Viber now VoIPs on Windows and Mac, adds video messages, forgets off switch again

The Color Purple

VoIP and messaging app Viber added a few new weapons to fight Skype.

But first things first: Viber is still ugly like hell, even with the new looks that come with the latest update. Holo looks or not, the Viber purple is only good for the color blind. The new icon is no beauty either. Now that it looks like a text balloon and its corners got rounded it looks a little bit more like WhatsApps icon. Well, the shape does. The color...

OK Computer

And now the purple beast attacks your computer too. Viber made versions for Windows and Mac (no Linux version yet), so Skype faces competition on even more devices.

Viber messages on computers sync with those on phones, and vice versa.

Viber can transfer calls from your phone to your computer or the other way 'round. If you started a call on your computer, you can switch it through to your phone and walk away from your desk. If your battery is about to run dry you can send the call to your computer. Pingponging live calls between phones and computers can be useful, sometimes.

Viber now lets you send video messages too. That doesn't mean its messaging feature can compete with WhatsApp yet, though. But they're inching a little closer. You can make video calls too, but only from your computer. Your phone only Vibers plain old speech.

You Talk Too Much

Too bad the off switch is still broken. If you want to be incommunicado for a while but keep your phone connected to the internet, you have to play with the autostart options on your rooted phone. There's no other way to make Vibers cloud-to-device-messaging service shut up. Same thing if you don't want Viber to autorun when you boot your phone, because Viber doesn't want your phone to run Viberless ever. When will Viber learn that when you're roaming abroad you don't mind a few bytes from WhatsApp, but you're not gonna spend a fortune VoIPing on a horribly expensive international data connection. Simply ignoring incoming calls is not an option, because you can't silence Vibers ringtone.

You can't block contacts on Viber either, so anyone who has your phone number can Viber you, even if you block normal calls in your contacts app.

The new update improved Viber a bit, but apps like Skype and Vonage still have lots of things that Viber doesn't have. It's time for Viber to release a public API so the developers at the xda forums can make custom Vibers for different tastes.

• Viber

VoIP app Viber adds smilies and custom ringtones, forgets off switch

Smilies, group chats, and system sounds

Updates for VoIP and chat app Viber are few and far between, but they managed to squeeze one in before this year runs out.

New: smilies. Not a lot of them, but you gotta start somewhere. Viber now has stickers (very big smilies) too. Messaging on Viber may seem irrelevant, because if your gadget runs Viber it can run WhatsApp too and that's the SMS replacement of choice for most of the world. But if WhatsApp stops its ever-extending free trials and really turns into a paid app, competing apps like Viber and imo may take over.

The Viber programmers didn't just add eye candy, they threw in a bit of function too. Viber now does group chats with up to 40 people, so you can do big time group sexting.  And now you can tell Viber to use your Android system sounds instead of its own built-in ringtones.

A few updates ago Viber picked up the annoying habit of opening the "all contacts" tab by default (even with "show all contacts" switched off in the settings), which is useless for most people because most of their contacts are not on Viber. But now Viber opens in the Viber contacts tab again. Unfortunately you still can't block contacts, because Viber thinks you want to talk with anyone who's in your Android phone book. It didn't occur to the Viber team that you may add some people (like your ex or your boss) to your phone book to block their calls and messages. Viber won't let you set individual ringtones for contacts, so you can't ignore contacts by setting a silent ringtone for them.

Speaking of phone functions (the core business of Viber): voicemail for Viber would be a welcome addition. Especially if it comes with an option to send some contacts straight to your voicemailbox.

Viber still won't shut up

There's no easy way to switch Viber off or stop it from autostarting everytime you boot your phone. There's an off switch, but it doesn't work because Viber believes that you want to be available for all calls whenever your phone has a live internet connection. They probably never heard of international data charges. Tip: use AFWall+ or the firewall from avast to keep Viber away from your expensive data roaming connection.

The off switch built into Viber is not really an off switch, because the Cloud to Device Messaging service keeps listening for incoming Viber communications and will launch the app if something comes in. You can prevent Viber autostarts with apps like Gemini App Manager and ROM Toolbox, but that's inconvenient, requires root access, and you need to be a bit tech literate to make it work. Of course you can freeze Viber when you want it to keep quiet, and unfreeze it when you're available again. App Quarantine will do it for free, from the app itself or from a widget.

