Send Free Text Messages (and Even Voice Messages) on Your iPhone or Android with Blip.me
Blip.me is a free mobile application that allows you to easily and at no additional cost send voice and text messages to your friends both on iPhone and Android devices. Although Blip.me supports (free) text messaging, its true power comes with voice messaging, which has never been easier. Well, it was, back then when we were kids and we all used walkie-talkies.
And if you liked walkie-talkies, you’ll love Blip.me. Start the app, press and hold the large button and speak your message. Once you’re finished, the message will be automatically sent to the recipient. Basically, Blip.me is a free push-to-talk application for the iPhone and Android.
Before You Speak
Before you start using Blip.me, you will need to download it. iPhone users can download it from the iTunes AppStore (US accounts only) while Android users can find it on the Android Market.
You will be asked to enter your first and last name and your phone number. The phone number is needed because:
- You will get activation code via SMS and;
- Your number will be used to identify you among other blip.me users.
The activation process is somewhat illogical; the location of the enter activation code field should have been solved somewhat better. When you tap the “Get Access Code” button, Blip.me will send you an activation SMS, but in order to enter it, you will have to click “Get Access Code” button again to enter the code, which will trigger the activation system and get you another SMS with another code. Minor problem, but I’d love to see it done differently.
Speak Now!
As soon as you enter the activation code, you will be taken to your contact list. Simply choose a contact, and you’ll be ready to share voice messages. You’ll talk with blip.me like you would with a walkie-talkie. Just press and hold the big button on the screen and speak. Once released, the voice message will be sent to your contact and he or she will get a push notification.
You might get used to this application and its ease of use. Although, in future releases of blip.me I’d love to see the option to manually send voice messages. Your finger might slip of the “speak” button or you just might change your mind about what you just said. Yes, Blip.me is not a real-time push-to-talk service, but it’s good enough.
Texty Text
Voice messages are great and Blip.me really simplifies the way we use them. However, your contact on the other side might be in traffic or in some other situation where voice messages won’t do them any good. Lucikly, there is no need to switch to SMS and spend your money when you can text right from Blip.me!
Blip.me is really a nice application. It’s available both for iPhone and Android, but I really hope we’ll get to see some usability updates, like a better activation process and manual sending of voice messages.
If you are looking for a free push-to-talk app (or you just want to text for free with your friends), try Blip.me. Chances are you might learn to love Blip.me as well! You can follow them on Twitter too!
