It’s not just Verizon that wants you to stop asking, “Can you hear me now?” Late last week, Cricket Wireless added HD Voice to its service offerings — that is, for owners of a few select Android phones. That means that customers who make and receive calls on the Alcatel Idol 4, LG Escape 3, Samsung Galaxy Sol 2, or ZTE Grand X 4 will enjoy improved voice call quality thanks to HD Voice’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology. In addition, these customers will also be able to surf the web while talking using an LTE connection.
We ought to point out that not only will you have to have a VoLTE-compatible phone, but the recipient of your phone call must have a qualifying device that is connected to Cricket’s LTE network as well. That said, if you have both those thing going for you, Cricket promises “significantly improved voice clarity.”
“High Definition Voice (HD Voice) is just one of the ways we’re working to build a better network for our customers,” the carrier said. “HD Voice uses VoLTE (voice over LTE) technology. At Cricket, you’ll get voice calling over our nationwide 4G LTE network. Enjoy crisp and clear conversations while using your phone to surf the web or stream music or video at up to 4G LTE speeds.”
Even in the loudest of environments, Cricket promises that HD Voice will cut through the noise.
“Conversations will sound more natural, almost as if the person at the other end of the line is right there next to you. And with HD Voice, you can talk while surfing at 4G LTE speeds,” the carrier stated in its FAQ. How is this done? Cricket notes that it uses wide-band audio technology and noise cancellation for more natural sounding voices and less background distractions.
Best of all, there’s no additional cost for Cricket’s HD Voice service, and all you have to do to access the technology is update your phone’s software.
