Vodafone's Call+ lets you share photos and maps while you chat
Regular phone calls are simple affairs: just one voice on either end of the line. If you want to share anything other than a quick natter, like a meet-up address, some other communication tool is required. Not with Call+, though, Vodafone's new service that brings multimedia sharing to the humble phone call. Launching less than a month after Vodafone switched on seamless WiFi calling, the Call+ service lets users send images, maps and contacts in real-time, as well as start a video call on the fly. All of this is also accessible from the call log after you hang up, much like an instant messaging thread.
You can begin sharing before the call even connects, too. The "pre-call" feature lets you add a note about why you're calling, an indication of how important the call is, and even a map or picture for added context. If the recipient doesn't answer, you can add a follow-up text or voice message that'll appear alongside their missed call notification. All in all, it's a pretty neat upgrade to standard phone calls that adds some of the functionality you'd expect from a VoIP service like Skype.
Vodafone's the first UK carrier to employ these advanced calling features, thanks to the same Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard that also powers the network's Message+ client (a texting app with much of the functionality of IM services like WhatsApp and Google Hangouts). There is one minor barrier to entry, though, in that Vodafone customers need to download the required Android app to start using Call+ features (and both ends of the conversation will need it). Apart from owners of either the Xperia Z3 range or the Xperia Z5 or Z5 Compact (launching October 5th on Vodafone), that is. Those handsets are able to use Call+ features without the app, and will also support the real-time annotating of images and maps, too.
The Xperia handsets named aren't the only phones that support RCS native, but Vodafone is staying quiet on when other Android smartphones might be able to use baked-in Call+ services. Regarding iOS, the network said it's working on it, but doesn't have anything else to share just yet.
