Setup
Getting
Viber up and running takes less than a minute. After installing the
app, Viber first asks for your permission to send push notifications and
access your address book. You then enter your phone number, which is
your ID. You won't be assigned a different number on Viber, unlike such
apps as TextPlus and TextFree.
Next, you enter your name, add a profile photo and connect with
Facebook to sync your profile, friend list, email address and newsfeed.Viber works on just about every platform available: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Symbian and Windows Phone 7. You can also run the service on Windows and OS X 10.7 systems.
Interface
Reminiscent
of its competitor WhatsApp, Viber's overall interface is clean and
simple. A bottom nav bar has buttons for Messages, Recents, Contacts,
Keypad and More. Messages displays your text correspondences; Recents
shows your recent calls (including Missed), Contacts displays your Viber
contacts, all address book contacts and favorites; and Keypad lets you
call someone who isn't already in your address book. The More button
lets you invite friends to Viber and adjust settings, such as
automatically saving photos and videos through Viber to your Camera Roll
and turning notifications off.What missing from Viber that WhatsApp has is a status option, which signals to your friends as to whether you're busy or free to talk.
Features
With
Viber, you can message anyone for free, but you can only make free
calls to other Viber users. If you wish to make a call to someone who
isn't a Viber user, carrier rates apply. The emoticons on Viber are
awesome: They're superanimated and a lot cooler than regular emoticons.
Plus, the app has a stickers section, which are sent automatically after
you tap on one.
Users
can also send or take photos and videos from within the app, as well as
share their current location. Viber supports group chats with up to 40
participants (10 more than WhatsApp's 30 participants).MORE: 5 Best Keyboard Apps for Android
Performance
When
we synced our Facebook account, Viber didn't display our Facebook
friends in Contacts; we could only view contacts that were in our
phone's address book. However, this feature worked on a colleague's
phone.Messages were sent and received seamlessly, and call quality was crystal clear. We easily added contacts to our Favorites, so instead of scrolling through all our contacts, we could access those we talked with the most using just one tap.
Verdict
Viber
is incredibly easy to use, lets you add favorites and it's fun. Users
can send photos, videos, emoticons and stickers to their heart's
content. Most importantly, you can call anyone around the world for
free, provided your contact is using the service. Overall, Viber is our
favorite messaging app.Source: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/apps/viber.aspx
Viber Review
Free Calls and Group Messaging Using Your Mobile Number
Viber is a VoIP
tool that is gaining popularity and is reaching its hundred million
users. It doesn’t offer a lot of functions, but there are two that take
it out of the lot: it allows you to communicate using VoIP for free
bypassing your mobile carrier, but while using your GSM phone number, and it allows group messaging. It works on Wi-Fi and 3G.
On the down side, free calls and text messages are only possible to
Viber users, that is there is no possibility to make (even paid) calls
to landline and other phone numbers, and the app is not available for
platforms other than Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
Pros
- No need to register, use your mobile phone number.
- Unlimited free calls and text messages to other Viber users.
- Group text messages.
- Huge user base.
Cons
- No calling and messaging to non-Viber users.
- Not available for most phone models including Nokia, Symbian etc.
- Reduced quality with low Wi-Fi or 3G signals.
Review
Viber
is getting famous as it makes things free between peers. You have a set
of friends that use Android, iOS (iPhone, iPad), BlackBerry or the
latest Windows Phone, you get them to install Viber on their devices and
register their phone numbers – you are set to make ever free calls and
group messaging among yourselves. This applies even if some of your
correspondents are abroad, because it used only the Internet to channel
its calls and messages.
The first thing that I found interesting is that you do not need to register or sign in when using the service. Once you download the app to your device, you are asked to enter your phone number and you are given an access code through SMS, which you type in on activation. You are then identified through your mobile phone number on the huge user-base of Viber.
Group messaging is another thing that I found interesting, but many other apps have preceded Viber in this. The app allows you to select and add contacts from your address book for participation.
