Being a business owner who has clients in various cities who in turn have offices in several locations, conference calls are a must. Sure, we Skype every once in a while, but having more than a few participants requires that we use a conference line. They’re not super difficult to use, but misplace the dial in number of access code and you’re out of luck. Enter CrowdCall, the free and easy way to connect up to twenty people on a conference call.
Unlike Skype, CrowdCall only needs one person to have the app to work, which is an extremely useful feature as you don’t have to worry about everyone having a smartphone. Yes, there are still those that choose to use a landline or old school type phone with buttons you actually have to push. That’s adorable, but I digress.
Created by parent company Socialdial, one of the founders being Buck French who sold OnLink Technologies to Siebel Systems for $609M, CrowdCall is completely free. And unlike GroupMe and Voxer or any other conferencing service, there are no line or carrier charges for using the service. That means it’s free for any participants throughout the world. No international calling fees.
The participants don’t have a number to dial or a code to remember, the app automatically calls the person and all they have to do is answer the call and press “1″ and they are connected. You can also set the app up to have favorites in that you can save participants as a group. This can be a group of friends, company division, all the numbers for your best friend or spouse so you can ring all their phones at once or a multitude of other possibilities. Poker pals, brew crew buddies, etc.
The only person who needs the app is you and all you have to do is select the participants you’d like to include from your contact list and then push the dial button. The app’s server sets up the conference call and automatically dials out to the participant list using their numbers you have in your contact list. As soon as they answer they’re connected free of charge.
If you’re wondering about quality, the service does not use VoIP. They use regular carrier lines via their servers, which means highest quality possible.
Overall, I’d say this has to be one of the greatest utility apps available yet. It connects people free of charge for business meetings or even a three-way chat amongst friends and family. CrowdCall is seriously ahead of the curve and is an essential tool for anyone wanting to make free conference calls.
