Post: #1

have any of y'alls heard of this? you buy an App that allows you to make calls and text mssg for free? is this "too good to be true?" i did some Googling and found the following sights. does any of this sound legit to you ?

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2010/06/free_ca...phone.html

http://www.talkatone.com/

http://www.pinger.com/content/home.html

...and this was only Page 1 of the search

i ask this question because i am a "Technological Mennonite"

Post: #2

Pinger is ok. I've used it.

Post: #3

(03-26-2013 06:53 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  Pinger is ok. I've used it.

can you give me a rundown of how this works? thanks !!!

Post: #4

(03-26-2013 10:22 PM)GameTheory Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 06:53 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  Pinger is ok. I've used it.

can you give me a rundown of how this works? thanks !!!

Download the app. It's free. They assign you a phone number. You can text to any number you want. I know younger girls with no cellphones that use it. There's a web page version that they can text from.

Post: #5

Viber. They have to have the app too.

Post: #6

Here's the rundown on messaging apps.

Skype - The OG, but nobody really uses it always-on on mobile.

Facebook Messenger - Good if you have a Fb account and want to give it out to people.

Apple iMessage - Basically Apple's version of BBM. Only works with other iPhone users. I'm on android and some of my friends group chat with iMessage and I can't be a part of it. Pisses me off.

Kakao - Started by Koreans. Huge in korea- all koreans use this but not many others. Used to chat with the local FOB korean girl I was banging here on it.

Line - Started by Japanese after their cell networks went to shit after the earthquake and nuclear shits. All japanese and some other asians use it. Chat with a Japanese girl who lives overseas with it.

WeChat - English name for Weixin. Possibly the most popular messenging app in the world right now because of so many chinese that use it. Not many people outside China use it.

WhatsApp - US based messenger, has fair adoption globally. I chat with a girl in Thailand on it occasionally and a girl in south america.

Viber - Euro/Israel based messenger. Maybe the oldest messenger on the list except for Skype. Launched in 2010. Feel like it has the biggest US adoption but Whatsapp and Line have more worldwide adoption. Use it to text my friend in Singapore.

GroupMe - Cool for group chats. Most of these other programs can do group chat also.

This area is ripe for consolidation. It sucks having to have all these messengers to talk to different people, but the trend of text and voice over data is here to stay. Security may be a concern for some of these apps as they are fairly new and some run overseas, but for talking to friends its probably ok. If you need encrypted text or voice for some serious business, check out WhisperSystems, but I think its android only right now.

Post: #7

(03-26-2013 10:33 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  Viber. They have to have the app too.

This is what I use, and it's free. I believe the OP said you had to pay to download the app he was talking about. Viber works good. It saves me tons of money on international calls. To dial Switzerland I was paying $.38 a minute on Skype.

Post: #8

I think we have a thread in travel section that goes over which app to use in different countries. Here in Thailand Viber and whatsapp is big. Brazil I used Viber also but most of the lizards I talked to didnt have it.

Post: #9

I use Whatsapp, iMessage, WeChat, QQ, Skype, and Viber. Viber allows you to make free calls but the quality sucks sometimes.

There is also another very similar called Tango, never really checked it out though.

Post: #10

(03-27-2013 12:03 AM)FretDancer Wrote:  I use Whatsapp, iMessage, WeChat, QQ, Skype, and Viber. Viber allows you to make free calls but the quality sucks sometimes.

There is also another very similar called Tango, never really checked it out though.

The quality on viber all depends on your internet connection.

Post: #11

...google voice...

Post: #12

If your in the States Google Voice is best.

If not I use Textme APP

Its okay but I like it because it gives you a set local number and is somewhat low on ads (My Vociemail has no ads, nor do texts, etc). The minutes are cheap and its quick and does not run slow.

Post: #13

so all i have to do is get an appropriate Droid phone, pay for the download of the App, then free calls and texts ???

Post: #14

(03-27-2013 05:23 PM)GameTheory Wrote:  so all i have to do is get an appropriate Droid phone, pay for the download of the App, then free calls and texts ???

Yes.

My App spams with a lot of Ads but you can get them removed for 6$. The rates for minutes are quite cheap I think its a few bucks for 200 minutes and you get free incoming calls. The quality is quite good if you have good Wifi/Data around.

Post: #15

can you name your top 3 App recommendations for someone in the USA ? thanks !

Post: #16

In Canada I use TextPlus and Fongo. Both are free to download and then 2c/min.. t+ has free texting, texting on fongo is a couple bucks. With both you get a Canadian number, when you're abroad, it works great, doesn't know you're out of country, rings when someone calls you. Canadians don't get GoogleTalk (you can call out, but nobody can call you), so this is the best bet I think, replaced my cell plan with it. Also, I'm using an iPod touch, it isn't even a "phone".
If you're traveling province to province and want to appear local, I'm sure you could logout and create a new user name with the province's area code, easiest way to get a local number.

Post: #17

Line is a good app too.

Post: #18

does anyone know which one of these Apps allows you to use an i-pod Touch as a phone? thanks in advance

Post: #19

I use Google voice for girls who I don't want to have my real #, so essentially every girl who isn't my girlfriend.

Post: #20

im a wechat guy (微信) got a bunch of also overseas americans hooked on it. you cant technically call but you can leavr voice messages