You’re in Barcelona, Spain, & your best friend calls from Delhi, India. Sometimes, it’s inconvenient because you have no wish to pay for international calls at those high rates. Of course, there are many carriers available, hawking “cheap” or “free” international calling prices. But in a rapidly evolving market, customers can expect more goodies. And they’re getting them.
Using WiFi, 3G or LTE, a new mobile app now lets you call, or receive calls on your phone almost anywhere in the world. Named ‘YouRoam‘, this app lets you talk & text with other YouRoam users for free, so you never have to pay roaming fees again, claim the developers. It allows you to receive calls on your own phone number. If your contact is not a YouRoam user, the company offers the same at cheap rates. The smart caller ID lets you see who’s calling, so if it is someone you don’t know, you needn’t take the call. The newer version of the app, 1.8.4, allows you to take calls on your cellphone even if you’re offline. You can send unlimited texts, pictures and videos to any YouRoam user for free.
Here’s how it works:
- Forward your phone number into YouRoam before you leave your home country
- Once you arrive to your destination, turn on your WiFi & start receiving calls at very inexpensive rates for free
- You can receive calls from people who don’t have YouRoam if you have a phone number from 1 of the 36 countries currently supported.
- Even if you don’t have a phone number from the supported countries, you will be able to call & text anyone in the world displaying your own caller ID, & also receive make and receive calls from any with YouRoam users for free
The Miami Beach, Florida, US-based company is offering 100 free minutes on iOS & Android phones, following which, you pay about a cent a minute. Marcus Cunha, CEO of YouRoam Inc., realized that the number of travellers around the world had increased exponentially. While travelling, one would still keep in touch with people. International calling was outrageously priced, still, though some companies were offering free calling & receiving, but the connectivity quotient left much desired. That was the genesis of his idea of coming up with a quality product which allowed simple connectivity even when abroad, but without exorbitant fees. Changing the way people communicate was the essential mantra behind Cunha’s vision. In this he was joined by co-founder, Andrea Rigali, who brought her expertise in law into the startup.
According to Marcus, apps like Viber & Skype won’t let you receive calls on your cell phone anywhere in the world. They need the caller & recipient to have the app.
YouRoam offers:
- A Smart Caller ID which tells you who is calling you even if the phone number is not in your contacts.
- A missed call log which reflects all your missed calls even if your cell phone is off or out of data/WiFi range.
- A voicemail.
- Unlimited calls while traveling for $5/week on any Android or iOS phone, regardless of your cell phone carrier.
The company claims to have 400,000 users in over 190 countries worldwide.
– This post is merely a startup profile based on publicly available information & not a review. –
Image Credit: YouRoam
•Share This•