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Going 100% VoIP?

Z

zcarman

Android Enthusiast
So, I'm sure quite a few people have gotten the Exhibit II 4G on that amazing 100 minute, unlimited text/data plan for $30... I did have a question though... Has anyone taken that and gone 100% VoIP?

I've been testing it with my EVO on Sprint the last month and have to say it's been very successful. GrooveIP and SIPDroid both performed very well and Google Voice has done everything I need it to do for texting and voice mail. If it has native MMS support I would have been all set...

Now, I plan on doing the same thing with the T-Mo plan, entirely VoIP (home and work on WiFi - cellular when on the road) but I wonder if anyone else is doing it. My take on it is pretty simple - T-Mo is already giving us more than enough data to do it, and doing VoIP gives people one number to call me at, rather than having my GV number and my T-Mo number published. I can also port my long time Sprint number to Google for $20 and be done with relying on any certain carrier.

So, the options I have been looking at are:

GrooveIP: Not as reliable connection wise, but a flat $5 that I already spent. Links directly to GV and works seemlessly with the stock dialer. The drawback, it is a bit rough on the battery...

Skype: Uses less battery than GrooveIP, more solid connections, and less stream as well. Also allows Skype to Skype calls for free to anyone in the world. The drawback, you have to run through Skype and there is a $3 a month fee for the FREE unlimited North American plan...

What are anyone's thoughts on this one?
 
zcarman said:
So, I'm sure quite a few people have gotten the Exhibit II 4G on that amazing 100 minute, unlimited text/data plan for $30... I did have a question though... Has anyone taken that and gone 100% VoIP?

I've been testing it with my EVO on Sprint the last month and have to say it's been very successful. GrooveIP and SIPDroid both performed very well and Google Voice has done everything I need it to do for texting and voice mail. If it has native MMS support I would have been all set...

Now, I plan on doing the same thing with the T-Mo plan, entirely VoIP (home and work on WiFi - cellular when on the road) but I wonder if anyone else is doing it. My take on it is pretty simple - T-Mo is already giving us more than enough data to do it, and doing VoIP gives people one number to call me at, rather than having my GV number and my T-Mo number published. I can also port my long time Sprint number to Google for $20 and be done with relying on any certain carrier.

So, the options I have been looking at are:

GrooveIP: Not as reliable connection wise, but a flat $5 that I already spent. Links directly to GV and works seemlessly with the stock dialer. The drawback, it is a bit rough on the battery...

Skype: Uses less battery than GrooveIP, more solid connections, and less stream as well. Also allows Skype to Skype calls for free to anyone in the world. The drawback, you have to run through Skype and there is a $3 a month fee for the FREE unlimited North American plan...

What are anyone's thoughts on this one?
Click to expand...

I've tried GrooveIP on this phone with very little success. No matter how much I played with the settings, the call quality just ALWAYS seemed to be horrible enough that the person on the other line just couldn't take it. I did try one other and had the same problems, I do not remember the name of that one though. There are lots of other people with completely different outcomes though.

I've used skype for video calling and the quality is good, no problems, never as just a phone call though.
 
Interesting on GrooveIP... I had some issues with it on the EVO till I tweaked it a bit and I was just going to try the same settings - since the guts of the two are almost identical. SIPDroid seems to be working much better now and the native "GV" SIP maker is a nice addition. My biggest concern is battery wear. Did you use GIP long enough to see the battery wear?
 
I have groove IP running all the time and have not noticed a difference with battery life. I have no issues using it on wifi with the exception of a slight delay at times, works ok on 4g but the delay is longer and conversations are a little more difficult. You can definately not make calls while moving. I make the majority of calls at home on wifi, just used it the other day for a 15 minute call to customer service with no probs.
 
Day one is under the belt - using GV for texting and GrooveIP for voice and zero issues... I haven't even activated the phone yet - just using the wireless tether from my EVO right now. Groove took a while to get set up on my EVO to make the echo go away and the lag drop to a minimal level, but overall, I have to say this is impressive.

What 4G speeds are you pulling in your area Mictchell99? I haven't tested it out yet, but my EVO gets 3-4Mbps on the road and 5-9Mbps sitting still. No issues with voice on either level yet.
 
I've never tested my data speeds while moving. I live in a pretty strong 4g area, averaging
4-8mbps. Groove IP works really well for me plus I've never gone over the 100 minutes.
 
On my iPad I found Talkatone. It is free. There is an android test release that is pretty stable in basic functionality, and I loaded it on my Samsung. I have no voice or data plan; I got the phone as a prepay system at Walmart. So I have FREE cell service via VoIP.

You also need a google voice account for it to work.
 
Glad to hear that others are taking advantage of this setup... now is there any way to have the default message program use your GV number?
 
coyote1 said:
On my iPad I found Talkatone. It is free. There is an android test release that is pretty stable in basic functionality, and I loaded it on my Samsung. I have no voice or data plan; I got the phone as a prepay system at Walmart. So I have FREE cell service via VoIP.