The app integrates your phone’s address book and each time you decide to make a call or send a text message to a contact, you are prompted to either place a regular call (or SMS) through your mobile carrier to the contact or to make the call or send the message using Viber. Before initiating anything in the event Viber is selected, the number is verified to see if it is registered with Viber, as free service is allowed only to those.
The first thing that I found interesting is that you do not need to register or sign in when using the service. Once you download the app to your device, you are asked to enter your phone number and you are given an access code through SMS, which you type in on activation. You are then identified through your mobile phone number on the huge user-base of Viber.
Group messaging is another thing that I found interesting, but many other apps have preceded Viber in this. The app allows you to select and add contacts from your address book for participation.
The app integrates your phone’s address book and each time you decide to make a call or send a text message to a contact, you are prompted to either place a regular call (or SMS) through your mobile carrier to the contact or to make the call or send the message using Viber. Before initiating anything in the event Viber is selected, the number is verified to see if it is registered with Viber, as free service is allowed only to those.
The
app isn’t very heavy on resources and installs quite quickly. It is
simple to use. It runs in the background (if you allow it to do so of
course) taking advantage of the multitasking possibility of new
smartphones. Viber also allows you to post and send photos and map
locations.
A word about connectivity. Viber does not use your GSM architecture and service to channel the calls and messages. You need to have Internet connection through either Wi-Fi or 3G. Things will remain free if you use Wi-Fi, with chances of maintained good call quality, but you will then be terribly limited in mobility. When you use 3G on the move, take into consideration that you would be paying for each megabyte of data used on your data plan. Some of you, in some regions and with certain operators, might find that the service is blocked because apps and services like this stand as serious threats for mobile carriers.
You have a Nokia or a Symbian phone? Viber isn’t for you. Maybe because these don’t really have a future. Viber has good apps for Android and iOS. While the list of supported Android devices is quite long, you won’t get the app with an iPhone, for instance, whose version is earlier than 3GS. The BlackBerry and Windows Phone apps are quite limited, and as I write this, these two do not yet have voice call support.
Read more on how to install Viber on your smartphone and get it running.
A word about connectivity. Viber does not use your GSM architecture and service to channel the calls and messages. You need to have Internet connection through either Wi-Fi or 3G. Things will remain free if you use Wi-Fi, with chances of maintained good call quality, but you will then be terribly limited in mobility. When you use 3G on the move, take into consideration that you would be paying for each megabyte of data used on your data plan. Some of you, in some regions and with certain operators, might find that the service is blocked because apps and services like this stand as serious threats for mobile carriers.
You have a Nokia or a Symbian phone? Viber isn’t for you. Maybe because these don’t really have a future. Viber has good apps for Android and iOS. While the list of supported Android devices is quite long, you won’t get the app with an iPhone, for instance, whose version is earlier than 3GS. The BlackBerry and Windows Phone apps are quite limited, and as I write this, these two do not yet have voice call support.
Read more on how to install Viber on your smartphone and get it running.
Source: http://voip.about.com/od/servicesandsolutions/fr/Viber-Review.htm
How to Install Viber for Android
If you are reading this, it means you have an Android device and want
to make free calls on it, or participate in group messaging. While you
have many VoIP apps out there for making free calls on Android, Viber
is one of those that have some specialties: it does not require a
username and password as it uses your mobile phone number and integrates
in your contact list; and it has a huge user base. Here is a
walkthrough on how to get Viber running on your device and making the
most out of it.
You could use the same walkthrough to install and configure Viber on your iPhone and iPad, as the procedures are more or less the same. Check the system requirements for the iPhone there. Note that the iPad is only partially supported.
The second thing you require is an Internet connection. Viber works only with Wi-Fi and 3G. While you can have Wi-Fi hotspots in many places for free, including at home and at the office, you will need to have a 3G data plan for calls while you will be on the move. This often costs money as you will be paying for each MB of data you use on your calls and messages. Viber support says the app uses 240 KB of data per minute of utilization, up and down. That makes 14 MB per hour of communication. So, to put it simply, using Viber isn’t fully free if you intend to have it always with you wherever you are, but it can be fully free if you use it only within hotspots.
