Airtel and Idea
have increased their voice call tariffs and other carrier are expected
to follow suit. In some cases the tariff has gone up by 100 percent
while in others carriers are reducing free minutes and other benefits.
This could offset most users’ monthly bills, especially for those who
prefer making voice calls rather than relying on text messaging or IM.
However, there are many free options available to replace traditional
voice calling with apps that let you do the same over an Internet
connection. We have compiled a list of five apps that could help you cut
your monthly cellphone bill drastically if you have access to a Wi-Fi
hotspot or have a good 3G data plan. Read on…
Skype: Frankly,
you cannot have such a list without mentioning Skype. After all it was
THE app that started it all. Skype it is available on a multiple
platforms – iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone. You can buy Skype credit
and directly call your contacts on their phone numbers, but if you have
friends on Skype, then you can experience the best video calling
service in the world for free.
Viber: Viber
is a mobile phenomenon. It’s the type of service that makes executives
from telecom operators squirm. The app itself replicates a dialer that
syncs to social networks and picks up contacts who are also on Viber.
Then you can use it to call your friends on Viber for video or plain
voice calls. The best part it works purely on data, but if you have a
contact who is not on Viber then you can also make a normal cellular
call from the app itself.
WeChat: On
the face it, WeChat comes off as a What’s App rival, but there is more
to the app than the messaging element. It has some cool voice messaging
features built-in so you can either hold on to talk button and send
voice message to your friends or even use the new video chat feature for
real Skype-like video chats. You can even shut off the video bit so it
can be a pure voice call.
Tango: For
the longest time the biggest paradox on Windows Phone was the absence
of the Skype app, which was owned by Microsoft. Tango was the de facto
solution, and it was always a very good solution. Heck, it’s still a
solution for video and voice calls on Windows Phone, Android and iPhone.
And it’s free.
Voxer: Voxer
is not your average calling app. Actually, it is not a calling app, its
a walkie-talkie of sorts. It’s not very efficient all the time because
one has to record a message and then wait for a the message but the user
experience is fantastic. It’s really fun app and works over Wi-Fi and
3G. Like most of the others, it too is free.
