Top 6 list of free apps that provide free, real telephone numbers that you can use free over Wi-Fi
109This is my review of the top 6 list of free smartphone apps (iOS, Android) that provide free, real, 10 digit telephone numbers that you can use free of charge over Wi-Fi. The apps in this video all provide Canadians with free 10 digit telephone numbers local to their city or town in Canada, as well as 5 of these 6 apps providing the same for Americans living in the continental United States of America. These are Canadian alternatives similar to Google Voice.
The Countdown (listed in order from least to most impressive):
#6 - NextPlus (2:20 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing long-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers.
Free unlimited incoming MMS picture messaging.
Free unlimited incoming voice telephone calls.
CONS:
Misleading voicemail that never delivers received messages to the user.
Only seems to function in Android 2.3 and not Android 4+.
App has to be opened on the foreground in order to receive incoming voice telephone calls.
Only app in the list that granted me a telephone number from the other end of the country on signup instead of a local number!
#5 - TextPlus (9:55 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing short-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers.
CONS:
SMS text messages are limited to 250 characters. Long form SMS text messages that are received can most often not be read.
Misleading voicemail that never delivers received messages to the user.
Incoming voice telephone calls no longer function.
#4 - Fongo (13:58 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming short-form SMS text messages.
Free unlimited incoming voice telephone calls.
Free unlimited outgoing voice telephone calls to major Canadian cities.
Free mobile-phone-provider-style voicemail service.
Free call forwarding.
App can be shut down and will start up automatically on incoming calls.
Integrated YellowPages business directory.
CONS:
Canada-exclusive app.
Outgoing SMS text messages costs money.
#3 - Pinger / TextFree (20:20 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing long-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers.
Free unlimited incoming voice telephone calls.
Free voicemail.
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing short-form SMS text messages through website to Canada / U.S. numbers.
Pinger / TextFree will let you know when an SMS text message could NOT be delivered (for example, when texting a landline phone number) (the only app in this video to do this).
CONS:
App is heavy on system resources. It slows down device and drains device battery faster.
Using Pinger TextFree through the website does not reliably receive SMS text messages in a timely fashion.
Conversation history no longer follows you if logging in on a different device.
Android app granted me a non-local telephone number on signup, yet iOS app granted me a local phone number on signup!
#2 TextMe / FreeTone (29:20 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing long-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers.
Free unlimited incoming voice telephone calls.
Free voicemail.
Very good incoming voice call quality and latency (the best of all apps in this video).
CONS:
NO copy and paste when composing SMS text messages!
Conversation history does not follow you if logging in on a different device.
Obnoxious 'TextMe Phone Service' notification banner in system notifications that can not be turned off, dismissed, nor cleared if app is installed.
Telephone number expires after time (supposedly if not actively used regularly) and non-local telephone number is assigned automatically, without warning the user.
#1 TextNow (34:05 in the video)
PROS:
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing long-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers.
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing MMS picture messaging to Canada / U.S. numbers (the only app in this video to do this).
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing voice telephone calls to Canada / U.S. numbers (the only app in this video to do this).
Free voicemail.
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing long-form SMS text messages to Canada / U.S. numbers through website (the only app in this video to do this).
Free unlimited incoming and outgoing MMS picture messaging to Canada / U.S. numbers through website (the only app in this video to do this).
Receive and listen to voicemail through website (the only app in this video to do this).
Free E-Mail notifications for received SMS, missed telephone calls, and voicemail (the only app in this video to do this).
Popup dialog that wakes a sleeping device and allows you to read and reply to SMS text messages from the lock screen (the only app in this video to do this).
Floating chat that can be accessed and used outside of the app and with any other app in the foreground through a finger-sized always-on-top floating icon (the only app in this video to do this).
CONS:
Using website is heavy on system resources.
Incoming and outgoing voice calls no longer seems to function through website.