Why does Viber refuse to add a real off switch? There may be a commercial reason for not including an off switch that works. Viber will add paid services to its free features, and a Viber that doesn't run is a Viber that doesn't make money. But really, Viber, sometimes you need to be incommunicado for Viber calls without killing your internet connection or going into airplane mode. Stop behaving like a bunch of stubborn fools and go add a switch to put control where it needs to be: in the hands of the user.

Finally, Viber needs a public API so it can be part of a multi-network app. Chat and VoIP fragmentation is getting worse, so something needs to be done.

• Viber

some competing apps:

• Skype
• Vonage
• CSipSimple
• Nimbuzz
• imo
• WhatsApp

Good apps gone bad: GO SMS Pro and Easy Photo Editor

When advertising goes too far

Web browsers used to be plagued by popup ads, until each and every web browser came with a popup blocker out of the box. As the ads got more intrusive, the AdBlock plugin for Firefox and Chrome became more popular. This plugin blocks the annoying ads, but it also kills the small unobtrusive non-moving silent ads that keep webmasters alive.

Android apps used to come with a small ad banner that you could choose to click or ignore. But then the ads got bigger and more intrusive, and companies with questionable business ethics like Airpush and LeadBolt made ad blocking software a must-have.

Are Android app developers making the same mistake as website builders?

Easy Photo Editor snapped

There was a time when every free Android photo editor screwed up your exif tags. It didn't save them at all, or it changed the "date picture taken" tag.

But not anymore. Easy Photo Editor was the first to keep your exif data untouched. It had an ad banner, and that was it.

But then Aviary released an update that kept your exif tags intact. And Easy Photo Editor released an update that added LeadBolt popup ads. Easy Photo Editor still lets you choose your own picture output folder, but that's not enough to put up with the junk from LeadBolt. So I clean up my pictures with Aviary.

GO SMS Pro gone to the dogs

GO SMS Pro has too many customisation options to count, and if you SMS across time zones GO SMS keeps your messages in the right order, which competing SMS apps Handcent, Pansi SMS, and chompSMS fail to do.

But GO SMS Pro got too greedy.

They made money from selling themes. So far so good. But then they started charging for things that were free. In old versions you could backup your SMSs on your microSD card. Later versions insisted on backing up your messages to GOs own cloud storage service, which no one should trust. You can still save your messages to your memory card, but only if you sign up for a GO account and hand over your money.

And that was not enough. When I updated to newer versions I started to receive unsollicited SMSs to advertise paid GO SMS themes.

And that's still not enough. The theme store in GO SMS Pro shows some free themes, but they're not free at all. They come with an in-app payment system. You know that old scam where they say that their app is FREE to download, but once its on your device it demands money? GO SMS Pro has sunken to the same depth. Advertising may be a necessary evil for a "free" app, but deceptive advertising is unnecessarily evil.

Too bad that the competition still mixes up my trans time zone messages. The "sort by order of messages sent/received" checkbox in "Settings/Advanced/Important Tips/Sort type of conversation messages" is why GO SMS Pro stays on my phone for the time being. Yes, they added all sorts of bloat (who needs yet another chat network?), but as long as I can switch the extras off I don't need to revert to the stock SMS app that came with my phone.

GO SMS Pro tries to phone home whenever launch the app or boot my phone, so I keep GO SMS offline with DroidWall.

• GO SMS Pro 4.51 (last version with free local backups)
• GO SMS Pro 4.50 (last version with free local backups and message filtering)

Before you update your apps, back 'em up first. You never know when you need the old version back, and the Google Play Store won't help you out. If you download old versions outside the app stores of Google, Amazon, or GetJar, it may be a good idea to scan your downloads with an antivirus app.

Android VoIP app Viber adds eye candy, forgets function

Viber vs. Skype

VoIP and chat app Viber tries to push Skype out of the way. They're still a million miles away from there, because even my 76 year old aunt knows how to Skype whereas Viber users are few and far between.

But Skype is going downhill now that its Android app is infected with ads, lost its tabs, and won't let you switch off its annoying startup and shutdown noises. Leave it to Microsoft to shoot themselves in the ass. Remember Hotmail? Know anyone who uses Windows Phone?

Viber calls sound as good as VoIP on CSipSimple as long as both ends of the line have a speedy internet connection. If one party switches to 3G it sounds terrible real quick, though. Distortion, echo, and a lot of other unwanted sound effects that make my girlfriend sound like Darth Vader and reminds me of Skype. Viber could use a good low bandwidth codec for when one end of the conversation is on a slow mobile data connection, because its current low bandwidth codec doesn't do the job.

