Vonage truly was an innovative company when it first popped on the scene and went after home telephone providers with VoIP services but as more and more customers cut the cord, it has to pivot in order to stay relevant. The new Vonage Mobile app for iOS and Android may be that move, as the app offers free voice calls and texting around the world.
Like Skype, users who have the Vongage Mobile app installed can make free calls or texts to each other around the globe (data rates apply). You can also get free calls to Vonage home users around the world and you get low rates to handsets and landlines around the world. There’s also a limited-time promotion where you can get up to 3,000 free minutes to call any mobile or landline in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Vonage is also promising that this includes a high-definition Codec to ensure a good voice quality. I’m very happy to hear this because many of us have had the experience or poor voice quality over VoIP (particularly over 3G/4G), so it’s nice to see Vonage Mobile addressing this problem head on. The iPhone and Android calling app also appears to be well-thought out, as you can use your existing mobile number as your caller ID and even view your credits and international rates before you make the call.
Vonage specifically highlights why its apps are better than its Microsoft-owned rival by saying that its per-minute rates are roughly 30 percent lower than Skype’s rates. Additionally, you don’t have to create a new address book, as the Vonage Mobile app will scan your address book and let you make calls to your existing contacts. This is neat because it will also let you assign your number to your app if you use an iPad or a tablet. You can also look forward to in-app purchases, background notifications and a rather pleasant design.
We’re going to have a full review of the free calling app for you soon and we’ll let you know how this new app stacks up to the competition, which also includes upstarts like Tango. You can download the new Vonage Mobile app for iOS here and the Android version can be found here.