Google Hangoutsalso lets you synchronise your sessionsacross
devices,so you can carry on a conversationfrom anotherdevice if you
need to. Hangoutscan be broadcastpubliclytoo, allowingyou to host
your own public forum or stream. These can be recorded and added
to YouTube, makingit a great social and communitytool.
ICQ
http://www.icq.com
Anyoneusing the internet in the 90s will probably fondly remember
one of the first major chat programsaround. ICQ, then owned by
Mirabilisand bought by AOL, was one of the most popularchat
applicationsof the time and its familiar “eh-oh”sounds and simple,
but powerful,interfacemade it an obviouschoice for anyone wanting
to stay in touch.
It’s now operatedby Digital Sky Technologies,but ICQ still offers a
full-fledgedchat feature set, albeit in a much more crowded market.
As this market has changedto offer staple text and video chat, so
too has ICQ, and it features robust text chat functions,completewith
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 continuesto offer this, along with various themes
and the ability to connectthe app to your social networkingaccount.
Voxox
http://www.voxox.com
This is an app for smartphonesthat sticks to the basics of
chattingwith others for free. Like competingservices,such as
Viber, Voxox offers totally free calls to other Voxox users, with
unlimitedtalk time, and this is accompaniedby free SMS and
text chat. You can also call others withoutVoxox, but this isn’t
free. It does cost a reduced rate, though.
Other features of the app includephoto sharing,fax and
the ability to translatetext message
into 60 languages.There’s a location
sharingfeature, which has Google
Maps integration,and you can access
a free, US phone numberwith each
account.The program can also
transcribevoice mail messagesfor
your perusal,and you can forward
other phone calls directly to Voxox.Line
line.me/en
This is anotherapp 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-forability to call landlinesand mobiles,even
from a PC. This service is chargedeither via a monthlysubscription,
or a pay-as-yo-goalternative, so it’s fairly flexible.
A big focus of Line is with social networking,and alongside
the standard chat, the app supportschat rooms, as well as
games,stickersand a user profile that others can see. It initially
appearsas a very casual application,but it does have business
uses, not least for the ability to call others from your computer,
and it’s availableon multipledevices.Jitsi
jitsi.org
Jitsi is an open source communicationapp 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 simplisticwhen compared to others,
but it does have its share of interesting tools, includingthe abilityiGoogleHangouts
iICQ
iLinehVoxox