Best app for free calls android to iphone?

[01steven]

My wife is currently in the UK and is using a ZTE Blade running Android Froyo 2.2
I am in the US with an iPhone 4.
We both have unlimited data packages.

What is the best app for us both to run to enable us to make free calls to one another AND ALSO for the phone to ring / notify us even if the app is not running or only running in the background.
In other words for it to work just like a normal phone.
I know skype doesn't push new call notifications on the iPhone unless the app is actually running.

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I don't know if they allow this on the iPhone, but if you both run SIP-based VOIP client, you can make free phone calls over data. SIP is a standard, so you and your wife wouldn't need to use the same SIP client.

I use SipDroid & Google Voice to make free phone calls over data. It works great. It let's you receive phone calls for free from anywhere in the world (as long as you have a data connection like 3G, 4G, or WiFi) and it lets you make phone calls to the US from anywhere in the world that you have a data connection (like WiFi). SipDroid is open-source and free. Inbound calls ring to your phone (but you'll be able to easily see that they're coming in over SipDroid-- and you'll see the caller ID). For outbound calls, you can set up SipDroid to dial out over the cellular voice line or over data via SipDroid, or you can have SipDroid prompt you for which way you want to place the call. Or for outbound calls you can default to the voice line but dial a prefix for SIP-based calls. Or for outbound calls you can just open up SipDroid and dial from there (using your existing contacts) if you want to make a SIP-based call.

There are SipDroid instructions and a big discussion here about using Sipdroid & Google Voice to make free calls.
Free VoIP Calling Using Google Voice + Sipdroid

But I think the instructions here are a lot easier.
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/droid-x-apps/15366-sipdroid-free-voip-via-google-voice.html

I can't personally vouch for it, but some people say that GrooveIP is easier to set up than SipDroid.
http://androidforums.com/application-announcements/320717-app-groove-ip-google-voice-voip.html

There are some other SIP cients out there as well. I can't remember their names.

Good luck.

 

[tcat007]

+1 Groove IP. Set up and working in 5 minutes. Some people have some issues, but on my Optimus V it makes and receives calls as it should. You need GV number.

 

[01steven]

Thanks for the responses.
I'm afraid it has to work 'out of the box'. My wife is not at all technical and I'm not there to help her. It's difficult enough for her to install and run a new app!
The whole SIP project is a bit too ambitious right now.
I was actually just thinking about using Skype.
Thoughts?

 

[RazzMaTazz]

I haven't tried Skype or that kind of voice-client. Seems like a pain. But I just thought of something easy that you may want to try. There is an app that runs on both Android and iPhone, called "Tikl- Touch to Talk". It's a free app that gives your phone that Nextel-like "push-to-talk" (no dialing, no ringing) walkie-talkie style of communication. I haven't tried it cross-platform, but I use it with my all-Android wife & kids when we go skiing so that we can instantly communicate without dialing. It works great, but it's a bit hard on the battery. Might be a bit hard on the marriage too depending on how easily accessible you like to be.