More

imo Instant Messenger App For iPad Adds Support For VoIP Calls

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WhatsApp and iMessage are great, but you can’t expect all your friends to use them just for you. That’s why cross-platform and multi-service messengers are always in demand. iOS has several excellent apps available for the purpose like Trillian and IM+, but imo is one awesome cross-platform instant messaging app that gives the competition a run for its money owing to its neat interface, great media sharing capabilities and wide support for several IM services. While imo has allowed users to share audio recordings for quite a while now, it’s not the same as having a thorough telephonic conversation with your friends. If you have been using imo on your iPhone or Android, you must be aware that the app recently got VoIP capabilities that allow free and unlimited imo-to-imo calls. The iPad client, however, was overlooked and didn’t get the update with the rest of imo variants. The iPad app has finally been updated, and not only does it support VoIP, the interface is much neater as well. Read More

Orange’s Libon: Free Messages, VoIP Calls & Visual Voicemail For iPhone

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An iPhone might cost a lot more than feature phones, but the presence of apps like Viber, Skype and Tango makes the investment worthwhile in the long run. If you are often connected to the net, or are on 3G/LTE, VoIP services can really help you in saving on calls and texting. There are already some pretty good messengers available in the App Store, but Libon from the popular European carrier Orange is a much more refined choice as compared to most. The app also offers visual voicemail that can be associated with your phone number, and will record messages for you when you are busy. You will not be charged anything for interacting with other Libon users, but making calls to other numbers requires in-app purchases (much like “credits” in Skype). Read More

Hands-On With The Official Skype App For Windows 8 [Review]

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It is an important year for Microsoft. They announced a new version of their Office productivity suite, Windows 8 is ready for launch, and the software giant has finally jumped on to the tablet market bandwagon. Furthermore, the rumor mill states that the next Xbox is already in the pipeline. After its acquisition by Microsoft in 2011, Skype has become another one of its major offerings. The cross-platform VoIP software is available for all the major desktop and mobile operating systems, including Windows, OSX, Linux, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. One major counterpart of Skype that was missing the scene for quite a while was the Modern UI (Windows Store) version, but not anymore. The Modern UI-style Skype app has just been released for Windows 8, and we have to admit it that it feels quite robust and snappy. Microsoft announced earlier this week that it will be available on October 26th, but it looks like the company had a change of mind. The feature-rich app lets you make both audio and video calls, where the latter supports both windowed and full screen mode. It runs seamlessly in the background, and can be snapped to the left or right of the screen (like other Windows Store apps) during calls. Read More

Free Video/Voice Calling, IM & File Sharing App AireTalk Comes To Android

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Android users have countless ways to interact with their friends over the internet using various VoIP calling, feature-packed instant messaging and remote file sharing apps. While the likes of Viber, WhatsApp, Skype and the official mobile clients of all renowned social networks are most users'  first choice, there are certain relatively less known yet equally formidable alternatives out there, like BeMe, Parlingo and PingMe. Sporting simple looks and most of the features provided by the aforementioned names, AireTalk by PingShow is a cross-platform communication app for Windows, Android and iOS-powered devices that contains almost everything that one could wish to have in a quality IM app. You can make free voice & video calls, chat via texts, use the app as a walkie talkie, share multimedia content and files with your buddies, and trace your contacts’ location on map in real-time, over both Wi-Fi and mobile data. Though, that's not where AireTalk's list of features ends. Continue reading past the break for further details. Read More

CallApp: Dialer Replacement, Data Sharing & VoIP Calling Android App With Social Media Integration

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Quality dialer replacement apps for Android smartphones are hard to find, but in CallApp, you get far more options than you’d have ever imagined to have at your discretion while making and receiving phone calls. First things first; CallApp vows to be a ‘universal social contact book’ for your Android phone. Social, in a sense that it pulls critical and updated information from various renowned online businesses and social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google +, and Google Mail – to show all the latest updates regarding your callers. Be it the last interaction that you made with your contact via email, text messages, or on a social network, your CallApp caller ID screen has you covered. In addition, this Holo-themed app helps users easily take notes whilst attending calls, and lets them share reminders, meetings, contacts, location, photos, apps, URLs  and more with other CallApp users over the web for free. That’s not all; CallApp also supports linking your phone contacts’ social accounts with their phone numbers, and allows customizing caller ID screen for each individual contact number stored on your Android device’s address book. Read More

