Making Long Distance Calls From Your Tablet
Making calls from your tablet? That doesn't sound right at all. Even though many tablets have cellular capabilities, that's for data and not for talking. In fact, there is no tablet on the market that also functions as a phone. But there are always ways to get what you want from technology. This is where Skype is your friend. By taking advantage of Skype on tablets, you can make long distance calls. It might not be the most practical method of calling, but it's better than nothing at all.
iPad
More people own an iPad than any other tablet. It has 68 percent of the US tablet market share, and there don't appear to be many serious competitors for it. Thankfully there is a Skype app that you can download right from the App Store. Most people will use this for video chatting with other Skype members, since video is one prominent feature of any tablet. But it doesn't have to end there.
Skype offers Skype Credit for making calls to landlines and mobile phones. This is basically a cheap per-minute rate that allows you to call anyone. It works the same as VoIP, except instead of your home internet connection it uses your 3G connection. It might look a little odd, you talking to your tablet. But if there's no better or cheaper means, it works just as well as any other long distance calling method.
Skype is free in the App Store.
Android Tablets
The iPad isn't the only tablet on the market, of course. There are dozens of different Android tablets, though many of them are low quality and not worth your time. If you have found a good one, or are waiting for the next big thing to hit the market -- such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab -- you can have a calling experience similar to the iPad. Again, it works in a manner very similar to the iPad, in that you have to buy Skype Credit and then talk to your tablet.
There are more VoIP alternatives on Android than there are on iPad, too. For instance, the app Vopium has received rave reviews and is great for international long distance. It's available for the iPad, too. Viber is another quality app for calls over your 3G or WiFi network. There are many ways you can make long distance calls cheaply with an Android tablet.
BlackBerry PlayBook
The PlayBook is the last of the big three tablet types, though it is the most disappointing for our purposes. There are no current VoIP apps for the PlayBook. Worse, when the PlayBook does get access to many Android apps, VoIP ones will not be among them. That means no Vopium, no Viber, and no Skype. The last is most disappointing, since both of the other major tablets have Skype. The most you can do with the PlayBook is Skype IMing, which does not serve our needs at all.
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