Bust the PhoneBill!!

[Zimushka]

I know that there are individual threads for this, but it should all be in one place, right?
So, for a couple who has been going through 400-600$ of phone bills per month, we have installed and uninstalled every software out there!!! so~ ... let's create a top3 of best programs/apps to use for communications!

[Zimushka]

I'm an iPhone user ( and he uses Droid - HTC Tattoo (overseas) - we're both always running around, so we've moved from computer-based programs to mobile apps ...
So far we've used -and by "we" I mean on both iphone and droid
1) fring -the only one so far available for videocall (besides FaceTime - for that you both need iPhone 4). It freezes a lo~t, but gets the job done. this is our primary calling app.
2) nimbuzz - this one allows you to incorporate more acounts than fring does. I like this because it allows you to send voicemails and videos to each other , but only if they're the same format, which unfortunately droid and iphone aren't. He states that his droid freezes up w/ nimbuzz a lot, but I haven't had that problem.
3) Skype - I love this one! but only on the computer. On the cell - it's really bad, but once you finally get it to connect - it stays on the longest and doesn't drop. tip: if you're going to add skype account to your nimbuzz (which you can) do not accept the calls done TO your skype account from the skype app - it freezes the hell out of the phone! ... also, my hubby wasn't able to download skype for his droid overseas, but it's available on droids in US.



we just downloaded Vopium but haven't used it yet... we'll get there next time
also, I've heard some great things about ooVoo , but it's not available on phones yet

[maielle]

We use Skype. We've tried some other but they just didn't work as well. But sometimes when he's not online and I just want to talk to him, I just call him normally. :P It's expensive but not completely ridiculously expensive.

1. Skype
2. Normal phone calling
3. ?

Though my absolute favorite is seeing face-to-face.

[Zimushka]

by the way - I just got my iphone 3GS in June. I'm a type of person that is sure that phone is for phone calls and txts only! but it has saved us a ton of money! yeah, it cost me like 300$ to get it and +90$ / month , and it cost us about 400$ to get his droid overseas and about 20$/month for his phone bill (he only uses it for internet and txts and NOT the calls, he has another cell for that which used to cost him his whole salary, but only costs a fraction of it now).
TIP: company you're working for is most likely to be on a corporate account w/ verizon or at&t or sometimes even t-mobile - check it out! it saves me about $20/month to use my work account on the at&t and setting up for it was super-easy (although, I'll never stop complaining how much I can't stand their connection! )

[Zimushka]

face-to-face is MY absolute favorite also )) touch-to-touch is the best though =)

[Zimushka]

now, the txt msg-s... I know how expensive it can get sometimes if you're txting internationally (for domestic plans you can get just unlimited txt messeging), for our iphone and droid we use SKEBBY! what I loooooove about this app, is that it calls his other phone when I txt him! =) that's his alarm clock lol ... it can get annoying if you're txting constantly, but it can be useful also =) skebby-to-skebby txting is FREE!

a website I've used forever - www.ipipi.com <- and I still do sometimes! it's accessible from ANY phone's internet browser

also, a lot of phone companies - both domestic and international , have txting abilities on their website, which is free. Most of the time , though, you need some digging around to do to find them. If you need help with this, please let me know - we can dig together! =)

[maielle]

by the way - I just got my iphone 3GS in June.

I also have an iPhone. The very first version. I'm planning to update it to iPhone 4 now. Wouldn't change to any other phone. It just works so well.

[skinbyrd85]

I use calling cards. You buy them from the local dairy (I think in America they're called drugstores or milkbars) and you put a certain amount of credit on it. It has a local access number and card number printed on the card. You phone the access number from your home phone, then follow the voice directions and enter the card number, then you dial the international number you want to call and it tells you how much the call will cost and how long you have got before it puts you through.

The calling rates are cheaper than the phone companies so although it does still cost money, it's cheaper and it's a lot easier to keep tabs on how much you're spending, which is really important for me because I'm low income. I'm not sure if you have them in other countries but don't see why you wouldn't - a lot of them are international.

[Andy]

Good idea putting them all in one thread!

I made this topic called Vopium a while ago but it got no attention at all, mainly because the title should've been more like yours and people didn't know what it was about I'd assume

Here's the content:

This one's a money saver, I can't believe I haven't put it here already!

This is about a mobile phone app called Vopium - https://vopium.com/

You install the app on your phone, then register etc and you top up with them. Then you use the Vopium app on your phone to call and text. So what it does is redirect the calls and texts through the internet, so it's cheaper. For example, to Finland a text is 7p a call to a landline is 3p/min and a call to a moble is just 11p/min! Plus if you've both got the app and you've both got access to WiFi, then calls are free! (I'm 99% sure that's right - it's all on the website - you can check all sorts of prices there too - I'm not sure about what countires it's available in though...)

I've never used it for calls myself because I get free calls with TalkTalk on my house phone to Finnish landlines so I just use that but I've text Tanja a load of times and my original £10 credit is still yet to run out and it's been months (Ok I was actually with her for almost 6 weeks of that but hey )

It's well worth looking into

As an update to that, I since have used it for calls and the quality is absolutely perfect! Can't recommend this highly enough, especially if you text a lot but even more so if you've both got access to free wi-fi via your phones