An innovative device and VoIP service called "VoiceStick" has been released by i2Telecom. Awarded the Internet Telephony Product of the Year, the device is a 50MB USB flash drive bundled with a Plantronics headset. It can be plugged into any internet enabled computer (dial up or broadband) and in conjunction with one of their flat rate service programs, can be used to call to virtually any telephone number in the world.
The service is aimed at people that are on the go including business travelers, college students and anyone wanting a low cost telephone service.
To use the service, you purchase a VoiceStick for $29.99 (current US price) which includes the Plantronics PC headset (plugs into your PC microphone and audio out connections) and a phone number. When you receive the VoiceStick you just activate a calling plan which ranges from $9.99 to $37.99 per month for unlimited calling. International rates are reasonable, but not the cheapest on the market.
You can plug the VoiceStick into any internet enabled computer and make or receive calls, access voicemail, transfer or use up to 50MB of flash drive storage, or call other VoiceStick users, which is free.
To get more information visit: VoiceStick.com
Monday, March 28, 2005
IT Managers Satisfied With VoIP
In a study by Sage Research of IT managers in companies with over 100 employees that have either tested or deployed VoIP services, 71% reported that they are either somewhat or very satisfied with their VoIP service. Source: www.SageResearch.com
Thursday, March 17, 2005
AOL Steps Into The VoIP Arena
AOL announced their own VoIP service, using technology from Sonus and Level 3. With 29 million subscribers worldwide, AOL will boost awareness of VoIP, currently only about 22% of US households are familiar with it.
Early VoIP provider Vonage has reported breaking the 500,000 subscriber mark while adding more than 15,000 new customers per week.
Read more at Forbes.com...
Forbes.com: Internet Phone Calls Not Just For Geeks
Early VoIP provider Vonage has reported breaking the 500,000 subscriber mark while adding more than 15,000 new customers per week.
Read more at Forbes.com...
Forbes.com: Internet Phone Calls Not Just For Geeks
Friday, March 11, 2005
Skype Adds International and US Incoming Phone Service, Voicemail
The ultra-popular Skype VoIP peer-to-peer internet telephony service just got better.
Although still in BETA, they've added a slick incoming telephone service and voicemail. For about $13 US, you can get three months of service and a dedicated telephone number in the US, UK (England), Hong Kong or France regardless of where you live and accept calls from anyone, anywhere directly on your PC. The area code selection in the US is limited (about 30 area codes in most major metropolitan areas), although they are committed to adding more.
(Note: In order to use the SkypeIn and voicemail service, you have to download the new BETA software. As with any BETA software, it's smart to backup your current settings and contacts, although after using it for some time, it appears stable and all functions I tested worked fine.)
Your telephone number automatically comes with voicemail included at no extra charge. (You can also order voicemail separately for your peer-to-peer service when you're not available.) Setting up your voicemail is easy, you can customize your greeting, indicate how long to wait before sending to voicemail and what to do if you are on a call when receiving another.
Since I have relatives in England, I setup a UK phone number and began testing. Had the number and voicemail setup and was accepting calls in just a few minutes. Caller ID worked great on the international number (although this is dependant on what provider your caller uses), call quality was better than my old land line and best yet, I never had to pick up a phone.. just my headset and laptop which I use throughout the day.
Another great use I found for the SkypeOut service is to record conference calls for future reference. Since my schedule doesn't always allow me to listen to calls I'm interested in at the time of the call, I dial into the conference using SkypeOut, and use a little program called Perfect Sound Recorder to record it directly to an MP3 file. I then transfer the file to my Archos MP3 player and can listen to it on the road or when I have some free time. Great combination of technology and it's all digital and easy to manage!
If you need help in getting something like this setup, don't hestitate to leave a comment.
Mark
broadbandphonespot.blogspot.com
Although still in BETA, they've added a slick incoming telephone service and voicemail. For about $13 US, you can get three months of service and a dedicated telephone number in the US, UK (England), Hong Kong or France regardless of where you live and accept calls from anyone, anywhere directly on your PC. The area code selection in the US is limited (about 30 area codes in most major metropolitan areas), although they are committed to adding more.
(Note: In order to use the SkypeIn and voicemail service, you have to download the new BETA software. As with any BETA software, it's smart to backup your current settings and contacts, although after using it for some time, it appears stable and all functions I tested worked fine.)
Your telephone number automatically comes with voicemail included at no extra charge. (You can also order voicemail separately for your peer-to-peer service when you're not available.) Setting up your voicemail is easy, you can customize your greeting, indicate how long to wait before sending to voicemail and what to do if you are on a call when receiving another.
Since I have relatives in England, I setup a UK phone number and began testing. Had the number and voicemail setup and was accepting calls in just a few minutes. Caller ID worked great on the international number (although this is dependant on what provider your caller uses), call quality was better than my old land line and best yet, I never had to pick up a phone.. just my headset and laptop which I use throughout the day.
