Call mobiles or landlines worldwide at 'cheaper rates than Skype' with Viber Out

Popular messaging service Viber has formally announced the launch of Viber Out, a service that lets Viber users call any mobile or landline number across the world for a fee.

Viber Out, which was initially soft-launched only in Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan to help users contact friends and loved ones, is now available to more than 200 million users of the service. Now with the official worldwide launch, Viber Out enables all Viber users on Android, iPhone and desktop to call anyone worldwide, with Windows Phone users getting the feature at a later date.

Viber is touting significantly lower price-per-call than competing services like Skype, which it claims is due to lower per minute rates and the omission of connection fees. Purchasing credit for Viber Out can be completed either through a simple in-app purchase via either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or using a credit card via Viber desktop.

Interestingly, unlike some competing services, Viber Out displays your real phone number to the recipient so he or she knows who is calling.

"Viber Out gives our millions of users a new way to use Viber and ensures that they can reach any contact at any time," said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber. "We will continue to improve Viber Out, keeping our users connected at the most affordable rates possible."

Viber has also announced the launch of Viber 4.1 update for Android and iPhone. The Android app bring enhanced support for Viber Out; new free and paid stickers; a new contact filter that allows you to sort your contacts and other improvements as well as bug fixes.