Viber introduces cheaper-than-Skype Int'l calls.

[Chicog]

Call mobiles or landlines worldwide at 'cheaper rates than Skype' with Viber Out

NDTV Correspondent, December 10, 2013

Popular messaging service Viber has formally announced the launch of Viber Out, a service that lets Viber users call any mobile or landline number across the world for a fee.

Viber Out, which was initially soft-launched only in Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan to help users contact friends and loved ones, is now available to more than 200 million users of the service. Now with the official worldwide launch, Viber Out enables all Viber users on Android, iPhoneand desktop to call anyone worldwide, with Windows Phone users getting the feature at a later date.

Viber is touting significantly lower price-per-call than competing services like Skype, which it claims is due to lower per minute rates and the omission of connection fees. Purchasing credit for Viber Out can be completed either through a simple in-app purchase via either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or using a credit card via Viber desktop.

More at: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/call-mobiles-or-landlines-worldwide-at-cheaper-rates-than-skype-with-viber-out-456910

[thaimite]

Thanks for that. I am a frequent user of Viber for intra Viber calls and find it very good after the initial shaky start of a year or so ago. I find it more reliable than line, for making and receiving calls.

I have just signed up for Viber Out and made 2 test calls from here in Amman Jordan. One to the Philippines and one to Thailand.

In both cases the quality was excellent, and it was also noted that the receiving party saw my actual phone number and not some random land-line number as you get with Skype.

For me that is the final nail in the Skype coffin and it will be uninstalled soon.

For those interested I have also tried the Viber app for Linux which is in Beta. It has a few bugs the most annoying of which is that it is impossible to stop the application once started except by a reboot or killing the process.

Now if they would get Phone to Phone video calls working that would e the icing onthe cake

[KittenKong]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

[Digitalbanana]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

Ok I'll stab a guess at this. Perhaps it's that Skype and Viber are well known the world over (even my 2 1/2 year old daughter knows the Skype ring tone!) whereas most people wouldn't know <deleted> SIP is?

[thaimite]

I agree Skype is very expensive. The advantage is (was) that it was a single universal programme everybody knows. whether for PC to PC or as Skype out.

In my opinion Skype never was the best VOIP solution and Skype out is expensive but due to very successful marketing was able to grab a large market share.

Viber has a nice package which is ideal for Phone to Phone using a data connection and if the other party does not have a good data connection then Viber out from within the same package is a good alternative. In addition Viber uses my phone's address book and does not expect all contacts to be registered on their servers as does Skype. This is another big plus for me.

[edwardandtubs]

I don't think a three minute Skype call costs 86.6 cents to the UK.

[Chicog]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

What's the advantage of SIP over this?

[Chicog]

I don't think a three minute Skype call costs 86.6 cents to the UK.

I don't know what that number specifically represents, but it's from the UK, and I'm guessing it's comparative.

[jpinx]

Is viber better than Line or Whatsapp ?

[jpinx]

as an aside ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viber

quote ...

On July 24, 2013, Viber's support system was defaced by Syrian Electronic Army. According to Viber no user sensitive information was accessed.[

[MikeWill]

Thanks for the info Chicog.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Is viber better than Line or Whatsapp ?

Last time I checked, What'sApp had only messaging, no voice or video calling.

My wife and I use LINE daily for mobile phone to mobile phone data calls here in Thailand, and it works great. And of course no charge for the data voice calls to other LINE users.

Lately, I got my father in the US to install LINE on his PC, and we've been doing PC to PC video calls with our respective webcams lately which also work fine... and also no charge.

But with LINE, both ends have to be LINE users... You can't just call regular landline or mobile numbers.

One of the other common advantages of both LINE and Viber is they both have Android and PC apps, so tney can be used interchangeably between mobile phone and desktop.

As for calls inside Thailand to landline or mobile numbers, Skype had a U.S.-based promo I signed up for some months back of a flat $10 per month for unlimited calling to various countries, including within the U.S. and any mobile or landlines in Thailand. My Thai wife here in Thailand uses that to call and talk with her non-techie, non-Internet mom for hours and hours. So in that case, Skype is saving me a small fortune compared to what the normal cost of those calls would be via AIS.

It's hard to tell from the Viber chart posted above... But if they's asking 3-4 cents per minute for calls to Thailand numbers (including those made from inside Thailand), that's 1 baht plus per minute... And seemingly not much of an advantage over the normal mobile calling rates here.

