phone calls

Burner brings 'disposable' phone numbers to Android

After enjoying much success on iOS, Burner, the app that provides "disposable" phone numbers, has finally made its way to Android.

Have you ever wished you could have a temporary phone number for things like Craigslist purchases, job searches, or other short-term projects? Well, Burner provides just that. Think of it as an app that can disguise your phone. It gives you a temporary phone number from which you can place calls and send messages or receive calls and messages. Its phone numbers work exactly like the one provided by your carrier, but they stop working after a … Read more

Make a free call using your iPhone and the Facebook app

Facebook recently updated the iOS app to version 5.5, which included the same free calling feature its Messenger app has had for a while now. As with the Messenger version, you're able to place or receive a call over both a Wi-Fi or 3G/LTE connection from your iPhone.

The option to place or receive a call is available only on the iPhone, not on the iPad or Web site.

As you can see in the video above, placing a call is simple:

Launch the Facebook app and view your Messenger contact list. Open a conversation with a … Read more

Google extends free calling through Gmail

People who use Gmail to make free phone calls in North America will be able to keep doing so for another year.

Google said in a blog post today that it was extending free domestic calling through 2013. It also touted its cheap rates for international calls.

Launched in the summer of 2010 as an alternative to Skype, Google's calling plugin lets people make calls to any mobile phone or landline via the Chat section in Gmail. The service is available for a slew of countries (there's a list here, under "show all rates").

For a … Read more

MorphCase turns your iPod Touch into an iPhone

If it looks like an iPhone and walks like an iPhone, it must be an iPhone, right? Yet the iPod Touch isn't quite there.

Sure, you can install a voice-over-IP app like Fring, Line2 (a personal favorite), or Skype and make calls over Wi-Fi, but you still have to plug in a headset or rely on the speakerphone -- you can't hold the iPod up to your head and talk into it like you do an iPhone.

Not yet, anyway. Indiegogo project MorphCase lets you use your iPod Touch like an iPhone, effectively replacing the need for a … Read more

Make the call

Viber gives Skpe a run for its money, and we think it comes out ahead. It ships with a good-looking interface dominated by the color purple that will have you placing VoIP calls in no time.

The app integrates with iOS perfectly and, fortunately, doesn't require a username and password to register. Instead, it uses your phone number as your ID. Once you have allowed the app to scan your address book, the contacts registered in the Viber network will appear, and you can start calling them, even if they're based internationally.

We were pleasantly surprised by the … Read more

Make free calls to landlines, mobile phones with Vonage app

Quick housekeeping note: I'll be taking the day off tomorrow, so I'll see you back here on Wednesday. Here's a great freebie to tide you over until then!

Talk is cheap, right? How about this: For a short while, talk is free.

Vonage Mobile (Android|iOS) is a voice over P app that lets you make free calls (and send free texts) to other Vonage app users.

You can also use it to call landline and mobile phones -- but normally this costs money. For a limited time, however, you can use Vonage Mobile to make free calls to landline and mobile phones.… Read more

Google Voice now lets you screen specific types of calls

Google Voice users can now tweak their settings to screen unwanted callers in favor of family and friends.

Users of the call-forwarding service have apparently been asking for a way to handle callers not in their address book. And Google has answered that request, as detailed in a new blog.

Two new groups of callers are now available in the Google Voice settings menu -- people in your address book and anonymous callers.

You can customize the response received by people in your address book by setting a special voice mail greeting. You can also set a different greeting for … Read more

Google looks to patent tech that listens to calls to promote ads

Like something out of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" where "Big Brother is watching you," Google is trying to patent technology that could pick up on background noise during mobile-phone calls and then promote related ads.

The title of the patent application is "Advertising Based on Environmental Conditions," and it was first reported today by tech-news site The Next Web. Apparently, the technology will be able to listen in on background noise, like rain, music, or a baseball game, and then serve related ads, such as a spot for an umbrella, a new album, … Read more

Transportation secretary won't back ban on hands-free calls

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today he does not support a proposal to prohibit drivers from making hands-free cell phone calls.

"The problem is not hands-free," LaHood told reporters at the department's headquarters, according to a Detroit News report. "That is not the big problem in America."

The pronouncement came a week after the National Transportation Safety Board urged states to ban the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices while driving. The NTSB doesn't have the authority to actually impose restrictions, but its recommendations often influence federal regulators as well as … Read more

Line2 HD turns your iPad into an iPhone

It was just over two years ago that I wrote about Line2, a clever VoIP app that adds a second phone number to your iPhone.

Now developer Toktumi has released Line2 HD, an iPad-specific version of the app, which should prove popular among business users. It not only turns your tablet into a full-featured phone, but also provides a nice hub for managing calls and messages.

To get started with Line2, you need to sign up via the company's site. (Unfortunately, there's no longer an in-app sign-up option.) You can test-drive the app and service with a free … Read more