Another great use I found for the SkypeOut service is to record conference calls for future reference. Since my schedule doesn't always allow me to listen to calls I'm interested in at the time of the call, I dial into the conference using SkypeOut, and use a little program called Perfect Sound Recorder to record it directly to an MP3 file. I then transfer the file to my Archos MP3 player and can listen to it on the road or when I have some free time. Great combination of technology and it's all digital and easy to manage!
If you need help in getting something like this setup, don't hestitate to leave a comment.
Mark
broadbandphonespot.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Major Search Engines Shopping For VoIP
As about 115,000 US homes switch to VoIP every month, major search engines are looking to get into the market. Google looks like they are now shopping for a telephony partner, AOL announced plans to offer a service within the next month and Yahoo and MSN already have simple services and partnerships, but no solid VoIP product.
Analysts predict that by 2008, 16 million homes will have VoIP service. No wonder the top search engines are looking to get into the market! Read more below.
Analysts predict that by 2008, 16 million homes will have VoIP service. No wonder the top search engines are looking to get into the market! Read more below.
Google window-shops for VoIP | Tech News on ZDNet:
"The meetings offer further confirmation of the view that as the Net phone business starts to take off, search giants and Web portals such as Yahoo may not be far behind. Among the announcements at VON, America Online said it plans to unveil a VoIP service in the next month, heightening speculation that Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Google--its biggest Web rivals--may be exploring similar moves."
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Great Press for Vonage
Vonage is getting great press, and for good reason. Their package is very reasonable priced, easy to get and the unlimited calling plans are very attractive. Perfect for home or SOHO (small office/home office). Look for new wireless phones for Wi-Fi hotspots from Vonage... Net2Phone already has a wireless Wi-Fi phone with their Voiceline service.
"Try New Age Web Dialing"
U.S. News & World Report
March 7, 2005
By Mary Kathleen Flynn
There's a new kid on the telecom block--courtesy of high-speed Internet connections.
Voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) has been batted about in techie circles for many years. Over the past few years, it has been installed in many large companies to replace traditional telephone systems for internal calls. But within the past year or so, home users have begun to buy VOIP services, using their broadband Internet connections to make phone calls across the same pipes that carry the Web traffic. The start-up Vonage has packaged VOIP for the home user. Vonage's Digital Voice service costs $25 per month for unlimited local and long-distance calls in North America. The company boasts 450,000 customers, with an additional 10,000 coming onboard each week.
Vonage is no longer the only game in town, as telephone companies and cable companies have also started selling VOIP services to their residential customers. AT&T's CallVantage and Verizon's VoiceWing start at $30, and Time Warner Cable's Digital Phone starts at about $40.
Increasingly, VOIP service will also be available on wireless devices. Vonage, for example, will soon sell a wireless phone that uses Wi-Fi hot spots.
Friday, March 04, 2005
PC Software VoIP Reviews
My first thought after reading about placing a telephone call directly from my PC was... cool!
PC VoIP is basically using a software application, your PC headset (microphone and speaker) and your VoIP provider service to place an outgoing phone call.
Here's a snapshot of the Vonage Softphone VoIP service:
There are several different forms of PC VoIP... I'll talk about a few you may consider.
Vonage offers a package called "SoftPhone". You download the application, make a few setting choices and you're up and running to make - or receive - phone calls. That's right, SoftPhone lets you make and receive calls directly from your PC with a dedicated phone number assigned to you. BTW, you can choose the location of the phone number... local or nationwide. It's only available with an existing Vonage account for $9.99 a month, $0.039 per minute (at this writing) and comes with 500 free minutes. One note, the 911 service available with all other Vonage plans is not available with SoftPhone. Call quality is excellent and comparable to other Vonage plans and standard phone lines. Vonage has been rated a "Best Buy" at PCWorld, received an "Editor's Choice" from CNet and received the LapTop Magazine's Editor's Choice award.
Net2Phone has a service called CommCenter. It adds fax, PC to PC and instant messaging to the outgoing phone service, but lacks the ability to receive incoming calls. You don't have to have an existing account to sign up, you can setup an account just for the CommCenter service and you are not assigned a phone number. To use the service you download the software, open a free account, load funds into your account and you're ready to go. PC to PC calls (calls to other Net2Phone CommCenter users) are free, all other calls and fax rates are based on the location of the call. For example, calls to the US are currently $0.02 per minute.
Lingo doesn't currently have a PC VoIP option.
Skype has PC VoIP package called "SkypeOut". The Skype service is basically a P2P (peer to peer) software application where you can connect with other Skype users at no cost. The "SkypeOut" service is an extension of the software that allows you to place calls to just about anywhere for about $0.02 US a minute (as of this writing). You load your account with a minimum of 10 EUR (about $13 US) and all calls are deducted from your balance. The sound quality is excellent, sometimes like a cell phone, but most often as good or better than a standard phone line.
