We take a look at the best communication software around that can keep you in touch with friends and family
It may be a small world, as the saying goes, but keeping in touch isn’t always easy. If you’ve got friends or family abroad, or just far enough away that it can be hard to keep in touch without ramping up your phone bill or draining your monthly minutes. It can be difficult, or at the very least, expensive to chat for a while. If you’re running a business and have to watch that bottom line, it can also be costly.
Luckily, there are solutions to this, and thanks to the internet, VoiP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and some very useful software, it’s not only possible to stay in touch – no matter the distance – you can also see each other, as well as utilise special features to augment your communication. Even better, a lot of this software allows this free, without even a one-off payment for the program itself.
Of course, most computer users are aware of this use for the internet, after all, social networking and communication is one of the major uses for computers in the home, but as always, there’s more to this than the well-known options.
Most people are aware of Skype. Now owned by Microsoft, it is the household name in VoIP and has become the de facto cross-platform standard for internet communication. Cetainly as far as home users are concerned. Thanks to Microsoft implementing it with Windows, it’s also more widespread than ever now. Consequently, just as many may never bother leaving internet Explorer as it’s already readily available on their PC, many don’t know about, or look, for alternatives to Skype.
This is a shame as there are plenty of options, with many offering a totally different feature set to Skype, possibly features that may suit these users better. So, we’re going to take a look at some of the best communication tools out there in order to give you a greater understand of what’s available and to hopefully broaden your horizons.
Skype (www.skype.com)
We’ll start with the most popular option. As we’ve already said, this is a program used by millions to communicate around the world. Skype has risen to the top thanks to being exactly what people wanted – a way to talk without your time costing a fortune. Skype made it possible to talk to anyone, anywhere in either voice or video chat. It did this at a time where VoiP was still relatively unknown by many, and this kind of internet communication wasn’t all that user friendly. Video chat had existed for a long time prior, but Skype made it mainstream and shunted it into the public consciousness. It was one of the first genuinely easy to use options, approachable by users of all abilities.
Skype’s features have evolved, but the program has remained straightforward. Alongside the standard voice and video calls, Skype allows for conference calls, file transfers, text chat, calls from PC to mobile and vice versa. It also has a premium option giving you a Skype account via a dedicated VoiP phone – No PC or smartphone required.
While Skype’s move to Microsoft allowed it to reach new markets, such as gamers, thanks to its incorporation onto the Xbox, it’s the simple interface that means it’s likely going to be the favourite of many for a long time to come.
Viber (www.viber.com)
A major competitor to Skype and one that’s hugely popular, despite still missing out on the crown. Viber is a more smartphone-focused app, and it offers totally free VoiP calls, as well as text and picture messaging. This bypasses your usual tariff limitations as it uses your data connection, not calls, and it works in any country in the world. Standard calls through Viber will still use your minutes, of course, and you can only get free calls when calling another Viber device. This is pretty much the same as any other, similar VoiP app.
Like Skype, Viber is available for various devices, including Windows, iOS, Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry and more. It boasts “BestQuality HD voice calls,” video calls, as well as a full chat application with support for photos and stickers. There’s also the option to sync your account and setup between multiple devices, and the app can access your address book to automatically populate its own caller list, making it easy to pick up and use whatever device you have.
A neat extra feature is the ability to transfer an ongoing call between devices. This is very useful if you’re on the go with a Viber call on your phone, and during the call you get home and want to continue from your laptop, where you can switch to your wi-fi network too. You can also use the public chat function, which lets you view public conversations. It’s an odd feature, but it advertised as being able to eavesdrop on celebrities, so if that’s interesting to you, it may be worth a punt.
FaceTime (www.apple.com/au/ios/facetime)
Alongside Viber, Apple’s FaceTime is the other big alternative, although it’s only available for users of Apple’s devices, which limits its scope somewhat. Despite this, FaceTime is very popular and embraces Apple’s love of delivering polished, stand out services that offer streamlined and simple functions.
