[Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0, 5.0] SGP4isokay:
Over the last year or so I have been weening myself off of my Verizon feature phone. The journey didn't need to be anywhere near as arduous as I made it out to be, but for a time I had competing goals that sent me in different directions. Here's what I finally settled on. Before you read any further understand that, to my knowledge, this will only work in the US and it will cost you about $5.50 a month for unlimited calling.

Device: Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0(US)

Kernel: TerraSilent 1.3.5 courtesy of Dark_Balor

ROM: Icy Fusion release version 2.3 courtesy of Klin1344

CPU governor: SmartAssV2

Scheduler: deadline(no idea why but this scheduler works markedly better than others for this task)

Min CPU speed: 400MHz(Skype stutters if set lower)

Max CPU speed: 1200MHz

Wi-Fi Sleep Policy: Never

Apps needed for this: Skype, Google Voice, SetCPU(requires root)

Sign up for Google Voice. The settings are rather spartan, but the key issue that people encounter is that they need a phone number. Yes, Google Voice let's you choose a number but that is not tied to a device. What Google wants is for you to give out your Google Voice number and have that ring your cell phone, home phone, work phone, etc. but what if you have a Samsung Galaxy Player without a phone number? Skype, but more specifically we'll need pay features.

Sign up for Skype. We need two things for this to work and for it to be relatively cheap. First you'll need a calling plan from Skype(I chose unlimited US and Canada for $2.99 month to month). Once you have that you will see offers to purchase a Skype Number for 50% off($30 a year after discount). Once you have those items you can go back to Google Voice, click on Settings, under the "Phones" tab click "Add another phone" and then have Google Voice call you to verify that your Skype Number is yours.

The really cool part is that Skype let's you display your Google Voice number when you dial in Skype so the Skype Number essentially disappears. When someone dials your Google Voice number it will ring on your Galaxy Player, your PC(if you run the Skype client), or any other number you specify.

The downside

You're locked into Skype. No matter how you slice it it won't be free unless you forgo the Skype Number and calling plan which obliterates any hope of dialing to phones. If you opt for the calling plan then skip on the Skype Number you're forced to wait for someone to call, miss it, get the notification of a missed call, then dial them back. The Skype app itself has been buggy in the past. Running the Skype app 24/7 definitely cuts into the performance of our devices since they are at the far low end of the hardware spectrum. Can you multitask? Yes. Is it pretty? Not really. I can be assured of not missing a call and listen to music, but if the device syncs other application in the background then everything else beyond music and Skype grinds to a halt for a good 20-30 seconds.

You'll need to manually add your contacts to Skype.

It costs money. This point cannot be understated. It may be less than $6 a month but some people may not want to tack on the price of two trips to Starbucks for something they would rarely, if ever use. There are a lot of apps that will let you make calls for free and even if the quality or limitations blow free is still free.

Using a BT headset with the Skype app is hit or miss. The latency is noticeable.

But what about GrooveIP or Google Mail calling?

Amazing app in that it seamlessly works with Google Voice and Google Contacts, but I never got decent call quality. I could always hear everyone crystal clear(really, it was amazing quality), but no one could hear me all that well. I tried for months to make it work, but I could not replicate some success other Android users experienced even if I copied their settings. Skype worked almost immediately and people love the quality. Additionally I love taking calls on my PC with Skype. Yes, you can use Gmail(on a desktop) to make and receive calls but my experience was that that is more of an oddity than a solution. I can't get Gmail calls to be loud enough and I've had countless experiences where I close a tab(Gmail) thinking I was done with it only to miss a call. The stand alone Skype application for Windows combined with the Android Skype app is the best solution I have found.

"My device pissed all over itself. Skype sucks."

The Galaxy Player is ridiculously underpowered even compared to the Samsung Galaxy S. I have gotten Skype to work well by throwing almost everything else overboard. I was messing around with Winamp and for some reason Skype kept signing out and nothing I did short of a reboot would get it to sign back in. I uninstalled Winamp and all of the sudden I can Skype, play music, and use Firefox at the same time with no issues other than Firefox being noticeably slower than usual. Phones from 2010 sucked. The Galaxy Player is below the standards of a phone from 2010. You will need to treat Skype delicately to say the least.