Eye candy added, off switch left out

The latest couple of Viber updates add group messaging, eye candy (custom background, contact pictures), bug fixes, and the time stamp in chats now appears on all messages.

Unfortunately Viber keeps refusing to add an off switch that truly switches off the app. You can exit Viber, but its Cloud To Device Messaging service keeps running. Without countermeasures you'll still receive Viber calls when you don't want them, like when roaming abroad on an expensive international data connection. Its autostart function doesn't come with a toggle either, so Viber starts on boot whether you want it or not unless you control it with an autostart manager like Gemini App Manager. The only way to silence Viber is by pulling your entire phone offline, toggling Viber internet permissions with firewalls like DroidWall, LBE Privacy Guard, and avast, or freezing and unfreezing Viber with apps like App Quarantine. These workarounds work, but wouldn't it be a lot better if Viber would let us use the app the way we want to without having to open a hatful of tricks?

Missing basics

Viber doesn't do any call or message filtering. Anyone who's got your phone number can contact you on Viber without any way to block the unwanted.

It won't let you set your own ringtones and message sounds either. You're stuck with the sounds that come with Viber, and there's no way to receive Viber messages silently.

There's no public API for Viber yet. This means that other apps can't tap into Vibers network, so Viber makes the problem of chat and VoIP fragmentation worse. One app for SIP, one app for Skype, one app for Viber, no app for all. Nimbuzz and fring tried to fight the need for a homescreen full of chat and VoIP apps, but the stubborn makers of Viber and Skype turned back the clock.

SMS alert

Viber captures incoming SMSs. It needs to do this once to receive the activation SMS (similar to apps like WhatsApp), but Viber keeps doing so when it no longer needs to. If you use the anti-theft feature of avast (or any other SMS-based remote locate/wipe app) this can spell trouble, and avast lists Viber as a threat to its anti-theft function. Viber may fix this issue by leaving your SMSs alone, or they may ignore it in the same way they ignore the requests for an off switch that works. Time will tell.

Viber alternatives

Viber works on Android, iPhone, and PCs that run Windows. No Linux, no Mac, no Blackberry, and it's not compatible with the hundreds of millions of Symbian phones that may be outdated but will keep running for the next couple of years.

CSipSimple is my choice for VoIP calls using the standard SIP method. Skype is still unavoidable because of the number of people that use it. Skype doesn't use your phone number as a user name, but this has the advantage that you can make throwaway Skype accounts for people that you don't trust with your phone number. Vonage seems to be Vibers main competitor. Unlike Viber, it comes with an off switch that works. Vonage doesn't have many users yet, so spread the word. For text messaging, WhatsApp and imo beat Viber hands down.

• Viber Media, Inc.
• Viber (Google Play)

GO SMS Pro adds clipart

The built-in Android SMS app does what it's supposed to do, but it doesn't do anything more than that. That's why there are a bunch of SMS app replacements floating around.

SMS and MMS app GO SMS Pro (never mind the "Pro" suffix, it's free anyway) can back up and restore your messages, comes with an (almost) full screen edit window, and you can add drawings and handwritten text to your messages. Of course it can send and receive plain old SMSs too.

If you don't draw like Picasso then GO SMS lets you cheat a bit. The latest edition comes with clipart to paste into your messages. It only has five images to start with, but you can download a few dozen more.

Too bad the drawing options are not available in the big editor window, but you can tap into them from the default small edit box. The big editor is in need of an overhaul, which the GO team may work on later on.

GO SMS Pro asks for internet permission, which may be a little scary considering that GO SMS can read all your messages and contacts data. GO doesn't really need internet access, except for downloading more clipart. So if you don't want GO SMS going online you can block it with apps like LBE Privacy Guard or DroidWall. Just make sure to give it temporary internet access if you want to grab some extra clipart.

• GO SMS Pro (Android Market)
• GO SMS at goforandroid.com

VoIP app Viber adds pictures, location, low bandwidth codec

Call, text, share pictures

VoIP client Viber lets you call other Viber users for free. There are other apps and VoIP services for that, but the sound quality of Viber is comparable to CSipSimple, and much better than Skype, Nimbuzz, or fring.

The latest Viber update comes with a new voice engine that makes calls sound better on low bandwidth connections. Great if there's no WiFi around and you need to call over 3G.

The SMS substitute got a little better too. You can now add pictures to your texts. It's not real MMS yet, but maybe Viber will add sound and video later?

