Google Hangouts now supports free one minute voice calls in 25 countries

Google recently announced that the first minute of voice calls through Hangouts will be free in 25 different countries. The search giant’s messaging app currently supports video chats and free domestic voice calls, but the company charges a different set of rates when a user places a call abroad. While you can purchase call credit for those longwinded long distance conversations, Google’s new offering is a reasonable option for quick calls or important (but brief) messages.

Google says this free quick call offering will be available for the rest of the year, so there should be plenty of time to take advantage of it. So feel free to start working on your rapid one-liners. If you’re old enough to remember collect calls, Google’s new offer may remind you of an old trick where people used to say what they needed during the operator’s recording in order to avoid paying a fee. Laugh if you will, but people used to do it all the time.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flP-o0ydkvo]