WhatsApp introduced free calling between it's users a while ago and has been rumored to introduce video calling in near future. WeChat a competing China based instant messaging service has now introduced a new feature which will appeal to many, - a cheap VOIP calling feature allowing users to call domestic and international phone calls to cellphones and landliness across the globe.

Named WeChat Out, the feature is similar to Skype Out and Viber Out. WeChat is claiming their service to be cheaper with better call quality then the competition. WeChat is also offering a free trial credit of $0.99, which is enough for upto 100 minutes of international calls.

WhatsApp enabled and tested their Voice calling feature to a limited number of users initially and later rolled out to all users and other operating-systems. Leaked screenshots by an German site MacerKopf suggest that popular messaging service is all set to launch video calling feature for it's users.

WhatsApp has over 900M+ users which it acquired in a short span of just 6 years, the free video calling feature on this popular IM service is surely going to give competition substantial jitters of the likes of Apple (FaceTime), Microsoft (Skype), Google (Hangouts) and mobile-carriers.

Telecom and VOIP operators around the world have started offering free or discounted phone calls to Nepal to help people get in touch with loved ones after the devastating earthquake that struck on Saturday.

• Skype : Has made all calls in and out of Nepal absolutely free including all landlines and mobile phones, no Skype credit is required to make these calls.
• Google Voice: Has decided to reduce calling rates to Nepal to one cent per minute, The company also explained their decision why it refrained from making calls totally free as "to prevent spammers from abusing our systems and possibly adding more load to the already stretched Nepalese telephone network."
• All major Indian telecom operators like Airtel, BSNL, Idea etc. are offering free or cheap calling to Nepal for next few days.
• US telecom operators AT&T is offering free calls and texts, while Sprint and T-Mobile will be waiving and crediting fees for all calls and texts to and from Nepal from April 25th through May 16th.
• Time Warner Cable: All calls placed to landline and mobile numbers in Nepal, India and China will be free through May 25th. Time Warner Cable is making this decision retroactive and will credit customers any fees they were charged for calls placed to Nepal since April 25th.

The much awaited WhatsApp Calling feature already made it's way to Android OS and there are tricks to get a glimpse of the feature if you have an rooted android phone. The feature which has already been officially confirmed to CNET by WhatsApp spokesperson and now a selected few Apple iOS users have started getting WhatsApp Calling feature activated on their devices, the images and videos of the same are as shared below. Do mind that the Apple iOS WhatsApp version shown in the app is 2.11.17 which is most probably a beta version as the latest version listed on iTunes Store is v 2.11.16.

Also, beware of the fake WhatsApp messages circulating which claims to activate the calling feature asking users to invite others to get it. The said message asks you to complete a survey after using your help to spread to 10 other numbers and will eventually install malware on the phone. Stay clear of this scam.

Just days after WhatsApp introduced the much needed Desktop/Web access for the world's leading instant messenger service, we now have WhatsApp Call feature making it's appearance on some selective installations. It seems the WhatsApp Voice Call feature will be invite only for now where a user who already has the feature can initiate a call to a new user activating it on the other users installation. A semi-functional trick to activate the WhatsApp Call feature before everybody else is shared below.

Success of mobile VOIP application Viber has shown how popular free app-to-app VOIP calling can be, and how wonderful it will be if you get a weekly top-up for 100 minutes free international talktime added to this already awesome offering. New, mobile VOIP service maaii is offering exactly this to give there service the initial popularity push, an attractive 100 minutes free maaiiout minutes talktime every week to make free international calls to non-maaii landline and cellphone users from your iOS and Android devices.

I was eager to review Viber but waited for an Android version to get released, sadly Viber For Android is nowhere to seen - so here we have the review of currently available Viber For iOS.

Viber the free VOIP application for iOS (Android and Blackberry versions expected soon) allows users to call other Viber users anywhere in world for free using their 3G or Wi-Fi connection, the best part of this must-have utility is the sound quality which is simply "exceptional".

Viber uses your phones address book and is always in-sync with it, highlighting contacts that have Viber so you know you can call them for free. To get started all you need to do is, enter your phone number and the confirmation code received via SMS.

There have been many services offering free international VOIP calls and most of them rely upon ad-supported funding to get things going, most of such services have closed there doors but there are still a few left. One such service Evaphone allows users to enjoy free international PC-To-Phone calling from there website (or any other flash supporting device) to any landline or mobile phone in most parts across the globe, the service supports almost all major countries of the world including USA, UK, Canada, India, Pakistan etc. with each country having a fixed single free call duration with unlimited numbers of calls.

We have shared many services offering free VOIP calling to various countries around the world, most of these services offer free calling to many countries but often does not include India as a free destinations - now here we have a new service allowing unlimited free international calls to various destinations world-over including India at local rates from USA, UK and Brazil.

The free local access-number based VOIP service is pretty straight forward to use and all you need to do is to dial the provided local access-number and then once connected follow the IVR instructions provided by the gateway.

Many free phone calling tips have been posted on this blog but this one blows them all, instead of regular PC-to-phone VOIP calls this trick allows users to enjoy unlimited phone-to-phone calls anywhere in India.