Viber added a "is typing" notification so you can see if your chat partner is typing a response while you're waiting for a reply, similar to other chat networks.

You can also send your location out with text messages. Of course you can also choose not to share your location, and in my tests Viber doesn't use your location unless you tell it to.

Autostart yes, filtering no

Viber still has plenty of room to improve. If you don't want to be available 24/7 you can switch Viber off, but you can't stop it from autostarting when you boot your phone unless you use an autostart killer. I use Optimize Tool Box to ensure that Viber only speaks when I tell it to. Too bad that Viber is not willing to add an autostart toggle switch in its own settings. It would make the app a bit less intrusive if they did. There's a lot wrong with the Skype app, but at least the competition leaves the choice to you.

Viber doesn't come with any type of filtering either, so anyone who's got your phone number can Viber you whenever you got the app running, whether you like it or not. Viber could really use a feature to block your friends during business hours and keep your coworkers away at night. Since unlimited data is quickly becoming a thing of the past, Viber could also use an option to limit incoming calls to WiFi networks. Maybe with an automatic message along the lines of "not on WiFi now, so text me instead of calling me."

A public api to integrate Viber into other apps would be welcome too, because the VoIP and chat fragmentation is getting out of hand.

• Viber Media, Inc.
• Viber (Android Market)

Some Viber competitors:

• Skype
• CSipSimple
• Vonage
• fring

The problem of chat and VoIP fragmentation: Whatsapp, Viber, Skype, PingChat, Kik Messenger, LiveProfile, KakaoTalk, GO Chat, etc. should open up

The good ol' days

A long time ago you needed separate programs for all instant messaging networks. One app for MSN, another app for Google Talk, a separate program for ICQ, another for AIM, and Skype chat only worked with the software from Skype.

Then came the multi-network clients. Trillian, GAIM, and Pidgin for PC. Nimbuzz, fring, Palringo, and many more for Symbian. Android and iOS got their fair share of multi-network IM apps too. They even got unified inboxes that brought your emails and SMSs together.

VoIP was always unified, because almost every VoIP operator uses the SIP standard. Except for Skype, but Nimbuzz and fring took care of that.

And then things fell apart

Somehow, someone turned back the clock. First, Skype got pulled from Nimbuzz and fring. Apparently because of a dispute over video calling, but normal calls and messages over Skype were yanked out too. Until Skype opens up again I suggest you don't pay a single penny for SkypeOut (use one of the many other VoIP services instead).

Fortunately Skype chat still works in imo, so you only need one instant messenger on your Android phone.

Or do you?

When AOL bought ICQ, they tried to axe their service from 3rd party clients in order to force-feed you their own app. Then came Blackberry Messenger. A great way to avoid the ridiculous SMS rates (the most expensive 140 bytes in the universe), but it only works on Blackberries. WhatsApp copied the ping app from Blackberry and brought it to Android and iPhone. And so did PingChat. And Kik Messenger and LiveProfile and Viber and KakaoTalk and GO Chat and many more. The app stores are full of single-network chat apps and they breed like rabbits.

The problem? All the new kids on the block use proprietary protocols that only work in their own apps. With so many networks your friends will be scattered all over the place. And with your friends scattered over MSN, WhatsApp, Skype, Kik, Viber, etcetera you'll need to fill an entire homescreen with apps that all do the same thing.

Some of these apps (like Viber) autostart without an option to switch it off. Others (WhatsApp) autostart and don't even have an exit button. They keep you available all the time, even when you want to take a break from messaging without shutting down your entire internet connection. They also upload your entire contacts list to their servers, even the contacts that you don't want to share. And if you want to stay connected, these apps and their background services take a large bite out of your RAM. Some even keep their processes alive if you sign out, if they let you sign out at all.

There is no multi-network program that connects the new IM/SMS hybrids into a single app. We're heading back to the dark ages of 1995 where every messenger required its own app.

Pick up the pieces

Urgently needed: one app to bind them all. Trillian, Nimbuzz, imo etc. did a great job unifying the old chat networks. The time has come to include the new messengers, and to force Skype back in line. This requires a bit of work from the multi-network app programmers, but that's not a big deal. They're more than willing to add networks to their apps. What holds them back is the lack of cooperation from Skype, WhatsApp, Viber et al. If the new networks stop being so anal retentive and publish some public APIs we'd have updated multi-network clients in a minute. At the very least the new networks shouldn't sabotage attempts to reverse engineer their protocols so that others can throw their networks into the mix.

