Best VoIP Apps for the iPhone

Nobody ever likes using up all the minutes on their phone, and that’s why VoIP is one of the best things to come out of the Internet since instant messaging. Although Apple does not officially support VoIP services, they never said it wasn’t allowed either. Because of this convenient loophole, there are two different kinds of VoIP services that you can get for the iPhone: Web-based solutions and official applications. Each type has its own set of pros and cons, but the good part about the variety of VoIP services is that you’ll definitely find one that will suit your needs.

Among the best VoIP applications is Fring, an application that allows you to send instant messages to contacts on AIM, MSN Messenger, G-talk, Yahoo Messenger, and Skype via 3G, GSM, EDGE, and WiFi on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Over the iPhone you can use Fring to connect to Skype, Skype Out, and other SIP services.

Next on the list is TruPhone, which was voted the best VoIP application by the New York Times, the Times, and Stuff magazine. This free application gives you $1 credit to start with and works via WiFi wherever you are in the world. TruPhone also supports VoIP calls to several countries.

Papaya is like the Rennaisance man of VoIP applications – it’s a little bit of everything rolled into one very useful app. It’s partly a social network with games, chatrooms, and an instant messenger. It also functions as a VoIP system.

A promising application to watch out for is iCall, which allows you to switch a call in progress to WiFi. The app also gives you the option to call over WiFi if you’re in a hotspot. iCall has yet to be officially released as an iPhone application.