best voip app? like a full flavored skype?

[timothydonohue]

so, i have ordered, and not yet received (get tomorrow) my nexus one. one of the things about it is that i only have the 500 minute plan (no, i didn't wanna drop 530 on a phone, lol), but coincidentally, i also like to game on the ps3 with a friend. unlike xbox, ps3 doesn't do private chat, so coordinating is actually easier with a cell phone. because i don't want to eat minutes, my intention was to actually skype him through my wifi. however, now i'm finding out, to the best of my knowledge, our option is 'skype lite', which is essentially a turd, and doesn't do anything for me except route my calls through skype on my phoneline, still using my minutes = worthless to me.

so, you guys have been fiddling with android for a while yet, i'm guessing, and i'm wondering what the best option/workaround is. i've heard mention of 'fring', but am not familiar with it. same with 'iskoot'.

gimme the digs, gents (or ladies, as the case may be). how can i voip using my phone to my buddies, without chewing phone minutes?

appreciated

-t

 

[diversificationied]

You're paying for the phone regardless. Contract monthly rate is more than non contract rate.

 

[Namuna]

Google Voice comes pre-installed on the N1.

If you don't have a GV account, sign-up for one. It's still by invite only so it may take awhile before you get the invite.

Then you can just go into the 'Voice' app and select to make all calls via Google Voice (which means FREE, doesn't utilize your voice minutes).

 

[duncan888]

You can use fring which has skype call support

 

[spr33]

Nimbuzz and Fring work well.

Countries outside the US don't get google voice yet.

 

[lessthanjoey]

Google Voice comes pre-installed on the N1.

If you don't have a GV account, sign-up for one. It's still by invite only so it may take awhile before you get the invite.

Then you can just go into the 'Voice' app and select to make all calls via Google Voice (which means FREE, doesn't utilize your voice minutes).

You seem to get a GV account automatically with the Nexus One but it still uses your minutes!

 

[aldo37]

Google Voice is not a voice service. You'll still use cell minutes using that alone. You'll need something like Gizmo to voice call over data.

Personally, I use SIPDroid, which integrated perfectly with the N1, GV, and Gizmo. Simply install it, and set up SIPDroid with the settings here:

androidcommunity.com/forums/f4/how-to-free-calls-via-wifi-using-google-voice-and-gizmo5-21836/

Then all calls will always attempt to go through data, if it fails, it will fall back to a normal phone call. Works perfect.

 

[Volker1]

sipdroid supports the industry standard for VoIP (i.e. SIP, like the former gizmo5). You can call other software SIP clients, hardware SIP phones, and SIP<->telephone network gateways.

 

[timothydonohue]

thanks guys, i'll give this a shot.
and, i already have a GV account. and 2 more invites, lol. i'll just sit on those for a bit...
GV will definitely use minutes, which is what i wanted to avoid. i'll see how the voip options work out. much appreciated.

and, if anyone has any more help/suggestions, it'd be greatly appreciated!

-t

 

[timothydonohue]

darnit, gizmo5 is no longer an option. new user registration has been suspended :/

 

[agentkalaw]

Use sipdroid to tie with GV and that should prevent the minute usage. I use sipdroid with gizmo 5 and that works but sipdroid has its shortcomings though. but it works and if you're on 3G, no one can tell the difference. Check the G1/dream forums for more info on sipdroid. There's also a thread over there about sipdroid/skype and another app for totally free minutes....

 

[thewayne01]

Use sipdroid to tie with GV and that should prevent the minute usage. I use sipdroid with gizmo 5 and that works but sipdroid has its shortcomings though. but it works and if you're on 3G, no one can tell the difference. Check the G1/dream forums for more info on sipdroid. There's also a thread over there about sipdroid/skype and another app for totally free minutes....

I am also using sipdroid, GV and gizmo5. I setup GV to forward to gizmo, and setup sipdroid to login to my gizmo account. All incoming calls to gizmo are free. However if you originate an outgoing call with gizmo, you will be charged the per minute rate by gizmo. To get around this, I use the GV website to originate the call, so that it calls my gizmo account first then connects the call.

Works great so far.

 

[timothydonohue]

dang. wish that the gizmo site was still open for new members. :/

 

[rjgonza]

I suspect that they closed it once google bought them. They might have invites soon, because google will prolly integrate this they of hack into their google voice service. . .

 

[Deathwish238]

Yes it was closed when Google bought Gizmo5. Are there any other alternatives?

Take a look at this article about the Nexus One subsidized vs ubsubsidized.

He mentions this:

an unsubsidized Nexus One with a data-only T-Mobile plan ($39.99/month), a Skype subscription for unlimited calls to mobile and landlines anywhere in the US and Canada ($2.95(!)/month), and a SkypeIn number ($30/year).

I wonder how he set that up? I'ld pay $3/month and $30/yr for calls.

 

[tada116]

I have been trying to configure sipgate pbxes.org Google voice and sipdroid to work but i haven't been able to do it properly if anybody could help me out i would appreciate it

 

[mlevin]

Sipdroid works great on my G1 and N1. I highly recommend it. Give it a try.

 

[alexandra84]

MO-Call app for Android

Hi,

Can you try this one, called MO-Call, for making cheap or free international calls?
They support over 2170 handsets on all platforms.

Give a try and let me know what you think.

Cheers

 

[Paul22000]

[Guide] Unlimited Wifi/3G VoIP Calling