Alternatives
Products that do what make phone calls when you can't talk. I would love feedback on this does
Hello, The idea is to be able to make phone calls when you can't really talk, by using text-to-speech and typing what you want to say instead. The original incentive was a Twilio contest and to see if that would technically work. Now that it mostly does, I would love to read what you think and in particular if this is actually useful :) (and thus if I should look into ways to make it a "real", even if small, product) Thanks a lot for your time! The URL: http://speakforme.timotheeboucher.com/
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Hey HN! Alexis here, I’m a product manager and software developer in Berlin by way of New York. I want to show you this app I made – It’s like a "buddy" for those, like myself, who inadvertedly talk too much in meetings. The app gives me feedback and a little more in control of what I have influence over by: * Keeping track of how long I’ve been speaking * Catching myself before I talk too much * Developing a better sense of timing I truly love having conversations with people in real-life. But online meetings, especially group calls, tend to make me nervous. I can't read body language. The…
2022 · unblah.me
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I built a little script that gives me a fake phone call to escape boring and awkward situations. I bought a virtual number from twilio and saved it as one of my relatives. Whenever I feel stuck, I just tap a button called “ESCAPE” on my phone. It sends a request to my remote server. The server runs a small Python script which schedules an actual call. After a minute, my phone rings and plays a pre-recorded audio. I simply say “sorry, I’m getting a call” and walk away. A tiny project, but it has saved me so many times. Script -…
Sep 2025
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I hope you are doing better today than yesterday. (TLDR in the comments; or enjoy my story :) ) Why: About 11 months ago, I launched my app for the first time on Reddit's r/lonely because I had previously experienced loneliness myself during grad school. I wanted to reach out to people going through similar experiences by providing them with what would’ve helped me in the past. I felt this was an important mission for me and a much more rewarding one than my day job that I quit my job to work on the app full-time. It was necessary because I did not come from a programming background. I…
2024 · main.d1lmgoealm7rq0.amplifyapp.com
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2013 · github.com
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Hi HN, I’d like to share a side project I recently finished: Speech & Audio To Text, a small iOS utility to transcribe voice messages from apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Voice Memos — fully offline and without sending any data to the cloud. The motivation was personal. I often receive voice notes when I can't listen to them — during meetings, while commuting on noisy trains, or when I don’t want to disturb others. I used to rely on an app that handled this well, until it moved to a subscription model and started requiring constant internet access. I wanted something that would: - Work…
2025 · apps.apple.com
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Hey HN, I made conversation starter game. Here's how it works: - Choose a theme like "Couples" or "Favorites" - Tap to reveal thought-provoking questions - Take turns answering and discover new things about each other I made ConvoCards because everyone has an interesting story to tell, but these don't often come up in day to day conversations. I also enjoy using them for journaling and self reflection. I hope you enjoy playing and learn something new about someone close to you!
2024 · convo.cards
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Hey! I know many people are addicted to their smartphones including me, so I built a way to actually use a dumbphone in today's world. You just connect your stuff like whatsapp, email, calendar etc. and can then access them through SMS or voice calling with an AI assistant. There are a lot of apps on smartphones that allow you to reduce screen time but they all require you to fight the desire to not delete them. Even if you are disciplined, it takes away energy from your life that could be used elsewhere. Moving to a dumbphone frees you completely since there is no way to get lost to the…
2025 · lightfriend.ai
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I have a bit of phone anxiety, and have a ton of dread around making phone calls to restaurants, banks, doctors, and so on and on. I thought: AI could do this with a web form turned into a prompt. Stack started out simple -> using 11labs for voice + claude + twillio, but it actually got rather complex (even though I tried vibe coding most). First off, finding the phone numbers quickly is hard. This is done by scraping the web with some basic duckduckgo search and structure with openai calls. Second, collecting the right information. I’m still struggling a bit with this but the architecture…
Feb 2026 · byephone.io
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I hate small talks, I build a social game to help me deepen my relationships and connect with people beyond the shallow levels. I want your feedback, maybe inspire me with questions you would like to see popping in the game.
2022 · askdeeply.com
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SpeakFast helps you prep by actually talking—not just reading tips or recording yourself. The AI interviews you, challenges you in real time, and gives coaching based on how you're doing. It can even build a custom roadmap around your weak spots. There are 200K+ real roles from top tech companies to practice with. You can also paste a job description and get a tailored mock interview instantly. It’s composable, flexible, and built to feel real
2025 · speakfast.ai
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Hey HN! Halfway through moving to Canada and whilst my conversational French gets me by, I'm absolutely rubbish when someone rattles off phone numbers at full speed (quatre-vingt-dix-neuf anyone?). So I built a virtual pet that thrives on correctly answered number challenges. 20-second drills throughout the day: get them right and Lexie grows, get them wrong and it gets a bit sad (but never dies, this isn't the 90s). Speak, type, or tap your answers. Would love any feedback/bugreports. Or just rant about how the Belgians sensibly say "nonante-neuf" whilst we're stuck with…
2025 · apps.apple.com
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Hi HN, Made this little service where people can subscribe and receive a comforting message as a text through whatsapp, each day. I hope it helps alleviate some of the stress in their life :)
2024 · relaxingquotes.com
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Hi HN, I built Lengpal, a simple language exchange platform where two people get instantly matched on video to practice their native and target languages. There’s a timer built in so both sides get equal time to speak. I created this because I wanted something beyond passive apps like Duolingo. Something to actually speak with real people without the hassle of scheduling or chat fatigue. Right now we are testing the concept with a waitlist. We’ve collected 77 emails so far from Reddit and IndieHackers. I would love your feedback before launching the MVP. Site:…
2025
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I built CallSky as a simple alternative for international calling after Microsoft shut down Skype earlier this month. The app lets you make calls to landlines and cell phones worldwide starting at $0.01/minute with a pay-as-you-go model. I noticed that while Teams replaced Skype's video/chat conferencing, it doesn't offer the same affordable PSTN calling that many people relied on. WhatsApp and other messaging apps don't solve this - whether you're an expat calling the IRS for taxes, reaching elderly family members who don't use smartphones, or contacting people in areas with…
2025 · callsky.io
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