However, those could be early teething problems, and similar issues are typical with other VOIP services (hello, Skype). Also, at 6,000 miles apart, France to Hong Kong is nearly a worst-case scenario for internet-based calls, with plenty of hubs to ping through. If you do have a poor connection, a quick redial might fix it.

To get calling, you may need to be patient. First off, the update may not have arrived to all the regions where the wildly popular app is used, and even if it has, it may work intermittently. One UK user told us that his call contacts list was empty and that no one picked up when he rang. Nevertheless, it worked for several of us Engadget editors and our Spanish confrères. It's only available on Android for now, but WhatsApp founder Brian Acton recently said it would hit iOS in the near future.

Daniel Cooper contributed to this report.