Business App of the Week: Bria

Bria: A Softphone App by CounterPath

Bria, developed by CounterPath, allows users to utilize their smartphones and/or tablets as SIP phones for making and receiving VoIP phone calls. At first, this may not seem all that cool . . . after all, you can already make calls with your smartphone. But Bria is actually extremely useful for business users who want to make and receive calls from their office line on their mobile device--in or out of the office.

We've used Bria in numerous situations, but none are as memorable to us as the time we had to evacuate our office due to the unintentional release of xylene vapor from a flooring crew working on the office above us. We had to relocate offsite for a few days, but we were able to make and receive calls from our business lines because Bria was part of our business continuity plan.

Availability and Pricing

Bria is available for both iOS and Android devices. The smartphone apps cost $7.99, while the tablet versions cost $12.99. Other features, such as video calling, are available for extra in-app fees.