[thaimite]

Is viber better than Line or Whatsapp ?

Last time I checked, What'sApp had only messaging, no voice or video calling.

My wife and I use LINE daily for mobile phone to mobile phone data calls here in Thailand, and it works great. And of course no charge for the data voice calls to other LINE users.

Lately, I got my father in the US to install LINE on his PC, and we've been doing PC to PC video calls with our respective webcams lately which also work fine... and also no charge.

But with LINE, both ends have to be LINE users... You can't just call regular landline or mobile numbers.

One of the other common advantages of both LINE and Viber is they both have Android and PC apps, so tney can be used interchangeably between mobile phone and desktop.

As for calls inside Thailand to landline or mobile numbers, Skype had a U.S.-based promo I signed up for some months back of a flat $10 per month for unlimited calling to various countries, including within the U.S. and any mobile or landlines in Thailand. My Thai wife here in Thailand uses that to call and talk with her non-techie, non-Internet mom for hours and hours. So in that case, Skype is saving me a small fortune compared to what the normal cost of those calls would be via AIS.

It's hard to tell from the Viber chart posted above... But if they's asking 3-4 cents per minute for calls to Thailand numbers (including those made from inside Thailand), that's 1 baht plus per minute... And seemingly not much of an advantage over the normal mobile calling rates here.

I use both Viber and Line to keep in contact with my wife, Line has Video calls, but I think Viber behaves better on a poor connection.

Recently Viber has added some nice features like showing if the other party is available whereas before (and still with Line) you would hear the other end ringing, but woud not know if they were in actual coverage or not.

I also experience more crashes with Line recently.

I have never used WhatsApp. I believe it is messaging onlyand I see no advantage to it.

[KittenKong]

In addition Viber uses my phone's address book and does not expect all contacts to be registered on their servers as does Skype. This is another big plus for me.

SIP clients work the same way on your smartphone. At least all the ones I have tried do.

[KittenKong]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

What's the advantage of SIP over this?

It's cheaper, as I pointed out. So why pay more?

If there really is something that makes Viber or Skype in some way better than SIP for outgoing pay calls (or incoming phone calls from landlines or mobiles for that matter) then I would really like to learn what it is.

[MikeWill]

What is SIP ?

[KittenKong]

What is SIP ?

A protocol used for internet telephony and messaging that has the advantage of not being proprietary, and hence is more compatible with more varied bits of software/hardware and a larger choice of providers than systems like Skype etc. offer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol

Personally I like to use Skype for the things that Skype does for free (basically communicating with other people who use Skype) and SIP for all my other telephony requirements (making and receiving phone calls).

[zeekgarcia]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

Can you list the SIP providers that you know are cheaper than Viber, Skype etc?

Thanks

[asdecas]

It's not exactly clear to what that graphic above refers: is it for calls within each country listed or between countries, and if so which? My guess is the former, in which case the figure for Skype UK mobile-to-mobile would be about right at 86.6c, or 54p, for a 3-minute call. The Viber charge is a significant saving.

[Lobo4455]

That's a good news I got viber installed on my phone need to make calls to Thailand frequently.

[muffinzman]

I dont understand this post ? I live in australia and call my friend in thailand on her mobile phone on both skype and viber and it costs nothing? What am i missing?

[rajulkabir]

It's not exactly clear to what that graphic above refers: is it for calls within each country listed or between countries, and if so which? My guess is the former

VoIP operators typically charge on a termination basis; that is, the rate is how much you pay to get a call to a particular destination. It doesn't matter if you're in the same country or on Mars.

Call charges that vary based on where you're sitting at the moment only apply when you're going through your local phone network, not when you're bypassing it via VoIP.

So to answer your question, the answer to "within or between?" is "both", and to "from which country?" is "all". The UK rate shown is their rate for calls from the UK to the UK and for calls from Mongolia to the UK. It's just their rate to the UK.

And yes, the Viber rates are still extremely expensive compared to SIP discounters. Better than high-price leader Skype, though.

[Jeffrey346]

I dont understand this post ? I live in australia and call my friend in thailand on her mobile phone on both skype and viber and it costs nothing? What am i missing?

From what I understand, Viber to Viber and Skype to Skype calls are free. But you can't call any other number without a charge.

