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Tatango makes sending group voice messages free

For those looking to get rid of mobile-phone trees and send one voice message to a large group of people, Tatango Voice may be a good place to start.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger

Tatango, the Seattle-based start-up specializing in connecting groups of people through text messaging, announced the launch of Tatango Voice, a service that will let users make free calls to other members within the group they create on Tatango's service.

Using Tatango Voice, group leaders can record and send a free voice message to all the mobile phones in their group, which Tatango claims will eliminate the need for complex phone trees. Once the group leader records the call, other group members receive a text message alerting them to the waiting call. To listen to the recording, group members need only to reply to the text message with the word "call" and it will be delivered to their phone.

"Text messaging is great for certain types of group messages, but sometimes a group needs a little more room to convey their message" said Derek Johnson, CEO of Tatango. "By adding voice to our existing set of group communication tools, we've developed the most complete, powerful, user-friendly system available, no matter what type of message."

Tatango Voice is free to use and will work on any mobile phone, but there's one caveat: each call is preceded by a 7-second advertisement. Granted, 7 seconds probably won't be enough to push users away, but with competitors like 3jam and Dean Alert offering similar services, it could make users want to try out other options before they pick which is best for them.