Bottom line: If you're looking for a solid service with a permanent phone number that you can make and receive calls, Vonage is your choice. If your needs demand fax, chat, and outgoing calls only, Net2Phone has it. If you want to connect with others via a P2P network along with phone conference, chatting, file transfer and the option of calling anywhere (for about $0.02 per min), check out the popular Skype service.
Happy calling!
PC VoIP is basically using a software application, your PC headset (microphone and speaker) and your VoIP provider service to place an outgoing phone call.
Here's a snapshot of the Vonage Softphone VoIP service:
There are several different forms of PC VoIP... I'll talk about a few you may consider.
Vonage offers a package called "SoftPhone". You download the application, make a few setting choices and you're up and running to make - or receive - phone calls. That's right, SoftPhone lets you make and receive calls directly from your PC with a dedicated phone number assigned to you. BTW, you can choose the location of the phone number... local or nationwide. It's only available with an existing Vonage account for $9.99 a month, $0.039 per minute (at this writing) and comes with 500 free minutes. One note, the 911 service available with all other Vonage plans is not available with SoftPhone. Call quality is excellent and comparable to other Vonage plans and standard phone lines. Vonage has been rated a "Best Buy" at PCWorld, received an "Editor's Choice" from CNet and received the LapTop Magazine's Editor's Choice award.
Net2Phone has a service called CommCenter. It adds fax, PC to PC and instant messaging to the outgoing phone service, but lacks the ability to receive incoming calls. You don't have to have an existing account to sign up, you can setup an account just for the CommCenter service and you are not assigned a phone number. To use the service you download the software, open a free account, load funds into your account and you're ready to go. PC to PC calls (calls to other Net2Phone CommCenter users) are free, all other calls and fax rates are based on the location of the call. For example, calls to the US are currently $0.02 per minute.
Lingo doesn't currently have a PC VoIP option.
Skype has PC VoIP package called "SkypeOut". The Skype service is basically a P2P (peer to peer) software application where you can connect with other Skype users at no cost. The "SkypeOut" service is an extension of the software that allows you to place calls to just about anywhere for about $0.02 US a minute (as of this writing). You load your account with a minimum of 10 EUR (about $13 US) and all calls are deducted from your balance. The sound quality is excellent, sometimes like a cell phone, but most often as good or better than a standard phone line.
Bottom line: If you're looking for a solid service with a permanent phone number that you can make and receive calls, Vonage is your choice. If your needs demand fax, chat, and outgoing calls only, Net2Phone has it. If you want to connect with others via a P2P network along with phone conference, chatting, file transfer and the option of calling anywhere (for about $0.02 per min), check out the popular Skype service.
Happy calling!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Net2Phone: Grandaddy of VoIP
Net2Phone is one of the pioneers in VoIP telephone service and offers a wide variety of services. In comparison to other VoIP companies, Net2Phone offers residential, business, PC To Phone, PC To Fax, calling card, VAR, reseller, corporate and infrastructure services.
Their residential and business service plans are very similiar to those of Vonage in cost and offerings (unlimited calling to US and Canada for a fixed monthly cost) although Net2Phone offers a wide variety of additional equipment, including the very cool WiFi XJ100 Cordless Phone that allows you to make and receive calls through your wireless network and VoIP service.
The calling card plans are very competitive, start a 1 cent per minute and are available in several different forms and dollar amounts.
Their Voiceline plans include a free adapter, online control panel access to your phone account and VoIP broadband telephone service. A unique feature of the Voiceline service are the overseas packages available. There are bundle packages for several areas including India, Asia, Europe... specifically designed for those calling overseas regularly. Something to note, the Voiceline plans do not support 911/emergency service, where both Vongage and Lingo do.
Net2Phone has one of the most comprehensive service and equipment offerings of any other VoIP provider and are a popular choice for both residential and business customers.
Their residential and business service plans are very similiar to those of Vonage in cost and offerings (unlimited calling to US and Canada for a fixed monthly cost) although Net2Phone offers a wide variety of additional equipment, including the very cool WiFi XJ100 Cordless Phone that allows you to make and receive calls through your wireless network and VoIP service.
The calling card plans are very competitive, start a 1 cent per minute and are available in several different forms and dollar amounts.
Their Voiceline plans include a free adapter, online control panel access to your phone account and VoIP broadband telephone service. A unique feature of the Voiceline service are the overseas packages available. There are bundle packages for several areas including India, Asia, Europe... specifically designed for those calling overseas regularly. Something to note, the Voiceline plans do not support 911/emergency service, where both Vongage and Lingo do.
