Hands on with Viber’s new desktop app: It’s no Skype - cintroninted1943

Simple days after the Skype announced plans to integrate video calling with the Outlook.com web service, Viber has delivered a counterpunch with a parvenu screen background app that lets you make rid of calls from Mac Oregon Windows PCs, including television calls—a new option for the popular, previously versatile-lone service.

If you make up one's mind to give Viber a offe, you'll have plenty of people to talk to. Viber's desktop programs were released to celebrate the 200 million user milepost. The companion also released updated Android and iOS apps, which, like the desktop clients, are dubbed Viber 3.0.

New rivalry for entrenched services the like Skype is avid, but for the moment the Microsoft-closely-held communication theory platform has little to worry about from its upstart video recording chaffer rival.

Hands-connected with Viber

Activating Viber for Windows was even as rich atomic number 3 victimization the smartphone version—as long as you're a current Viber user. You simply enter your ambulatory earphone list into the background app, so present an access code you receive on your smartphone. A few moments later your Viber contacts will appear along your desktop.

If you assume't take in Viber's smartphone app, then you can't use its desktop app.

If you don't have Viber on your phone and try to install the service of process on your PC, the app will redirect you to its website and postulate you to install Viber connected your phone prototypical.

Once installed, you terminate use Viber for PCs to make voice calls to other Viber users, send a text message, share a photo, or make a video call—a beta feature available only for PCs.

Viber 3.0 as wel lets you transfer calls betwixt transplantable devices and the background. If you offse chatting with a friend using your Windows laptop, you can promptly switch to Viber on your smartphone or contrariwise. The problem is both users need to have Viber 3.0 for call transfers to work, thus you may have to wait for your friends to update their apps before you can use this feature.

This also way calls transfers won't work for Windows Phone or BlackBerry users at the moment, as those platforms harbor't received the Viber 3.0 update hitherto.

Viber performance

Address quality has always been pretty solid with Viber, and the desktop app brings that same experience to PCs in my tests on a Lenovo ThinkPad X220 running Windows 8. Video calling was close-grained too, offering about the same double timbre as Skype.

PCWorld senior author Brad Chacos, WHO helped me prove Viber using a Lenovo ThinkPad Twist running game Windows 8, rumored a slimly poorer video paradigm than I was seeing. When I switched from background to a Link Indefinite running Android 2.3, he also aforesaid the voice prize dropped perceptibly, though it was still completely intelligible.

Yes, PCWorld writers always reckon this intense when they're trying retired new video recording chat software.

Right now, the desktop app is pretty barebones and relies heavily along the mobile sidelong of the serve. You arse only make voice calls to other Viber users, while the smartphone app can route regular telephone set calls through your mobile toter's network. Skype, past comparison, has a paid religious service that lets you call landlines and mobile phones in many countries some the world.

Viber also doesn't have an option to add contacts via the desktop app. Or else, it relies on your contacts from your smartphone that are synced with Viber's servers.

While Viber's new desktop app is a extraordinary addition for extant users, the pain of having to set-up Viber on your cellphone ahead using the desktop app cook it a tough sell for newbies. The circumscribed sport Seth of Viber's desktop app also calls into enquiry whether there's much room for Viber in a space already controlled past Skype and Google Talk. That said, Viber's ability to switch live calls between devices is a nice feature that Skype doesn't take up and could make Viber an attractive choice for few.

Our good word? Yield Viber's desktop app a whirl if you'ray already a heavy user of the service, but everyone else should stick to its big-name rivals. Skype and Google Talk's desktop experiences are removed more strapping than Viber's fledgling offering.

PCWorld senior writer Brad Chacos contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/451710/hands-on-with-vibers-new-desktop-app-its-no-skype.html

Posted by: cintroninted1943.blogspot.com

Share this post