WhatsApp, Viber, PingChat, Skype, Kik, KakaoTalk, GO Chat, LiveProfile: open up!

Bonus tip and abuse alert

If you uninstall WhatsApp, your phone number stays in their system. Your friends will keep trying to message you, WhatsApp keeps telling them you're still a WhatsApp user even when you're not anymore.

There is a way to remove your phone number from WhatsApp, but WhatsApp decided to hide the method in a dark corner of their small print.

To rescue your phone number from the claws of WhatsApp, you'll need to send them an email.

To: support@whatsapp.com
Subject: Remove
Message: +12345678910
(The subject should read "Remove" and the message should be your full phone number in international format).

They promise to remove your phone number from their systems in about a day, but some people had to wait for weeks before WhatsApp finally forgot them. When I tried it took them 10 days. Apparently someone over at WhatsApp HQ has to delete all those phone numbers by hand.

When they finally send you a mail back to inform you that your number will be deleted they don't verify that you really asked for your own number to be removed. There's nothing that can stop you from zapping other peoples numbers out of the WhatsApp system.

Update: you can now unlink your phone number from within the Whatsapp app.

VoIP app Viber adds off switch, but still thinks you're too stupid to control autostart

Free calls to other Viber users

Viber lets you call and text other Viber users for free. There are plenty of other apps and VoIP services for that, but the sound quality of Viber is comparable to CSipSimple, and much better than Skype, Nimbuzz, or fring.

Warning: if you dial a non-Viber user from the Viber app it gets charged as a normal phone call. You can use LBE Privacy Guard to make sure that Viber can only call through VoIP.

Viber calls eat half a megabyte of data per minute: 0.25 MB each way. That adds up to 30 MB per hour. That may turn out cheaper than an international phone call if you buy the right data roaming package, but usually it's way more expensive. Do the maths before you Viber away on a foreign data network. Or simply stick to WiFi.

Free messages, but it's not SMS

Texting on Viber works, but it lacks smilies. Sometimes messages take ages to arrive. Viber messaging makes noise, and you can't switch the Viber sounds off unless you put your entire phone in silent mode.

Viber does not integrate with standard SMSs, so Viber texts won't appear in the stock SMS program or in any other SMS app. Viber SMSs will be missing from the universal inbox in Androids messaging app too. Same thing the other way 'round: normal SMSs won't appear in Viber either, even though normal phone calls are listed in Vibers call log.

Viber messages are free, but that's the only reason to send Viber texts. If speed matters an instant messenger like MSN, Google Talk, or Skype messaging wins. If cost is not an issue you're better off with plain old SMS.

No need to sign up

Your phone number is your user name, so you don't need to create accounts or add your friends and enemies by hand. If your Viber-using contacts are in your Android address book then Viber knows where they are. They'll automatically know that you're on Viber you too.

There's no way to run two Viber accounts on one phone, so forget about having one Viber identity for business and another one for your friends. I wonder how Viber plays along on phones with dual SIMs?

Too intrusive

The first versions of Viber for Android wouldn't let you switch it off. It would always run and make you available, even if you wanted to take a break from Viber. That's really stupid behaviour with plenty of potential for disaster. Imagine your phone bill after you accidentally pick up an incoming Viber call when roaming abroad because Viber refuses to shut up.

That problem is partially fixed in the latest Viber update. Now you can shut the app down, although it pops up an annoying window to complain about that the next time you launch Viber. Too bad that they left another error unfixed. Even worse is that they left it unfixed on purpose.

The other error: Viber starts up automatically. You can't switch autostart off, so if you switch your phone off at night, after running out of battery, or for any other reason you'll have to manually switch off Viber everytime you boot your phone. This is highly annoying, especially when you're travelling and you want to keep Viber away from your expensive data roaming connection.

And why is autostart mandatory? A Viber representative on the xda forum believes that they'll be flooded with complaints from users who disable autostart and then blame Viber when the app doesn't launch by itself. In plain english: Viber thinks we are too stupid to decide for ourselves whether we want to allow autostart or not.

By adding an off switch Viber shows that it's willing to learn from its mistakes. Maybe they'll learn some more and add the missing autostart toggle later on? Until then you'll either have to accept the autostart behaviour or tame it with one of the autostart managers out there.

Watch your data!

