I’m not a computer tech person at all. But i do use programs like skype to video chat and aim to chat.
Can you make phone calls from the us to canada? I know you could with skype if you buy credits but even if you do this you would need a mic or a camera correct? But can you do this without buying credits?
Want to make a call to canada and only have my cell phone now which doesn’t have long distance.
I don’t know of anything free.
For $.035/minute look into Onesuite:
Basically you set up an account (paying in $10 increments with your credit card) and to call you would call an 800 number.
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If you’re calling someone else who also uses Skype it should be free. You both need either a smart phone that supports Skype, or a computer. What kind of phone do you have?
Yeah, you can just sign up for Google Voice with your cell phone number and then use that service to dial Canada for free (from your cell phone).
It reroutes cell phone calls via VOIP for you.
I have an optimus v cell phone that is virgin mobile plan.
Can i do it with the phone?
Verizon sneakily still deducts minutes for Google Voice calls made with your phone and I think other carriers do too. I don’t know if what that would mean for long distance versus local minutes, though.
Log into your Gmail account, configure it for voice chat, click the little telephone icon (lower left, below your mail menus) , enter the number in the keypad that pops up in your screen, talk into your computer mike to any number in USA or Canada, listen on your computer speakers, still free.
It’s local. I call other countries with it all the time.
Not only that, but do it from the computer and Google calls you. I used to do that quite a bit, as there are no Google exchanges (or cell exchanges, for that matter) that aren’t toll calls from home.
Sorry, I made a mistake. It’s not LOCAL, but it’s within the USA (versus international long distance). Most cell phones let you call any US area code so I was confused.
As far as cell phones are concerned, unless you have an all-you-can-eat plan, or are calling the carrier’s customer service number, you’re always going to pay airtime on regular domestic calls (including toll-free numbers). Nothing sneaky about that.
The really sneaky thing about Canadian calls (from the US) is that you don’t always know you’re making one. I once spent two hours on the phone to BC and didn’t realize what I’d done until I got the bill. :smack:
(This was back in the days when any international call was a big deal.)
I only have speakers and a webcam. The webcam has video and speaking. I use it with skype.
So i can just call the person in canada like this? Their phone number is a canadian cell.
Okay i went to my gmail account and then clicked on call and then installed the google voice and video plugin.
Now it has that search or dial. So now i just type the number with the area code and thats all? I have to have my webcam on otherwise it wouldn’t work correct?
Also, if i call that phone number, what phone number will display in their end?
A little bit of confusion here. If you make a Google Voice call by having Google call you to connect the call, then yes I would expect to get voice minute deductions since those are still being handled by the regular voice network.
What I think is sneaky is that they deduct voice minutes if you use the Google Voice smartphone app. When you make a call that way, the call is actually handled via the data connection on your phone. Which means either you’re getting double billed (both the minutes and the data charges) or if your handset is connected to wifi they’re basically charging you to make a call over your home internet connection. Profoundly sneaky if you ask me!
I would like to add that im doing this all on my computer and not my phone.
Anyone can answer my questions?
It doesn’t call through the internet. The app just goes online to look up a rerouted phone number and then places it as a normal voice call. The VOIP stuff happens on their end, not yours.
To test it for yourself, call a number through Google Voice at least once (so it can look up that rerouted number), then turn off your data connection and call the same number again. It should still say “Calling through Google Voice” but go to that other number.
If you want to do it from your computer, you need to use the Gmail plugin: Google Chat Help
Or if you’ve upgraded your Google account to have Plus and/or Hangouts, you need the Hangouts extension: Official Gmail Blog: Making calls from Hangouts — in Gmail and across the web
Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense. I’d have sworn I managed to make a GV call over wifi when I was out of cell signal though… maybe I’m thinking of the Skype number I used for a while.
I downloaded it. So it should work now? What phone number will be shown?