The third thing you need is a list of buddies to talk to. You can’t make Viber calls or send Viber messages to people who don’t use Viber. Sure, there is nearly a hundred million people out there using Viber, but you don’t have to or want to talk to them, do you? So if you are moving to Viber, some other people have to do so too.
Just click on the link if you are reading this page on your Android device. If this is not the case, then it would be easier to make a search on ‘Viber’ in your Google Play app. Then click Download and Install. The installation will be done in a short time, as the app is only 7 MB.
After installation, you are presented with a welcome screen with the features of the app, click Continue. Then it asks you to enter your mobile phone number. It automatically detects your location and area code. If you see it is not correct, you can select the right one using the drop down list.
A pop up asks you permission to allow Viber access your contact list. You can choose not to grant it, but then you would be forsaking an interesting feature of the app. I allowed it and found nothing wrong so far.
The next step asks you for an activation code, which by that time must already have reached you through a text message from Viber. Enter the four-digit code and you are done. This access code is used to verify that you are the real owner of the phone number you entered.
What You Require
The first thing on your checklist for Viber is a compatible and supported smartphone. If you have an Android device, chances are that it is covered, as Android devices are most numerous in the list of supported models. This is because Android is more open an operating system with respect to hardware integration and software development. Check whether your device is supported there.You could use the same walkthrough to install and configure Viber on your iPhone and iPad, as the procedures are more or less the same. Check the system requirements for the iPhone there. Note that the iPad is only partially supported.
The second thing you require is an Internet connection. Viber works only with Wi-Fi and 3G. While you can have Wi-Fi hotspots in many places for free, including at home and at the office, you will need to have a 3G data plan for calls while you will be on the move. This often costs money as you will be paying for each MB of data you use on your calls and messages. Viber support says the app uses 240 KB of data per minute of utilization, up and down. That makes 14 MB per hour of communication. So, to put it simply, using Viber isn’t fully free if you intend to have it always with you wherever you are, but it can be fully free if you use it only within hotspots.
The third thing you need is a list of buddies to talk to. You can’t make Viber calls or send Viber messages to people who don’t use Viber. Sure, there is nearly a hundred million people out there using Viber, but you don’t have to or want to talk to them, do you? So if you are moving to Viber, some other people have to do so too.
Download and Installation
On your Android device, open the Market (now Google Play) app and go to this pageJust click on the link if you are reading this page on your Android device. If this is not the case, then it would be easier to make a search on ‘Viber’ in your Google Play app. Then click Download and Install. The installation will be done in a short time, as the app is only 7 MB.
After installation, you are presented with a welcome screen with the features of the app, click Continue. Then it asks you to enter your mobile phone number. It automatically detects your location and area code. If you see it is not correct, you can select the right one using the drop down list.
A pop up asks you permission to allow Viber access your contact list. You can choose not to grant it, but then you would be forsaking an interesting feature of the app. I allowed it and found nothing wrong so far.
The next step asks you for an activation code, which by that time must already have reached you through a text message from Viber. Enter the four-digit code and you are done. This access code is used to verify that you are the real owner of the phone number you entered.
Getting the Most out of Viber
You will save a lot of money if you use Viber in the following scenario: You have a number of contacts that you can frequently (family, friends, colleagues) and that use smartphones. Ask them to install Viber, and the calls with them will be free, especially if you make them using Wi-Fi hotspots. The service can lighten the burden from your home phone service. You can also organize group messaging among you, turning the app into a collaboration tool.Suggested Reading
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Viber setup for iPhone
- After installing Viber from the App Store, find and open the application on your device
- Select Continue on the Welcome screen
- Viber will request access to your phone’s address book. Select Allow
- Select your country from the dropdown menu and enter your phone number
- You will receive an SMS message with your Viber access code
- Enter the access code in the Viber setup screen and select Enter
- Enter your information to login or login with Facebook
That’s it! Viber is now setup on your iPhone and you can connect freely!