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Home » Reviews » Chat and Audio Conferencing » Paltalk

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24

Online Audio Conferencing and Chat Rooms

Chat and Audio Conferencing

http://www.paltalk.com
= worth knowing
Online Service
FREE + paid options

Dressed like an instant messenger, you would never think that this tool is capable of providing live audio and video conferencing, virtual discussion rooms, interoperability with AOL IM (instant messenger), video mail and more features.

And if you want to hear an online CB (Citizen band) environment, categorized by topics and interests you may want to spend a little time looking at Paltalk.

Paltalk is an online service that allows its users to talk live online inside virtual chat rooms. If you are not familiar with online audio conferencing or with accessing audio communities this may prove to be quite an interesting experience at the beginning. You must of course be equipped with an appropriate headset or microphone and speakers connected to your computer.

I would suggest that you try logging onto such services only if you have at least a stable 20 Kbps line. While I have seen people attending with even less, below 10 Kbps you really can't do much. Today's audio codecs and new compression algorithms allow for some quality audio to be used on these new services without the need for a broadband or even ISDN connection.

The interesting aspects are mostly cultural and anthropological, in the sense that what could struck me the most is the nature of people topics, rants and online discussions that takes place in these kind of online communities.

The service comes in a free basic version, which is plagued by a barrage of promotions and ads for the paid service, which allows people to meet and exchange by utilizing also their webcams.


The audio quality is quite acceptable, though it will vary according to your Internet connection speed as well as to the traffic on the Paltalk servers.

Overall I have been quite disappointed with this online service and would not at present recommend it if not again to get a glimpse of a different type of online community, in which you can still appreciate the novelty of people interacting together for the first time through a virtual medium.

My disappointment is due to the excessive commercial nature and promotions received while using the service, the not intuitive organization of chat rooms and facilities which requires a bit of playing around. The apparent non-existent customer support.

To look at PalTalk basic features go to:
http://www.paltalk.com/paltalk10/ WhatIsPalTalk/Features/Features.htm

To see some sample screenshots go to:
http://www.paltalk.com/paltalk10/ WhatIsPalTalk/ScreenShots/ ScreenShots.htm

To download your free PalTalk client software go to:
http://www.paltalk.com/paltalk10/ download/download.htm (959 KB)
or directly at:
http://www.paltalk.com/paltalk10/ download/0.x/pal_install.exe


Do you want to talk with crystal clear voice to anyone around the world with a PC connected to the Internet?

 

URL of this article:
http://www.kolabora.com/reviews/paltalk/online_audio_conferencing_and_chat.htm





Readers' Comments

July 12, 2007 02:58 AM

JANE DOE

http://www.jeffgate.com/jeffgate.htm

IM SURE THIS WILL PROVE HOW CROOKED BOTH VOICE CHATS ARE




December 11, 2006 05:52 PM

inSpeaker

Frank. So First before attacking the inSpeak Please feel the name and it alawys must be written inSpeak to feel the name. second can you tell me why you go to the jail?. You have done somthing wrong and gone to jail . Yes we have correction room and that`s was a users idea a great idea imagine of it . You do somthing bad you go to jail every one know your bad you never do it again . is this better or to get banned ?! . about the Program inSpeak still in Beta phase . About programmers inSpeak have best Programmers in this field belive me they know how to make the great sound quality i have ever heared . About Admins are ex paltalk . YES and i say It yeeees . But every one of them know the bad thing in Paltalk so they leave them and build a better community . with inSpeak yoy are building a better place for you and for me and entire human phase .. So Stop being negative and be positive




April 19, 2006 05:50 AM

chillipepper

I HAVE TRIED THE CHAT(PALTALK),,IT IS A RELATIVELY DRAB CHAT,,EVERYTHING YOU DO OR SAY IS WATCHED,,NO SUCH THING AS THE INTERNATIONAL PRIVACY ACT,BEING OBSERVED.INSPEAK ON THE OTHER HAND HAS,,EASE OF USE,,CARING STAFF,,CLEAN APPEARANCE,,AND ACTUALLY MORE FREE THAN PALTALK,,PLUS COST EXTREMELY LESS TO HAVE ACCOUNTS UPGRADED FOR COMMERCIAL USE,,YOU TELL ME,,WHY USE PALTALK,CONSTANTLY BEING SPYED ON..THIS IS DISGRACEFULL!




December 21, 2005 10:22 PM

Jazz Jazzerson

The Technical people at Paltalk are not the brightest people in the world. Paltalk is often offline...and every "UPGRADE" they do inevitably turns out to be a "DOWNGRADE." Had they left it alone 6 years ago.....it would be perfect now. It currently is riddled with bugs and it seems that the Paltalk staff is determined to eventually bring it to complete perfection.....at which point the program won't start at all.




December 21, 2005 06:11 AM

watching

I was on paltalk for 6 years The most crooked bunch of red co-admins on a voice chat that has every been!Inspeak is no better the people running it are also ex paltalkers on Paltalk and inspeak peoples personal details are posted , Paltalk has turned into a haven for hackers and dishonest people!My personal belief is the powers that watch over the net and the USA will close them both.




October 25, 2005 02:07 AM

cooly32

Frank I do not know who you are or what you did to be put in the inSpeak jail but im sure you did somthing to be put ther hmmmm I wounder what you did................ Now as for the updates and the severs going down. Well just take aminute and think about this inSpeak is in the beta stage. Any program in the beta stage of programing will have alot of updates and have to restart the servers very often. Now Frank if you do not know what beta stage means well here i will tell you. Beta stage simpley put is when a new company alows peolpe to use the program for FREE for testing. So why complain about it unless your just trying to cause problems because for what ever reason you did not get your way??? <hmmm maybe that is what is going on here. Well at any point I See aton of people on the program everyday that love inSpeak.




July 29, 2005 08:19 PM

Wonder why

I wonder why he talks about inSpeak when the question was, something else? Is this a hiddet atack from Paltalk against another chat? I will not visit this site anymore if it is sponsord by such foolisch comments, unrelated to the topic....




July 1, 2005 11:28 AM

Frank

Paltalk is still the best thing out there! The other one, Inspeak, s filled with the most incompetent, ignorant admins that have ever graced an internet chat program! And these fools actually have a correctional facility! Nope, not kidding...I'm in there now, along with four other people who've done nothing to disrupt this program. One guy got red dotted (that's when they silence you on the mic and on text) just because he was trying to check his mic in the appropriate room...and it was when the program was lagging! The program goes down several times a day and the incompetent programmers make you update the thing every single day! Imagine how those on dial-up feel about that one!

These people are very rude, someone cursed us while we were in the jail tonight and the admins laughed about it. Another person threatened to rape the women in the "jail" and the admins laughed about it. We have a recording of a
racist who is running around the program, but they won't even listen to it and won't do anything about that person who is demeaning a certain minority. It's a childish game to them...I have never been treated that way on Paltalk
and I'm trying to find as many people as I can to tell them not to use Inspeak.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and have a great day -




April 21, 2005 02:27 AM

Ashley Garcia

Hey wudd up




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