CallGlobal
CallGlobal is similar to iCall with its registration process. After it sets up your account and number, you may make CallGlobal to CallGlobal calls, VoIP calls and direct calls. CallGlobal to CallGlobal calls are free, while all other calls cost a certain rate per minute.
When to Use VoIP
Some of you may be asking, “Why would I ever need to make a VoIP call?” There are a few situations in which using VoIP would save the day (and a lot of money!).First, when making an international call. For example, say I want to call my buddy in the UK. AT&T charges $1.29 per minute for a US to UK phone call. After chatting for a few minutes, this could get quite expensive. The solution? Ask my buddy to get on Skype (or Fring, etc. – you get the idea) from the convenience of his own desktop or iPhone and we can converse all day long, free of charge.
If asking someone go sign into their VoIP service seems unreasonable, the alternative is to purchase a call package from one of the above companies. It’s still likely to work out far cheaper than the standard network per-minute charge.
Another useful situation in which using VoIP would work well would be if you are somewhere that offers a connection to Wi-Fi and you want to save those expensive minutes for more necessary calls. If you have Wi-Fi at home, using VoIP on your iPhone could potentially save you hundreds of minutes.
Limitations
VoIP has some major limitations, first and foremost, being that a Wi-Fi connection is required. No 3G or GPRS network can be substituted for a Wi-Fi connection, and it isn’t possible to use any of these apps over your cellular data connection (unless you’re happy to jailbreak your iPhone first).After you do have a Wi-Fi connection, then the problem of who you are calling is presented. Most of the apps listed above only permit free calling to others who are also using the same app. As time goes on, VoIP will become a more convenient way of calling friends and family.
Bonus Tip!
In my research, I did find one way to make free calls to commercial landines. To do so, call (I used Skype): 1-800-GOOG-411This is Google’s free 411 service. I used it to look up a few local businesses and it proved to be reliable. Try it for yourself and let me know how it works!