FaceTime allows for video chat to other FaceTime users for free and is available over any wi-fi, internet-connected network. The video chat is amongst the best around, with great quality video and unparalleled ease of use. 720P HD video is also supported, although this availability is limited to more up to date devices.
FaceTime is far more simplistic than most apps featured here, but few handle this core task quite as well, and if you’ve got a compatible Apple device, this is probably going to be your chat tool of choice.
Google Hangouts (hangouts.google.com)
Hangouts is Google’s answer to Skype and others: a free chat service that functions via a web portal instead of a downloadable app. After simply navigating to Google Hangouts you can invite people to chat using the simple interface which, being Google, is populated from your Google account.
Hangouts supports text and video chat, augmented by emoji, picture and GIFs, and you can create, or take part in a chat group of up to 100 people. This chatroom size is limited to 10 for a group video chat, but it’s still very useful, especially for small businesses in need of a cheap conference tool.
Google Hangouts also lets you synchronise your sessions across devices, so you can carry on a conversation from another device if you need to. Hangouts can be broadcast publicly too, allowing you to host your own public forum or stream. These can be recorded and added to YouTube, making it a great social and community tool.
ICQ (www.icq.com)
Anyone using the internet in the 90s will probably fondly remember one of the first major chat programs around. ICQ, then owned by Mirabilis and bought by AOL, was one of the most popular chat applications of the time and its familiar “eh-oh” sounds and simple, but powerful, interface made it an obvious choice for anyone wanting to stay in touch.
It’s now operated by Digital Sky Technologies, but ICQ still offers a full-fledged chat feature set, albeit in a much more crowded market. As this market has changed to offer staple text and video chat, so too has ICQ, and it features robust text chat functions, complete with emoji, stickers and so on, as well as free voice and video calls.
ICQ was one of the first apps to make file sharing easy during a chat session, and it continues to offer this, along with various themes and the ability to connect the app to your social networking account.
Voxox (www.voxox.com)
This is an app for smartphones that sticks to the basics of chatting with others for free. Like competing services, such as Viber, Voxox offers totally free calls to other Voxox users, with unlimited talk time, and this is accompanied by free SMS and text chat. You can also call others without Voxox, but this isn’t free. It does cost a reduced rate, though.
Other features of the app include photo sharing, fax and the ability to translate text message into 60 languages. There’s a location sharing feature, which has Google Maps integration, and you can access a free, US phone number with each account. The program can also transcribe voice mail messages for your perusal, and you can forward other phone calls directly to Voxox.
Line (line.me/en)
This is another app that takes a similar approach to the likes of Viber, offering the usual free calls to other users of the app, but it also features a paid-for ability to call landlines and mobiles, even from a PC. This service is charged either via a monthly subscription, or a pay-as-yo-go alternative, so it’s fairly flexible.
A big focus of Line is with social networking, and alongside the standard chat, the app supports chat rooms, as well as games, stickers and a user profile that others can see. It initially appears as a very casual application, but it does have business uses, not least for the ability to call others from your computer, and it’s available on multiple devices.
Jitsi (jitsi.org)
Jitsi is an open source communication app that offers audio and video calls to other users of the program. Initially, the app was limited to PC use, but an Android version can now be downloaded. The features of the app are fairly simplistic when compared to others, but it does have its share of interesting tools, including the ability to share your screen with others and encrypt calls. You can even record calls should you wish to. There’s a noise suppression and echo cancelling ability, as well as basic file sharing.
Tox (tox.chat)
With the increasing growth of data sharing and more open applications being made available online, many users don’t feel as secure as they could be using services like Skype (especially after its purchase by Microsoft) and so look for secure alternatives. This is where an app like Tox comes in. Tox is a very secure chat tool that offers voice and video calls to other Tox users, as well as the usual assortment of social networking features like file sharing, emoji and so on. There’s nothing feature-wise that stands out here, but it’s all solid and works well.
