There’s no question that the calling and messaging space is a very crowded one, with new apps launching seemingly every day of the week. Many of these apps offer some unique features and we try to spotlight as many applications on our pages as we can. Zangi is the latest and newest of these apps as far as we can tell — the application launched on iOS on November 5 after over 3 years in development.
Some of the main features of Zangi include:
- HD quality voice and video calls
- Chat and SMS
- CallBack
The CallBack feature was made for poor or very expensive Internet connections. Dial a number, then press a Callback button. The Zangi system will then place 2 regular GSM calls via VoIP: The first to the caller and the second to the destination number, connecting subscribers without the use of internet (other than the initial request, of course).
On the mobile side, Zangi tells us that the app requires less overall bandwidth and battery usage to run. The application will work over WiFi and 3G, yes, but will also work over 2G/2.5G EDGE networks, which are “more than enough” according to the company. Apple users may already have the app, but other operating systems aren’t being left out in the cold.
Zangi is in development for Windows Phone and in beta for Android.
“[Our] Windows Phone application now is in [the] development process,” the company tells us. “We are planning to [release] it in 2-3 months. The Android application now is in beta testing, and will be [released] in 3 weeks.”
This should bode well for subscribers using those operating systems who are traveling; subscribers can purchase local SIM cards or global roaming SIM cards and let Zangi route any calls to the new number, saving on international roaming costs in lieu of national carriers.
Zangi also currently has a web client and a Facebook Application, both of which allow calls to mobile devices from the browser without any need to install plugins or additional software.
If you happen to own an iDevice, you can try Zangi for yourself. Let us know how it works for you in the comments below. The rest of us will have to wait a little longer.
Update: Zangi tells us the release date for both of these apps is now “soon” as they are still in the development process. We’ll post an update should there be any additional changes.