Cross-Platform VoIP & Messaging App Viber Comes To Windows Phone 7 & Blackberry

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Viber is one of the most popular free text and VoIP call services on both Android and iOS. After much success on both these platforms, the famous service has finally released its client for WP7 and the currently-somewhat-neglected Blackberry. Before you get too excited though, please note that the Mango version of Viber is still in its limited beta and you cannot make voice calls for now. Luckily, the text messenger service alone is enough to give WhatsApp a run for its money. Read on to know all about Viber’s features and current limitations. Read More

Vonage Mobile Brings Free VoIP Calling & Texting App To Android & iPhone

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When talking of quality VoIP service providers, it is hard to look past Vonage. To cater to the needs of smartphone/tablet users, Vonage just recently released its Android and iOS apps, allowing users to make calls and send text messages to other Vonage subscribers over the web (Wi-Fi, 3G & 4G networks) on the go and for free. With Vonage Mobile, users can register for an account using their phone numbers (just like WhatsApp & Viber), and connect with friends anywhere in the world, provided they too have the app installed. The app automatically detects other Vonage users from your phone’s address book. Apart from using a high-definition audio codec to improve call quality, the app lets you send unlimited free text messages, keeps a detailed log of calls and texts, displays caller ID and network strength/quality for calls, lets you send invites to multiple contacts in one go, and cancel incoming calls by replying with a quick (predefined) text message. That’s not all; the app provides low rates (30% less than Skype) for calls to numbers that don't have the app installed, and allows you to purchase credit using your Android Market account. Read More

Microsoft Releases Lync 2010 Client For Windows Phone 7

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Good news for professionals who own Windows Phone 7 devices: Microsoft has released a mobile client for their remote conferencing service Lync 2010 to the Windows Phone Marketplace. With Lync 2010 for WP7, you can hold instant message conversations or VoIP calls with your professional colleagues with just a tap of your finger. Lync 2010, like its desktop version, follows a solid security protocol to protect your confidential conversations. In what follows, we will take a brief look at Lync 2010 and the features offered by this mobile remote conferencing app. Read More

IM / Social Network App WNM Live Adds Support For Voice Calls [WP7]

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The Windows Phone 7 community finally got voice calls for Mango a few days back with Mobile VoIP. And now, WNM Live, which is a pretty old and popular WP7 social network app, has added the functionality to make voice calls to your WNM contacts, and that too completely for free. Of course WNM Live still has all its social networking features, and you can use it to connect to strangers and friends alike, but the voice call feature has surely converted it into a utility app rather than an app that is in the Marketplace just for fun. Read More

MobileVoIP: Make Free Calls With The First VoIP App For Windows Phone 7

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Cashing in on Skype’s absence from Windows Phone 7, the folks over at MobileVoIP have become the first to launch a VoIP app in the WP7 Marketplace. Using MobileVoIP, you can now easily place calls over the web, and that too for free. There are a few negatives, but very few. For instance, the app offers a bit shaky voice quality, but you can chat with your friends with relative ease. App to app calls in MobileVoIP are free, but if you want to make external calls, you will have to purchase the app's specific tokens. Details after the jump. Read More

TS3 Remote For Android – Monitor TeamSpeak 3 Desktop Client Over WLAN

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In the beginning of the current month, the guys over at TeamSpeak Inc. released the Android variant of their group VoIP chat client in beta. Apparently, that wasn’t all they had in mind for the platform. Released to the Android Market roughly a week ago, TS3 Remote is a handy little Android tool that lets you connect to the TeamSpeak 3 client running on your computer over local WiFi and monitor whatever channel you are currently in. The app simply displays all users in the channel along with their nationality and status (mute, speaking etc.). It does not stream audio. So what’s the point? Join us after the break to find out. Read More

Make Free Wi-Fi / VoIP Voice Calls With Android [Guide]

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In case you are in the US and have access to Google Voice, then there is some great news for you. TheTodFather, senior XDA member, came out with a comprehensive workaround that let’s you easily make WI-FI / VOIP Calls using your Android device through a free hosted SIPserver! The solution can also be utilized in situations where a user can wants to make a phone call using 3G and bypassing mobile carrier’s voice network.

