calls

The show title isn't just an SEO play, we actually have five copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 to give away on the system of your choice (Wii U, Xbox 360, or PS3). Just follow us on Twitter and tell us your best 404-related box art parody name--use this one as an example, and don't forget to use the hash tag #404COD!… Read more

Getting a bit of a scratchy throat? You'd better plan to stay home tomorrow to fend off what's sure to be a terrible cold. And while you're lying around hacking up a lung, maybe you can garner the strength to play a little Call of Duty: Black Ops: 2. Your boss will never suspect that's why you really dialed in sick.

Not until reading about a new IGN poll, that is. One in four respondents indicated plans to skip work/school tomorrow, the day the next installment of the hugely popular first-person shooter launches worldwide for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Health warning: The Call of Duty Cough is expected to be serious and widespread! … Read more

Editor's note: T-Mobile has confirmed that the Nexus 4 will not support Wi-Fi calling. The carrier has corrected the support documents, which a spokesman said were originally posted with incorrect information.

It appears that the T-Mobile version of the Nexus 4 will support Wi-Fi calling after all. Provided online support documents for the handset prove to be accurate, the new LG smartphone will allow T-Mobile customers the option to make and receive calls over Wi-Fi connections.

The feature, which lets users take advantage of their own network instead of relying on T-Mobile's towers, can often provide a stronger … Read more

Video games are increasingly becoming a spectator sport, and Google is making its first big move to bring those spectators to YouTube.

Activision, publisher of the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise, said this morning that players will be able to live stream their game play of Call of Duty: Black Ops II on YouTube. Players can share their game play, audio commentary, and even Webcam footage of themselves on YouTube without any new hardware or software.

Sang Kim, head of game partnerships for YouTube, said in a statement that the move was "an awesome next step for the eSports … Read more

If you go around saying things like "P2P" and "VoIP," even your friends are apt to give you the eyebrow, but say "Skype," and millions of users around the world get the message. Skype means free Skype-to Skype Internet phone calls, video chat and conferencing, IM, and Facebook integration. We tried the latest release of the free version of Skype, which not only lets you yak at other Skype users as long as you want for free but also enables free one-to-one video calls, Instant Messaging, and screen sharing. A Pay As You Go … Read more

Acquired by Microsoft in October 2011, Skype has been hard at work for several months integrating the communication software with the latest version of Windows. Today the company announced that Skype for Windows 8 will be available Friday and on new Windows 8 devices; you can download it from the Windows store.

Skype has received a complete makeover, with features that take advantage of both the Windows 8 Start menu and the use of a touch screen. You'll be able to log in using any of your Microsoft accounts (such as Hotmail, Messenger, SkyDrive, Windows Phone, Xbox Live, Skype, … Read more

Google Talk is an instant-messaging service from Google that you can use to send messages, files, or e-mail or make VoIP calls to people on your contact list. Since Google Talk is based on an open protocol (XMPP), it can be used to connect to any device that supports this protocol; this currently means Windows, Android, and BlackBerry devices, although other clients are bound to appear soon.

Google Talk reads your Gmail contact list, and the tight integration between Google Talk and Gmail allows you to send IMs to contacts in your Gmail account. Any chat conversations you have through … Read more

iCall is a video and audio call utility that works on Windows and Macs, as well as most mobile devices. iCall supports free calling (including conference calls up of to 10 people) anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, or international calls for a fee. There are also some pay-as-you-go capabilities so you can select the options that suit your needs, or there's an "everything" package called iCall Total Access. iCall can also assign you a free phone number to allow others to call you. The software downloads and installs easily, but you need to set up … Read more

How good is the iPhone 5's call quality, and most importantly, how it does it compare across carriers? We addressed some of the iPhone 5's call quality in our CNET review and follow-up stories, but let's take a listen to the Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T models side-by-side. Is there a difference in audio quality?

For our quick test, I made phone calls from the same street corner in New York to Brian Bennett upstairs, using all three carrier models both against my ear and held several feet away from me in speakerphone mode. I also made test calls from the same location on all three models to our San Francisco office's voice-quality-testing voice mail drop. For comparison purposes, I also threw in my AT&T iPhone 4S in all instances to see how it fared. … Read more