Textplus - Like skype but with free texting!

[wirednuts]

anyone use this app yet? i just loaded it onto my tablet, its awesome! think of it just like skype, but with free texts to cellphones. its prepaid calling too to any phone- 2 cents a min. they even give you a free phone number so people can text you back! and like skype, you can voice call any textplus user for free.

im not going to ditch skype... yet... but i could see myself doing it! thing is, i have had a skype online number for years now and a lot of businesses have it on record. but i dont like that i have to pay $18 every 3 months just to have that number... at least with textplus you get a free number and you just pay as you go.

if only i knew how long textplus will be around... thats something you know with skype- its not going anywhere.

 

[soccerballtux]

google voice integrates better with android I think....

 

[wirednuts]

youre probably right. i still have this huge paranoia about using google voice... i dont know what it is but im staying away still.

 

[zerocool84]

I tried it when one of my friends didn't pay his cell bill and made text plus calls so it was free. It was fine but the app was slow and when driving, you needed a decent Internet connection to keep a decent conversation going.

 

[wirednuts]

speaking of unpaid bills... i have a lot of friends who lose phones constantly... every 4 months they have a new number because their old prepaid ran out of min or got lost and they just buy new.

i really should show them this app, as it works across any android, wp7 or iphone device. basically anyone who has a newer phone can install this app and let them use their accounts to make calls over wifi. all my friends would need is to borrow someones phone, or keep buying used droids off ebay for $50 and their number would never change.

its honestly something i might do soon. i only pay $35 a month, but if i have a data connection i dont see why i need a talk plan?

 

[Yuriman]

9 times out of 10 you'll probably have better call clarity with a real talk plan vs VOIP, but it's something you could probably live with if it will save you money.

 

[Red Storm]

I use WhatsApp for texting.

 

[wirednuts]

well after checking it out last night, i see that google has contracts with sprint that allows them to port your cell number to google voice without effecting your contract with sprint.

so i set up google voice without changing or adding any numbers. this is very nice. right now i have it set to ring both my skype and my cell at the same time, but my skype number expires in june and i dont think im going to renew it. i just dont see why. now i can have as many voip phones as i want and they will all integrate with my normal cellphone plan... and if i still need to use a 2nd number i have that textplus app.

so i think im pretty happy now!

 

[EvilYoda]

Yeah, I use WhatsApp and seemingly so do most of the people I know in Taiwan...handy for keeping in contact with international friends.