The Skype app is very popular among smartphone users and it is available for iPhone as well as Android. But not everybody likes Skype. Maybe you want to get in touch with people that don’t have it installed, or maybe you are not satisfied with the services that it provides or the quality of the phone calls and the webcam. Anyway, it is always good to explore more than one option, and here are top 5 best alternatives to Skype to get you started:
1. Facetime
Facetime is great and it is now used by almost everyone who owns an iPhone. Facetime was released about a year ago, and with the newest update to iOS 7 it gets even easier to make Facetime calls, because it is now a separate built-in icon, and when you click on it you see your contacts. Facetime has a few advantages over Skype: the images are hardly ever blurry, they are perfectly sharp. And there is almost never a delay in conversations. It is a modern form of calling, that makes it easier to see each other as if you are in the same room together.
2. Nimbuzz
Nimbuzz is another popular online calling app, and it is very multifunctional. Of course you can make free phone calls over WiFi to other smartphone users, but there is also an option to make cheap international calls, and cheap calls to mobile phones or landlines, just like on Skype. Nimbuzz integrates a lot of social media platforms, such as Facebook messenger, G-talk, Yahoo and MSN-messenger, which makes it easy to chat with everyone you know on every media that you are a member of, by just using your Nimbuzz account. Nimbuzz is available on most smartphones, so it is easy to call anyone with it.
3. Viber
Just like Facetime, Viber integrates with your phonebook, which makes it easy to select anyone that you want to call from a complete list. You do not need to sign up for any Viber service or open a special account for it, you just download the app and that’s it. The quality on Viber is great, and it often feels like you are making a regular cellphone call. One downside that Viber has is that the person that you want to call needs to install Viber in order to make the call and not everybody has it.
4. Fring
Fring is another app that you really need to look into. It basically has all the same features that Skype has: you can make video calls, chat, etc. But the great thing about Fring is that it supports video calling across multiple platforms and that it supports group calls (up to 4 people) over different platforms. Fring also offers low cost calls to mobiles and landlines, and it can be used over Wifi, 3G, 4G and LTE. Fring is available for the iPhone, iPod and the iPad, so that you can even make calls to mobile phones easily when your phone is not available or if you don’t have an iPhone.
Hopefully these apps work for you. You probably like some online calling apps better than others, and in the end it all comes down to personal preferences. Maybe you are happy with Skype and don’t want to change it, but you can always try. If you know of any great Skype alternatives for iOS, please let us know.
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