You also need a google voice account for it to work.
Click to expand...

I had no success with Groove IP but the Talkatone alpha that isn't perfect but better than Groove IP.
 
olc said:
I had no success with Groove IP but the Talkatone alpha that isn't perfect but better than Groove IP.
Click to expand...

For me Talkatone is working well for simple functionality. Open it, input a number, dial, talk, hang up. No error. Answer a call? That also works fine.

But if I try to use the speakerphone function, it immediately cuts out. Fortunately I can live without that. And I've not tested the contacts list or anything.
 
zcarman said:
Glad to hear that others are taking advantage of this setup... now is there any way to have the default message program use your GV number?
Click to expand...

From what I've read, there is no way to fully integrate the 2. I have mine set to receive texts via Google voice and messaging app. So for incoming texts and ongoing conversations, I use the messaging app, but to send a new text, I have to use the gv app, kind of a pain. As far as groove IP and talkatone, ymmv. Seems they both work for some and not for others. Just got a message from talkatone that there's a new version avail, I had no luck with talkatone but groove works like a charm. Its good to have options!
 
zcarman said:
I had really good luck with SIPDroid as well - now that they have the built in GV SIP creator as well. Check it out if you haven't purchased GrooveIP yet... It's free...

sipdroid - Free SIP/VoIP client for Android - Google Project Hosting
Click to expand...

That still relies on Google Voice. This can be problematic in any enterprise where they use something like Websense to block out social media sites.

Aside from that little problem, my testing of Talkatone is complete. It works everywhere I need it to, and nowhere I don't. The Exhibit 2 allows emergency calls even without the SIM. So my extremely limited desire for cell coverage is satisfied.
 
Update: Talkatone's latest update messed it up. It's getting lots of echo on the other end, and lots of breakup on my end.

Good thing I don't really need the phone capability that much. :)
 
@asenary No, Skype only uses your Wi-Fi or data connection. The drawback to Skyping as a solution is to properly set it up you need to subscribe to the $2.99 a month "US and Canada Calling Plan" for free outgoing and the $6.00 a month "Skype To Go Number" making your bill head up almost $10 a month. Still at $40 a month this is a steal compared to most plans and it does offer the best quality so far.
 
And also - I know - Double Post Flame me here but here are the settings that I am using for Groove IP...

Allow 3G/4G Calling - yes
Accept Calls on answer - yes

Audio/Echo Settings - Only set the following 2 settings
Speaker Volume is at -10 (very soft voice)
Microphone Gain is at -13 (pretty minimal as well)

Other than that Groove IP is set up out of the box. The speaker can come up a touch - but the louder it gets, the more chance you have of that magic Echo popping up. Mic Gain seems to be fine for quiet rooms, but I wouldn't try it in a loud building - they probably won't hear you.

Good luck folks! So far so good on my little experiment. 10 days in - used 0 minutes and 475MB of data, all while using my phone normally.
 
So I am one week out on my first month of doing 100% VoIP service on my Exhibit. So far, it's about 95% success. I've used 4 voice minutes and 699MB of data. I have found a quite a few 'holes' in coverage that drop way too far below the 80kB/s rating needed for GrooveIP and SIPDroid, but Skype is working well under the 50kB/s mark (Skype requires a minimum of 30kB/s to operate voice calls - GrooveIP wants 80kB/s) that those areas are soft in - so I think I am about ready to pull the trigger on a Skype Membership. Plus video calling is included with Skype as well (it is in the free version also).

This is how the setup will work...

1) Sign up for a Skype number and the North American unlimited calling plan ($7.54 per month total)
2) Forward my Google Voice number to my Skype number (thus keeping the same number as I've had all along.)
3) Using either the Google Voice App or WhatsApp Messenger for unlimited texts via my Google Voice number.

So, for $37.50 a month, my complete VoIP solution is in the bag. This also gives me free calls to Skype users around the world... Not a bad solution.
 
I pay the Skype $2.99 a month thing for unlimited USA/Canada calling just because I like to talk without a phone when I know I'm talking for long periods of time. My cam mic is very decent and doesn't seem to pick up my speakers (so no echo). It's a nice alternative or second thing to have.

Never actually tried to make a Skype call with this or any phone. Just use it with my computer. I guess I'm 'old school' huh? LOL
 
Talkatone left testing and went into android market today. It has some new cool features, including an offset that ALMOST eliminates echo for the person on the other end. SMS works too.

Hope one day they make it able to become the default dialer.
 
Just wanted to note that I've been using Skype for the past couple days for outgoing calls only, costs quite a bit extra for incoming calls, but outgoing is plenty good enough for me especially since you can set it up so they see your number. Call quality has been great on both wifi and 4G.
 
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