Best Alternative to Skype
The challenge in finding an alternative to Skype is to identify an option that our friends are also agreeable and able to use. This is because most of the options are closed networks in the same way as Skype. It means that free peer-to-peer conversations are only possible between people using the same service.
Skype achieved a major advantage in being the first cab off the rank and millions of us downloaded it. Hence, it's an option that nearly everyone has either installed or used at some time.
Skype also came up with innovative twists that few if any of it's competitors have yet to match. These include the Skype phone number. We are also yet to find an alternative that can match
Skype Voicemail.
Many of the issues that people experience with Skype can be traced back to their wireless routers. Skype will "work" with just about any router, but multi-media applications need bandwidth and an unsuitable router is a bottleneck for Skype and the alternatives. Rather than switching you may need to upgrade your Skype router.
Best Alternative to Skype - shortlist
All of the above options are excellent, but our favorite is Paltalk.
We like to video chat and while Skype video conferencing is great it's a one-on-one feature. With Paltalk we can concurrently chat with as many as people as we want. It's a lot more enjoyable way of staying in touch with family and friends.
iChat - nice, but only available on Mac OSX Leopard, which limits who you can chat with.
Google Talk is great if you have a Windows PC or an Apple iPhone, but not if you're a Linux or Mac user.
GrandCentral is another option from Google. At this stage it's only available in the U.S. Once the product graduates from beta it will be a serious challenger.
Jajah is an evolution of the Skype model. It enables users to make free or cheap phone calls over regular telephone handsets and a wide range of handheld devices.
Gizmo5 is a less restrictive option than Skype. Users of Google Talk can be added to a Gizmo5 phonebook.
There are dozens of other solutions available including: MRTalk, Tokiva, VoIpBuster and Damaka. Many of them are excellent, but for whatever reason they have not been widely adopted, which in turn discourages new users. Catch 22!
If you're using an alternative to Skype that you would recommend, tell us about it!
Our visitors regularly ask us: "Which is the best Internet phone service." If you've found an alternative to Skype that you would recommend - tell us about it so we can share it with others.
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