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CNET Editors' review
Sure, they may only cost 10 cents a pop, but any parent of a teenager knows that text messages add up fast, creating a very large bill at the end of the cycle. Text Free with Textfree aims to lessen your phone bill with free texting and free calls, but its main selling points failed to actually work.
To begin, Textfree asks if it can have access to your contacts. From there, you'll have to create an account, which will require you to create a username and password, and enter your age, gender, and e-mail. After that, it'll ask if it can access your current location, then you'll have to choose a number. (Don't worry; this won't change your actual phone number.) Unintuitive buttons reside across the top of the screen, and we had to tap each one to figure out its purpose. There's a Favorites option for your favorite contacts, a Recents feature for your most recent calls, a Contacts feature, and a Keypad for making calls. The banner ad was really annoying at the bottom of the screen. The app does give you the option of hiding all ads, but it'll cost you -- $5.99, to be exact. And while the app is indeed free, you are limited in how long you can talk. Textfree gives you nine minutes to chat away, but you can buy minutes if you need more time. The app claims to turn your iPod Touch into a phone, but we tested it on our iPhone 4, with dismal results. We were able to place a call using our new number, and while our recipient received the call, he heard only silence on his end. On our end, the phone just kept ringing. And here's the kicker: While the program's main focus is on free texts, we couldn't, for the life of us, figure out how to send a text. A large, blank, white screen appeared and tapping on it didn't get us anywhere. A pencil and paper icon, which seemed to be the most obvious location for writing a text, only took us to our contacts where selecting one attempted to place another failed call.
If you're looking for a cheaper way, other than iMessage, to send SMS text messages, we recommend you skip Text Free with Textfree and look for an app that lives up to its promise.
Publisher's Description
From Pinger:
"The fastest, most reliable and easiest to use."- New York TimesUNLIMITED FREE TEXTS AND PICSTextfree gives your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch free unlimited text messaging to any phone, including landlines and non-smartphones, in the US and Canada. Your friends dont need Textfree to receive -- they dont even need to have a smartphone.INCOMING CALLS ALWAYS FREE; EARN MINUTES FOR FREE OUTBOUND CALLSIncoming calls from anyone, anywhere in the world are always free. Plus make free or cheap calls to anyone in the US and Canada. You get 10 free minutes to start. Earn minutes for additional free outbound calls. And if you run out of minutes, it's easy to buy them super cheap.REAL PHONE NUMBER INCLUDEDYou get your own real phone number that you can use to call and SMS any phone number in the US and Canada, even if you dont have a calling plan.TURN YOUR iPOD TOUCH OR iPAD INTO A PHONEGive your new number to friends so they can text and call you. Calls on WiFi sound better than any mobile.GREAT WHEN YOURE TRAVELING ABROADDownload Textfree and send free texts from anywhere in the world as long as you have a data connection. Find free WiFi at your hotel, a restaurant, even on a train. Why pay for expensive roaming charges when you can SMS free!TEXT TO OVER 35 COUNTRIESFor a list of countries you can text to, visit: http://pinger.zendesk.com/entries/21778606-international-textingBETTER THAN THOSE MESSENGER APPSWith Textfree you can call or text any phone number, even if they dont have the app, even if they dont have a smartphone! Call or text your grandmothers non-smartphone in Minneapolis. Call any restaurant in New York to make reservations. Text a co-worker in Dallas or Toronto as much as you want.Unlike those messenger apps where both people have to be using the app, Textfree works with ANY phone: smart phone, basic phone, even a land line.NO NEED FOR MULTIPLE TEXTING & CALLING APPSNow you dont need to know what messenger apps your friends, family or co-workers use. Textfree does it all. Your texts are 100% free. Pics are 100% free. Incoming calls are 100% free. Earn free minutes for outbound calls to any phone in the US and Canada, or buy em real cheap. Its that simple.TEXTFREE IS MORE THAN A MESSENGERWhen your friends have Textfree, talking and texting gets even better. The calls are in HD, so they sound great. And you and your friends get unlimited free calls (talk as long as you like) and unlimited free texts (goodbye 160 character limit!) to and from one another, anywhere in the world.PACKED WITH ADDITIONAL FEATURES Text anyone in over 35 countries Call anyone in US and Canada Send hi-res pics to anyone on AT&T, Boost, Nextel, Sprint, T-mobile, Verizon and Virgin Incoming calls are free Call or text anyone else on any Pinger app in over 200 countries, totally free Receive texts and calls when not in the app Never miss a message Group texting: send to multiple friends Free voicemail, too. Zillions of ringtones and text tones Facebook Chat right from the app! Use your own picture as a wallpaper! Switch out of Textfree even when on a call Block numbers, if needed Log in securely from any device Connect via Bluetooth if youre on an iPhone Highest-rated, most reliable texting & calling appOTHER IMPORTANT INFO 911 calls are not supported Pinger is ad-supported, so you will see ads from time to time People you talk to outside the US and Canada must download Pinger, too When roaming, additional carrier data charges may apply. Contact you carrier for details.CONNECT WITH US facebook.com/pinger twitter.com/pinger
What's new in this version: The *original* free texting app just got even better!We fixed a pesky crash bug on older iOS versions.Now you can finally use international characters in your texts. Por Fin!Also, we "had a talk" with the app -- a couple of user interface glitches won't be happening again.
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"Its doable if you don't have unlimited texts."
Version: Text Free with Textfree: SMS with a Real Phone Number 5.0.3
Pros
Free texts and incoming calls. Free textfree to texfree calls.
Cons
Seperate number to receive pics. Extremely slow and freezes all the time. Missed text or you won't receive for a few hours to a few days. Even if you have full signal will say cannot send text cannot not connect.
Summary
Its doable if you don't have unlimited texts.
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"It works good, text are free"
Version: Text Free with Textfree: SMS with a Real Phone Number 4.0
Pros
free text and calls sound good
Cons
works best on wifi
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