The major difference is Tox’s use of encryption to secure your communications. Indeed, this is what Tox revolves around, and although the core features are fairly simple, they’re wrapped up in rock-solid protection, ensuring no one will intrude or spy on your conversations.
Slack (slack.com)
This is a different application to the others on this list, as it’s not actually a chat application as such. Instead, Slack is a hub of sorts that gathers together a range of third party apps into a suite of tools. This open approach means you get a far more varied and feature-rich experience, one that makes use of some of the best tools around.
The program is able to make use of Google’s apps, such as Hangouts for voice and video chat, Google Drive for sharing, as well as other services, such as DropBox, DataDog and GoSquared. It can also search your conversations for specific words. It’s an interesting approach to the market, and thanks to the modular use of other apps, it’s one of the more flexible around.
WeChat (web.wechat.com)
Possibly the most social media-centric app in this selection, WeChat is a true chat app for the Facebook generation, and it incorporates features that integrate it with the most popular social media outlets.
Alongside voice, video and text chat – which includes group chat – it can be used to share photos and videos directly to your social networking apps, including Facebook. You can also use the ‘Shake’ function to find people in close proximity to chat with. An odd feature is the ‘Drift Bottle,’ which let’s you send a message that drifts around in the ether until someone picks it up, just like a message in a bottle.
Vsee (vsee.com)
Vsee is an app that’s more focused on group communication, being used primarily in medicine, but it’s still very useful for standard home use as it possesses some great features that help it compete with other, more popular options. For one, it offers the usual unlimited calls, both single and group, as well as file sharing and instant messaging.
Of particular note is Vsee’s apparent use of half the bandwidth of Skype, meaning you’ll use less data per call. It also supports 720p HD calls, and you can share your screen to others. This sharing is limited, though, and you can only do so once per day for free. To share more than that you’ll need to subscribe to the paid service. It’s cheap, though, costing around $10 a month. Students with either a .id, or .edu email account can get this VSee Plus account for free.
Voca (getvoca.com)
This chat application is focused on international calls and keeping in touch with others abroad. The reason for this is the program’s offer of very cheap international calls via VoiP. Calls are also encrypted, for reliable privacy.
Calls to others are charged via a credit-based scheme in which you purchase time prior to use, and the time left is shown during your calls, so you’re always aware of how much you have left. Of course, if you and your contact both have Voca installed, calls are free.
Voca’s interface is very simple and very easy to use, and this is one of the program’s best points. It’s very well designed and is perfect for users of all abilities, even those totally new to computers, software, or even chat applications.
Oovoo (www.oovoo.com)
Oovoo, like WeChat is a very social media-focused app, and it offers a range of features that compliment the video chat, which is of very high quality. The tool can host conference calls and text messages and group chats can include up to 12 people at any one time. Screen sharing is also supported, as well as file sharing, and you can record video and upload it to YouTube with a single click. Of particular note is the ability to connect to friends and family via social media, even if they don’t use Oovoo, as calls from the app can be picked up on Facebook.
The free version of Oovoo comes with ads, sadly, but the paid service removes these and also supplies online storage for up to 1,000 minutes and lets you call landline or mobile phone numbers.
GoToMeeting (www.gotomeeting.com)
Our final option is the popular GoToMeeting. This is a very powerful video conferencing tool that, while not free, is probably the best overall option in terms of ability and quality. This isn’t surprising, as it comes from Citrix, an expert in remote communications.
GoToMeeting is designed for business use, so it’s not as suited to home use, not least due to the cost, but even in the home it could be very useful. It allows for possibly the highest quality video calls around, with up to 25 able to attend a group sessions at any one time. The video and audio are true HD quality, and alongside the video calls you can share files, screens and even pass control of a system to another user in the group, making it ideal for technical support, or helping a friend. There are tools to highlight parts of a screen, perfect for presentations, and users can host seminars and training sessions thanks to the well-rounded features.
Payment plans aren’t cheap, starting at around $50 per month, but GoToMeeting is a very powerful communication tool, and it’s also very secure, which is even more important if you’re using it as part of a business or educational tool.