Something else to keep the Viber team busy: the difference between WiFi and mobile data. Viber won't tell them apart, but if your mobile operator bans VoIP from its data network you need a way to tell Viber that it can accept incoming calls on WiFi but not on 3G. The programmers at Viber should have a good look at the settings menu of CSipSimple, which lets you do just that. It's very easy to miss a switch to mobile data if you walk out of WiFi range. VoIP apps like Viber should be aware of that and act accordingly.

Integration with other VoIP apps?

I have Skype, CSipSimple, Vonage, and Viber. CSipSimple works with any VoIP provider that uses the standard SIP setup. Nimbuzz and fring used to have Skype built in as well, but Skype made them remove it. Skype now only works as a stand alone app, and we should never ever forgive them for that. In its present state Viber only works with Vibers own app. I hope Viber will allow other VoIP apps to incorporate its network so we don't end up with a home screen full of VoIP apps to stay connected with all our contacts scattered over different networks. Every instant messaging app that's worth installing supports multiple networks. VoIP apps should do the same.

• Viber Media, Inc.
• Viber (Android Market)

Viber: a VoIP app that won't shut up

Viber for Android finished its closed beta testing phase. The open test version has made it to the Android Market.

Free calls and SMSs

Viber is a VoIP app that lets you call and SMS other Viber users for free. No need to sign up, because your phone number is your account name. To make sure others don't abuse your number Viber sends you a verification code by SMS. That SMS never arrived on my phone, but the backup method (giving you the code in a phone call) worked.

Calling and texting works as expected. Sound quality is comparable to VoIP apps like CSipSimple and much better than Skype, Nimbuzz, or fring. It almost makes you forget the horrible purple interface and lack of video calls.

Calls consume 0.25 MB per minute each way. Half a megabyte per minute adds up to 30 MB per hour, so even without an unlimited data plan it can work out cheaper than regular phone calls. When you're not making calls Viber uses very little data, but some bytes trickle in the background to keep the connection alive. And it does stay alive, whether you like it or not.

Won't shut up

The competition knows that you don't want to be available 24/7, and therefore comes with an off switch. Apps like CSipSimple, Skype, Nimbuzz, and fring also let you choose whether you want them to autostart or wait until you launch them yourself.

Not so for Viber. It's set to autostart and won't let you change it. It doesn't let you sign out, quit, exit, or otherwise tell the app to shut up when you want to be unavailable without disabling your mobile internet connection. You can kill it with a task manager or force-stop it from the Android settings, but even then it relaunches itself after a while.

It seems that Viber Media, Inc. thinks its app is so great that nobody would ever want to switch it off. The Android Market comments clearly show that many people disagree. And rightly so: you may want to be available on Wi-Fi but not on 3G. Viber doesn't give you that choice.

When you install Viber it asks for many many many Android permissions. Most of them make sense (all VoIP apps want access to your contacts and permission to go online), but why does Viber want access to my location?

Future of Viber

In its present state Viber is totally free. No fees, no ads, not a single way to make Viber Media, Inc. earn a single penny. That's how Nimbuzz and fring started, and then they introduced ads and paid services on top of the free features. Viber will go the same route. Once its user base is large enough to do business they will add premium services to feed their programmers.

A Viber employee wrote on several blogs and forums:
So why is Viber free?
For now, Viber's focus is on adding platforms, adding features (such as text messages) and improving overall system performance. At the same time, we are working on additional future premium services that will generate revenues. The basic Viber service - Viber to Viber phone calls, and soon text messages, will always be free.

You can only use the VoIP features of Viber to connect to other Viber users, and it only runs on Android and iPhone. The good news is that Viber is working on Blackberry and Symbian versions, and on a PC client too. No word about Windows phones yet, though. Viber would be a lot better if it would use open standards so that it can integrate with other VoIP, SMS, and chat apps. Unfortunately they've chosen the closed Skype business model. Maybe they'll release an api so other apps (like CSipSimple) can connect to Viber? It would be nice to have all my VoIP options together in one app, just like I have all my chat contacts in a single multi network messenger.

The verdict

Viber has potential, but without an off switch it's too intrusive. I've removed Viber from my phone. I'll only put it back if its makers add an exit button and an option to stop it from starting automatically.

Edit: according to a Viber employee on the xda forum:
"Anyway, very soon we will add 2 new improvements:
1. An "Exit" button that will allow user to shut off Viber when they need.
2. We will reduce the frequency of requests to connect to the server from Viber."
No word yet on making autostarting optional, but it seems that Viber is willing to listen to its users. Maybe they'll add a switch to control autostarting too.

• Viber Media, Inc.
• Viber (Android Market)