In times of hyperconnectivity, when technology has changed the way we communicate, it’s easy to forget that more than a tweet, a like on Facebook, a text message or an email, there is nothing as personal as seeing and talking to our loved ones regardless of where they are.

Skype may be the best known video-chat app out there, and Facetime has become extremely popular although it’s limited to Apple devices, but there are many alternatives to communicate among smartphone users regardless of operating system.

If you, like many Latinos, have friends and family in Latin America or other parts of the world, you must know by now that paying international long-distance calls by the minute is a thing of the past.

Why not have a family reunion through Google+ Hangout, with up to 10 participants on video-chat?

For bigger families, ooVoo lets you talk with up to 12 people at a time through its high-def video chat or voice calls, including landlines and cell phones.

Keeping in mind that almost everybody uses Facebook, its Messenger app is also a good option although it doesn't have video chat.

Another app without video chat but with better notifications is WhatsApp, since it’s always running in the background. It’s easy to use since it uses your phone number as your identity and automatically adds contacts in your address book. Viber app, which does pretty much the same thing, has become extremely popular and gained great reviews among its users.

Besides offering video chat and voice calls, Tango has a social component that allows you to play games with your contacts and send musical messages using Spotify, which makes it ideal to stay in touch with the kids and teenagers in your family.

If you are keeping an eye on your data consumption, VSee is a good alternative that lets you see and talk with up to four people at a time in high res but using a low bandwidth.

Keep in mind these apps will save minutes on your cellular plan, but you must be aware they will use your data plan when you are not connected to wi-fi.

In some cases it will be better to have an unlimited plan like the ones offered by MetroPCS, with voice calls, text messages and data for $40 per month.

If you have family in Mexico, you can add unlimited phone calls to landlines and unlimited text messages to cell phones in the Aztec country for only $5 more.

Or if your family is very international and all over, you can add an unlimited world calling plan for only $10.

Sometimes the best use for a smartphone is simply as a phone, especially if it’s to call the ‘abuela’ who may not be very tech savvy.