[Konini]

I've been using ViopDiscount for years - a fair bit cheaper than Skype and when you put 10 Euro into your account you automatically get 90 free days - free calls to landlines in almost every country (some developing countries are excluded) and free calls to mobiles in some countries, including Thailand US and Canada,. Occasionally the quality is a bit off, but that's become increasingly rare over the last 2 years - once in a blue moon I have to hang up and redial, I'd say only once in the last 2 months and we've been calling England every day as the father in law is gravely ill. That's as well as all the other normal calls to other family members, friends and 3 or 4 a week to each other on our respective mobile phones here in Thailand. I've currently got over 30 Euro in credit, because I've used it for free calls rather than paid ones, I also use it for all SMS which is much easier than fiddling about on the phone to text, message goes out with my number and the replies come back to my phone.

It really is worth looking at, especially if you make calls to mobile numbers in Thailand when you're at home/work. They have an app for tablet and mobile phone, but I've never bothered with it so I can't comment.

Not sure if I'm allowed to link, but it's here

[KittenKong]

Can you list the SIP providers that you know are cheaper than Viber, Skype etc?

Crikey. All of them?

Let's start with Sipgate, Terrasip, OVH, Keyyo, Ippi and all the Betamax clones.

http://progx.ch/home-voip-prixbetamax-3-1-2.html

[vanillalatte]

I pay Skype 11$/month and can call without charge from any country to any country.not all are on the list - but all my countries are there.

To Skype haters - you like it or not,but Skype is in Facebook!I do not mean:"on Facebook",I mean - "in Facebook".

Skype and Facebook video messenger - is the same thing.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

That sounds like the same promo plan I mentioned above... In my case, it's $9.99 plus tax per month for unlimited Skype Out calling to regular phone lines in a long list of countries, including landlines and mobiles in the U.S. and Thailand.

I'd never buy minutes from Skype for Skype Out because their rates arent especially good. But 300 baht per month for unlimited calling to regular phone numbers (among the list of designated countries) is a deal that's hard to beat.

[zeekgarcia]

It's not exactly clear to what that graphic above refers: is it for calls within each country listed or between countries, and if so which? My guess is the former

VoIP operators typically charge on a termination basis; that is, the rate is how much you pay to get a call to a particular destination. It doesn't matter if you're in the same country or on Mars.

Call charges that vary based on where you're sitting at the moment only apply when you're going through your local phone network, not when you're bypassing it via VoIP.

So to answer your question, the answer to "within or between?" is "both", and to "from which country?" is "all". The UK rate shown is their rate for calls from the UK to the UK and for calls from Mongolia to the UK. It's just their rate to the UK.

And yes, the Viber rates are still extremely expensive compared to SIP discounters. Better than high-price leader Skype, though.

Can you list some of these SIP discounters?

[rajulkabir]

It's not exactly clear to what that graphic above refers: is it for calls within each country listed or between countries, and if so which? My guess is the former

VoIP operators typically charge on a termination basis; that is, the rate is how much you pay to get a call to a particular destination. It doesn't matter if you're in the same country or on Mars.

Call charges that vary based on where you're sitting at the moment only apply when you're going through your local phone network, not when you're bypassing it via VoIP.

So to answer your question, the answer to "within or between?" is "both", and to "from which country?" is "all". The UK rate shown is their rate for calls from the UK to the UK and for calls from Mongolia to the UK. It's just their rate to the UK.

And yes, the Viber rates are still extremely expensive compared to SIP discounters. Better than high-price leader Skype, though.

Can you list some of these SIP discounters?

There's a German (I think) outfit called Betamax that operates a big wholesale market and provides a white-label platform for companies to run their own SIP brands. Between them you can usually find something with pleasing rates to your preferred destinations. There's a comparison chart here: http://backsla.sh/betamax

[Chicog]

I've long known that Skype Out is very expensive when compared to most SIP providers, but on the figures shown Viber doesnt seem to be cheaper than my SIP provider either.

So what's the advantage of this over SIP?

What's the advantage of SIP over this?

It's cheaper, as I pointed out. So why pay more?

If there really is something that makes Viber or Skype in some way better than SIP for outgoing pay calls (or incoming phone calls from landlines or mobiles for that matter) then I would really like to learn what it is.

Cheaper how? If you use Skype-to-Skype, etc., it's free; didn't you say you pay a monthly fee for SIP service?