{"id":4786,"date":"2019-09-07T17:42:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-07T21:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ascloudservices.com\/?p=4786"},"modified":"2019-09-10T14:15:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T18:15:45","slug":"apps-for-online-meetings-skype-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ascloudservices.com\/apps-for-online-meetings-skype-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"App Options to Get Started with Online Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Looking into affordable video chat and voice calling options for your small business?<\/p>\n<p>These four popular, user-friendly alternatives to Skype will help you connect seamlessly with staff, colleagues, and customers.<\/p>\n<p>Read on for a breakdown of each app\u2019s features to decide on the best fit for you.<\/p>\n<h3>1.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/\">WhatsApp<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>With more than 1 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp is currently the most popular multi-media messaging app for mobile in existence \u2013 and it\u2019s free!<\/p>\n<p>Robust and easy to use, WhatsApp lets users:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Participate in group chats for up to 256 people<\/li>\n<li>Share videos, messages, and photos<\/li>\n<li>Make voice calls using your phone\u2019s wifi connection<\/li>\n<li>Enjoy fast, reliable service for photo and video sharing \u2013 even with a slow internet connection<\/li>\n<li>Share files up to 100 MB including documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and slideshows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>WhatsApp conveniently functions across Android, iOS, PC, and Mac operating systems. End-to-end encryption means your calls and messages stay private and secure<\/p>\n<p>With all that going for it, what\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n<h3>2. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotomeeting.com\/\">GoToMeeting<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>With over 56 million hosted web meetings a year, GoToMeeting is a serious contender for business owners seeking a low-cost web conference solution.<\/p>\n<p>Some of this desktop and mobile-friendly software\u2019s winning features include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Private meeting rooms for smaller group or one-on-one calls<\/li>\n<li>Single tap meetings can be launched easily from Microsoft office, email, and via instant-messaging tools<\/li>\n<li>More effective collaboration with a virtual whiteboard, drawing tools, and screen sharing options<\/li>\n<li>An attractive interface and excellent audio quality<\/li>\n<li>Toll-free numbers available for more than 50 countries makes this an excellent tool for communicating with customers and colleagues remotely anywhere in the world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The app\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/free.gotomeeting.com\/\">free version<\/a> offers unlimited meetings where you can screen share \u2013 or just chat \u2013 with up to 3 participants per call.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to explore all that GoToMeetings offers its paid subscribers, sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gotomeeting.com\/en-ca\">free 14 day trial<\/a> to unlock its additional features.<\/p>\n<h3>3. <a href=\"https:\/\/zoom.us\/\">Zoom<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Zoom currently boasts more than <a href=\"https:\/\/globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2018\/09\/06\/1566666\/0\/en\/Zoom-Named-a-Leader-in-Gartner-s-2018-Magic-Quadrant-for-Meeting-Solutions.html\">40 billion annual user minutes<\/a>, and its popularity continues to grow.<\/p>\n<p>Used as a tool for conference calls, one-on-one meetings and webinars, here\u2019s what sets Zoom apart:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assigned meeting ID numbers make it easy for participants to join a call in a private meeting room<\/li>\n<li>Smooth screen sharing allows you to view the main screen while also viewing live video of each participant in smaller windows<\/li>\n<li>Voice detection activates the main window to feature whoever is speaking at any given time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With the free version you can host 40 minute video conferences for up to 100 participants and unlimited one-on-one meetings.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to take advantage of Zoom\u2019s extra features, such as MP4 or M4A cloud recording, you can sign up for just $14.99\/month.<\/p>\n<h3>4. <a href=\"https:\/\/hangouts.google.com\/\">Google Hangouts<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>If you have a Gmail or Google account, Google Hangouts may be all you need to enjoy free video chats, VoIP calls, SMS, or text messaging. You can access the service online via <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gmail\">Gmail<\/a>, Google+, or <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mobile_app\">mobile apps<\/a> for Android and iOS.<\/p>\n<p>Google Hangouts would meet your online communication needs if you\u2019d like to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Connect with up to 10 voice or video callers simultaneously<\/li>\n<li>Save your chat histories (which can be synced between devices)<\/li>\n<li>Group chat with up to 150 participants<\/li>\n<li>Enhance collaboration and communication with shared videos and GIFs<\/li>\n<li>Use wi-fi rather than data minutes for mobile calls on your smartphone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ultimately, the right app for the right business owner typically comes down to personal preference.<\/p>\n<p>With so many great web meeting options available \u2013 and the ability to get started for free \u2013 why not test drive them all?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Alloy Silverstein Cloud Services<\/h3>\n<p><small>Bringing simple online accounting to startups and forward-thinking businesses.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ascloudservices.com\/contact-us\/\">Contact us to get started. \u2192<\/a><br \/>\n<\/small><\/p>\n<h4>Share this article:<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking into affordable video chat and voice calling options for your small business? These four popular, user-friendly alternatives to Skype will help you connect seamlessly with staff, colleagues, and customers. Read on for a breakdown of each app\u2019s features to decide on the best fit for you. 1.\u00a0WhatsApp With more than 1 billion users worldwide, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ascloudservices.com\/apps-for-online-meetings-skype-alternatives\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>App Options to Get Started with Online Meetings - Alloy Silverstein<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"App Options to Get Started with Online Meetings - Alloy Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking into affordable video chat and voice calling options for your small business? These four popular, user-friendly alternatives to Skype will help you connect seamlessly with staff, colleagues, and customers. 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