LINE’s Cheap Voice Service, LINE Call, Now Live For Android Users of the App In 8 Markets

Today Japan’s LINE has launched its newest feature: a flat-rate voice calling service called LINE Call. It expands on an already existing feature in LINE that let users call each other free via the app. Users will be able to keep their own mobile numbers for LINE Call — although “phone numbers may not be displayed correctly in some regions,” LINE notes.

The first people to get LINE Call will be Android users in eight markets — Columbia, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Thailand, and the U.S., who can download version 4.1.0 to access the service. The idea will be to expand that to more platforms and more countries over time. Prices for landline calls start at 2 cents per minute (the US, Mexico, Peru, Spain and China when it comes on there get this cheaper rate) and progress up to 12 cents per minute (that’s in the Philippines). Mobile calls range from 4 cents through to 15 cents per minute.

The introduction of LINE Call — first announced in February but only turned on today — helps LINE compete better against the likes of Skype and Google for cheap in-app calls using mobile data instead of users’ voice minutes.