There are some apps that just stand out. Viber is one of those apps. It has all the elements needed for a successful mobile application and in the short time since its launch, it has indeed become one. In its first week on the App Store, Viber has supposedly racked up over a million downloads and it now ranks number two in the US App Store. So, what is Viber and how did it achieve such success?
I have said it so many times already but I am still of the opinion that too many developers still don’t get it. In this space, the mobile space, simplicity wins, every time. Viber is the ultimate app when it comes to simplicity. Add the fact that it fills a real need and you have yourself a recipe for a truly viral app. For the record, Viber has not spent big bucks on marketing, the app does that for itself and through the use of social media (a TechCrunch post did not hurt either), people heard about it, downloaded it, and loved it.
Viber, simply put, is an app that enables free calls on all iPhones. It is a direct competitor of apps like Skype but it has some serious advantages (and one or two disadvantages). For starters, there is no need to register for Viber, download the app, input your phone number and you are good to go. Additionally, any contact that is in your address book will appear in Viber and if they have the app, a small icon will appear near their name so you know you can call them for free. If they do not have the app, you can call them regularly through Viber. What truly won me over was the absolutely fantastic voice quality when making a Viber call over Wifi or 3G. Makes me wonder what the developers of Viber know that others before them did not.
I found the quality to be far superior to Skype and the UI to be more intuitive. Just a quick overview of the Viber interface. There are five tabs along the bottom: Favorites, Recents, Contacts, Keypad, and More. Clearly, the developer wanted to give users an environment they were used to and modeled the app after the iPhone Phone app. The More tab enables you to read about the company, invite friends, or share the app on social media.
The Favorites tab imports your phone’s favorites and labels the ones that have Viber installed. All in all, this app is truly a no brainer and a must have for any iPhone user. In terms of disadvantages, well there is the obvious barrier of both sides having to install the app, which also applies with most VOIP apps including Skype (unless you use Skype Out). The thing is, Skype clearly has a much wider audience so in order to Viber for really make it, in the long term, it has to sustain its viral nature. With an Android app and free SMS functionality on the way, something tells me this won’t be an issue.
In my experience, Viber runs in the background the same way Skype does but uses minimal battery and when someone calls you, it is a near-perfect experience and one that can only be compared to a regular phone call. If you do not have Viber running in the background, you can still answer by enabling push notifications but to be honest, this failed me a few times and I did miss a few calls.
All in all, Viber is a fantastic app that deserves the hype it has received but as I said, in order for it to truly beat the almighty Skype, more people have to download it. Out of the 1700 contacts on my phone, I now have 17 Viber contacts and most of my friends are geeks that hear about new apps, so that is not a good sign. What I am saying here is, what are you waiting for? Go download Vibernow, share it with all your friends, enjoy lower phone bills, superior call quality, and less dependency on Skype. You can thank me later
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