FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
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App of the Week - Hey Tell
Fri, 17th May 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Hey Tell has been around for a while, but I just got it, and, oh my god it’s a walkie talkie!

My friend told me to get this app because “it’s way easier to send a voice message instead of a text while you’re driving”. Tisk tisk.

Besides that (stupid) reason, Hey Tell is actually pretty cool, and just another way smartphones have made it easier to keep in contact with your friends around the world or down the street.

So what is it? Basically, instead of tapping out a text and sending that on, you press the “record” button on your screen, speak into your phone and it records what you say, and you can send that message to your friends (who will also need Hey Tell).

It’s a walkie talkie from the future. Most phones have a voice recording app already and you can usually send those recordings as an attachment to other people.

But Hey Tell makes it easy – you don’t have to open anything, it alerts you just like a text message if you’re not within the app, and if you are already within the app the voice message from your friend plays automatically.

Features?

The free version is pretty basic. Nothing fancy here, really. But you can purchase “extras” such as a chipmunk voice, a robot voice, turn your speech into sing song, and you can slow down or speed up your voice too.

It would better if there were more voice options. Like Elvis. Or Fez from That 70s Show. Or Bart Simpson.

Sending messages are free and all you need is data or Wifi, and it uses barely any data, about as much as an email or iMessage.

Available on iPhone and Android; I’ve been using it on iPhone and haven’t had any issues whatsoever.

The main reason I like it is because I use it to speak to my friend who lives overseas. And while I could easily text her, it’s nice hearing her voice and knowing I’m not going to forget what she sounds like.

Except when she uses the chipmunk voice. Great app.