The new Vonage Mobile app for Android and iPhone is a free app that allows you to make VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone calls and text messaging. Vonage has offered home VoIP service for some time. The mobile app does not require you to have a current Vonage account to use.
The Vonage Mobile app is free, and is available for Android 2.1 and Apple iPhone and iPad. As of right now, you can place free VoIP phone calls to any phone in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, but this is a limited time offer. You can make free phone calls and texts to other Vonage Mobile users. If you are using your 3G/4G connection, calls will count against your data usage, but not your minutes.
The app is very easy to use. You install it from the Android Market or iTunes, enter your phone number and email, and then Vonage will send you a code to enter. The code actually gets sent right to the app for easy install. The app will use your current contact list on your phone. If a contact has a Vonage number, it will take the contact with a "V" indicating that the person either has Vonage service or the app. Calls to Vonage users (home or app) are free. Your current phone number will show up on other people's phones as the caller ID.
You can use the app to make phone calls internationally without needing to activate special services with your mobile carrier. You can even make calls when out of phone coverage, but have WiFi access.
I downloaded the app and within minutes was up and running. It really is that easy to use. Once the app is installed and verified, you simply open the app to make calls or send text messages. The app supports notifications also.
The app could also be very useful for schools. Teachers, students, administrators could all use the app as a great way of communicating.
Vonage envisions a future where people will have smartphones and other devices with unlimited data access, and no need for a calling plan. They would just use the Vonage app. It would also be great for non-phone devices that do not even have cellular connections, just WiFi.
Disclosure: I was paid to write this article, as well as for the ad on the top of this site.
