Since their
initial release in the ’80s, Smartphones have totally changed the way we
communicate with each other. These days, people around the world can
instantly interact and bridge the distance via texts, instant messages,
emails and voice chats or calls with the simple touch of a button.
Video
calling which is the most recent of the developments has become a huge
part and of our lives. With skype actually revolutionizing video chats,
there has been a massive change in the way people look for and use
related apps.
Many tech companies, have started to include their own
proprietary chat clients in products in a bid to bring people together,
granting them an easy means for intimately communicating with friends or
colleagues thousands of miles away.
One
of the oldest and most popular video calling apps, Skype provides high
quality functionality which is available on all platforms, including
Android, iOS and computer platforms – Windows, Mac and Linux.
It is
especially standard among business professionals who use it for group
calls and messaging. Aside from voice and video calling, it permits file
sharing, messaging, and more. It also offers low cost to free calling
and messaging facility to mobiles or landlines.
Facebook
Messenger video calling app was released worldwide this year, so that
users all over the world, including Nigeria, can set up real-time
conversations with family and friends by tapping on a video icon at the
top right corner of their existing Facebook Messenger platforms.
Video
calls in Facebook Messenger have cross-platform support between the iOS
and Android apps, however, callers on both ends need to have the host
application.
Exclusive to Apple devices only,
FaceTime comes with every iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and works with the
incorporated wifi or data plan. Facetime video calls do not count
against your carrier allotment of minutes, so, even though video calls
can be initiated from within a voice calling session, the voice call
ends as soon as the video call begins.
Again, FaceTime works perfectly
with contacts and address book so you do not have to enter your contacts
from scratch. When you click on a phone number on iphone and ipad, or
use an email address for Mac, an invitation pops up on the person’s
screen. Once the person accepts, the video call begins…and there you
are, face to face.
Available for Android, iOS and WP
and also Windows OS for computers, Tango is another application that is
similar to FaceTime, but it improves on its set-up by including
functions such as sending music messages and files, playing games, and
multiple other perks.
One fascinating feature of the Tango app is
that it provides ‘Mini Games’ which can be played even during a call and
you can challenge the caller on the other end; plus the video quality
is great.
Viber is another great app for free
video and voice calls. It runs on your PC (Windows and Mac), Android,
Windows Phone, iPhone and Nokia devices.
This tool is available for any
country, including Nigeria, and is available for use as long as you are
connected to the internet. The Windows client functions seamlessly and
you can easily call your friends on mobile phones.