Facebook brings voice calling support to Android devices in India
As the buzz around VoIP calling for WhatsApp
gathers pace, Facebook has quietly launched voice-calling functionality
for Android users in India. Facebook had introduced voice calling over
wireless network and data connection last year in March, and it took
almost a year for the feature to finally roll out here, after being
initially launched for US and Canada users.
Free call option
So how does one make calls using Facebook Messenger? To use this
feature, users have to simply select a conversation thread with a
friend, and then tap on the 3-dot menu overflow icon on the upper right
corner or bottom menu option on your mobile. You will find “Free Call” in the drop down menu, if your contact
also has the ability to receive calls over data connection.
The call interface is quite simple. It shows the contact’s cover
image in the background and his/her profile image at the center. The
call time is maintained on the upper left corner. On the lower side of
the screen, one will find touch icons like speaker, mute and an option
to leave the call interface and navigate to other parts of the UI even
while the call is on.
On making a call, we found the call quality quite decent. The app
also asked us to rate the call quality. However, it should be noted that
there is no free lunch, and one will incur data charges on making the
“Free Call”. In case the “Free Call” option is grayed, then it means
the person cannot be called at the time. Facebook is believed to have
launched the feature last week in India, and plans to extend the voice
calling functionality other nations too.
Users can download the latest version of Facebook Messenger for Android from the Google Play Store.