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Viber For Android – Free Calls & Text Messages Over WiFi & 3G

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Viber is a well-known VoIP client with well over 20 million registered users worldwide. Viber offers its users free calling and messaging features without requiring you to set up additional accounts or login to some external application – a feat unmatched by most clients as of this writing. With Viber, you can call and text all phone contacts that have Viber app running on their devices. Communication is done over Wi-Fi or 3G and Viber doesn't charge you a dime for its services. The voice and service quality provided by Viber is near perfect. After gaining ample popularity in the iTunes store over the past 12 months, Viber has just shed its beta tag and hit the Android Market with some force. Perhaps, Android variant of the app has taken a bigger stride forward with couple of handy options such as using Viber as a default dialer, in-app call logs and pop-up text notifications. Remember, only registered users can enjoy Viber services. Read More

QuteCom Is An Open Source VOIP Softphone

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QuteCom is an open source VOIP softphone which is designed for audio and video chats with other SIP clients and to call landline numers using a SIP provider. It is much like the widely used eyeBeam. QuteCom supports a range of VOIP codecs including G.729, G.711, iLBC, G.722 (wideband) and Speex. H.263. This application provides the option to use a SIP account from a specific service provider and use this softphone for making VOIP calls. A softphone is a software that allows you to make and receive calls over the Internet using your computer. Normally a microphone and headset is used for making such calls. The main utility of softphones is that they cost less than conventional methods of making calls and are therefore used by businesses and individuals that require making a lot of calls on a daily basis. Read More

Yate Is Free VOIP Client For Linux That Supports Gtalk

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Having worked as a system administrator in a call center environment, I have learned plenty of stuff and one of them being that finding a free VoIP (Voice Over IP) software that actually works is quite difficult a task. The alternative to that can cost anything from 20$-35$ per month for each username rented from the service provider. This also includes the server, client and supported usernames for managing and using a VOIP setup. Not many folks want to shelve on ViOPs anyway. Unfortunately, there are very few VOIP clients for Linux. And an even fewer are free. Yate (Yet Another Telephony Engine) is a VOIP telephony with flexible routing engine which can reduce infrastructure costs for call center businesses. However, Yate is not merely designed for call centers and can be used as a VOIP client or server by common users who use voice over IP and businesses who require making a lot of calls. Read More

Make Free Long Distance Android To Android Calls Using Rebtel Free VoIP Calls App

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There is some good news for Android owners who were looking to make free VoIP calls to other Android devices. Rebtel, A Swedish company, has launched a VoIP application that lets you make free calls to other Android users without the need of mounting your handset over Wi-Fi. Skype is considered to be the market leader when it comes to making VoIP calls but it requires you to have Wi-Fi connectivity in order to do so. Rebtel has come out with a pretty amazing and unique app and according to their press release:

Rebtel works using any phone, landline, feature phone, or cellphone, for just the cheap price of local call, or now free with the Rebtel Android app.

We have previously used Rebtel services in China to make international calls by dialing a local mobile number and it works like a magic. One of the most intriguing features of this Rebtel app is perhaps it’s background integration with the default Android dial pad. The calls made through Rebtel are first pointed to a local number from where they are routed using Rebtel VoIP network. Rebtel connects using standard mobile networks and hence you won’t have to go over Wi-Fi for this app to work.

Android to Android calls are totally free where as there are charges in case you dial a non-android handset long distance number. In order to install this app, you can simply launch Market on your Android phone and search for “rebtel”. Please note that VoIP carries some legal implications in some geographic locations so it is advisable to check your local telecom governing policy before using this app. You can log-on to rebtel.com to gather more information regarding this free Android-to-Android calling app.

[Via PCWorld]