Android App of the Day: Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT

Posted by Amy Eichelberg

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

Do you ever have those days when you don’t really want to text but aren’t really in the mood to get into a full-blown phone conversation with someone? Remember when everyone who was cool had a Nextel and you could just walkie-talkie your friends at the push of a button. Those were the good old days right? If you’re shaking your head yes right now, then the Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT (Push To Talk) application for Android just may be perfect for you.

Voxer is a versatile messaging app that functions primarily like a walkie-talkie and can stream fast audio messages to your Voxer contacts. You have the option of either having a one-on-one conversation with someone or you can start a group conversation. Voxer also provides the options to send text instant messages or photo messages if you don’t feel like using the walkie-talkie.

How it works:

Downloading and signing up for Voxer is quick and painless. After signing up and creating your profile, you can search for your contacts or invite them to join. To start talking via walkie-talkie simply tap on a contact and hold down the “Hold and Talk” button, say your message and release the button. Presto- your voice message has been sent to the other person. If the person is available at that moment you can engage in a real-time walkie-talkie conversation or your friend can retrieve your voice message when they open up Voxer later. To send a text message tap on the pencil icon, which is located on the bottom right of the conversation, pull up the keyboard and start typing your message. If you want to send a photo message tap on the camera icon, which is located on the bottom left of the conversation, and you can send either a photo from your Android gallery or capture a picture directly through the app itself.

Pros:

Real-time Walkie Talkie
Talk with friends on Android and iPhone platforms
Send voice messages, text, photos, and see contact’s current location
Group message option
All features are free
Voxer is completely advertisement free
Works over WiFi, 3G, 4G, EDGE, etc.
Notifications for new messages
Create messages even in offline mode
Play voice messages faster
Connect with Facebook friends on Voxer

Cons:

App freezes periodically
Sometimes messages in a group chat can stall and come in all at once causing a freeze up
If used frequently throughout the day it will kill your battery life

Conclusion: I love how fast I can send and receive voice messages with Voxer. I use this app frequently throughout the week when I can’t be on the phone at that moment. Voxer gives my friends a chance to listen to my messages whenever they’re free, without having to access their voice mail. For times when my friends are available, it really does serve as a successful walkie-talkie which is both convenient and fun at the same time. The app’s added functions with text and photo messaging make it extremely versatile and practical to use as an alternative to racking up my data or voice usage with traditional texting or talking. Push notifications made it simple to manage incoming messages and see which ones of my contacts had just joined Voxer. The best part is that everything is free and after all, who can beat that?