Phone calls are not always the most convenient way to talk when you need to communicate with more than one person. A great way around this is with Zello, an app that makes your mobile device work like a walkie-talkie.
Zello offers many advantages over standard walkie-talkies; there’s no need to buy extra hardware, you are not limited by range, and you don’t have to make sure you are using the right frequency. Wherever you can get a cellphone signal or Wi-Fi you can use Zello.
Being much faster than dialing or texting makes it perfect for situations where you would normally use a walkie-talkie, like communicating around the yard, but with virtually unlimited range you can even use it in your cab.
While it’s illegal to hold any device while driving, the push-to-talk interface means it can be operated with a single touch. By default, the talk button is set to press and hold to talk but I’d recommend you use the toggle on and off mode.
For true hands-free operation though, you might want to consider one of the many compatible push-to-talk headsets or accessories that are available. Zello even provides a list of certified accessories to use with the app.
The feature that really takes it way beyond the limits of walkie-talkies is the channels. These let you create groups of contacts so you can speak to a group of people at once instead of just one person at a time.
You could have a channel connected to everyone at your home terminal and you could get some of your regular customers onboard on a separate channel.
Zello could even replace your CB by creating a channel just for you and your trucker buddies.
There’s no need to ever be in range to talk and this way you can cut out any profanity.
If you want to talk to strangers or listen in on other services there also a lot of public channels available to join. It supports an unlimited number of channels with 1,200 users per channel, so it’s unlikely you‘ll run out of people to talk to.
If you ever miss a message there’s a button that allows you to replay last message received and you can also send text and images with the app.
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