Net2Phone has one of the most comprehensive service and equipment offerings of any other VoIP provider and are a popular choice for both residential and business customers.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Review: Skype VoIP
Skype is not only one of the most popular software downloads around today, it's also an incredibly powerful (and inexpensive) communication tool.
Created by the same team that started KaZaA, Skype is a peer-to-peer tool that allows you to speak with other Skype users directly at no cost, regardless of their location. You can also transfer files, conference with 3 others or instant message.
The innovative part about Skype is its SkypeOut feature that allows you to call just about any phone number for about $0.02 a minute almost anywhere in the world (at this time). To use SkypeOut you just add a minimum of $10 US to your account and your calls are automatically deducted from your balance.
The software interface is intuitive, well designed and easy to use. I had it installed, account credited and making both phone calls and connections in just under 6 minutes. Everything went smoothly and I was impressed in how seemless the process was. Just plug in your headset and you're ready to connect. The call quality has been excellent, similar to cell phone and sometimes clearer than your local phone service.
An interesting thing to note is that if you're making a call out using SkypeOut, the caller ID shows the call from 012345 (or something similar). Be sure to mention this to those you call that screen calls or this is a great anonymous calling tool!
Note, you can't receive regular telephone calls (you aren't assigned a phone number) although you can receive connections from other Skype users.
Skype is a great service if you communicate with family, friends or business associates worldwide or want to reduce your outgoing mobile or long distance telephone expenses. Once you use Skype, you'll probably end up make most of your outgoing calls with it and receive your incoming calls on your mobile or land lines (my experience). With internet access almost everywhere you turn today, with your laptop and headset you can stay in touch just about anywhere you travel.
Overall I give Skype a big thumbs up and would highly recommend it.
Created by the same team that started KaZaA, Skype is a peer-to-peer tool that allows you to speak with other Skype users directly at no cost, regardless of their location. You can also transfer files, conference with 3 others or instant message.
The innovative part about Skype is its SkypeOut feature that allows you to call just about any phone number for about $0.02 a minute almost anywhere in the world (at this time). To use SkypeOut you just add a minimum of $10 US to your account and your calls are automatically deducted from your balance.
The software interface is intuitive, well designed and easy to use. I had it installed, account credited and making both phone calls and connections in just under 6 minutes. Everything went smoothly and I was impressed in how seemless the process was. Just plug in your headset and you're ready to connect. The call quality has been excellent, similar to cell phone and sometimes clearer than your local phone service.
An interesting thing to note is that if you're making a call out using SkypeOut, the caller ID shows the call from 012345 (or something similar). Be sure to mention this to those you call that screen calls or this is a great anonymous calling tool!
Note, you can't receive regular telephone calls (you aren't assigned a phone number) although you can receive connections from other Skype users.
Skype is a great service if you communicate with family, friends or business associates worldwide or want to reduce your outgoing mobile or long distance telephone expenses. Once you use Skype, you'll probably end up make most of your outgoing calls with it and receive your incoming calls on your mobile or land lines (my experience). With internet access almost everywhere you turn today, with your laptop and headset you can stay in touch just about anywhere you travel.
Overall I give Skype a big thumbs up and would highly recommend it.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
VoIP is ready for prime time
Overview of how VoIP is making an impact on how we communicate, and the plummeting costs. Notice how much the author is saving a month on his mobile phone bill! I'll be reviewing the popular Skype service in my next post.
VoIP is ready for prime time | Tech News on ZDNet:
VoIP is ready for prime time | Tech News on ZDNet:
"For the last few months I have been experimenting with Skype in particular for voice connections when I travel. During the last six weeks, all of my telephone calls--Skype-to-Skype, Skype-to-mobile and Skype-to-fixed line--have been via a headset and my laptop computer. I've connected to the internet via wired or Wi-Fi LANs in hotels, office buildings and restaurants.
In short: my mobile phone bill has plummeted from $500 a month to less than $10 a month. The number of times I have had to use my mobile phone in the US during the past two weeks can be counted on the fingers of one hand. For the most part it is people calling me on my mobile that dominates my usage. My outgoing calls are now few and far between. The prevalence of low-cost or free Wi-Fi across the US means I am at most paying for a local telephone call in the destination country."
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
What Is Broadband Phone Service?
In a nutshell, broadband phone service uses the internet to route your incoming and outgoing calls. It's revolutionary and has now becoming a "real" alternative to traditional phone service providers.
Another technical term for broadband phone service is VOIP, or voice-over-internet-protocol.
The service requires a broadband internet connection (cable, DSL, T3, T1, etc) along with some type of phone adapter (each company provides their own compatible hardware).
It's now quite simple to install and setup your service, especially compared to your local phone company. Pretty much just plug and play... plug in the adapter to your cable modem and then to your computer, reboot and if all goes well, you can be making and receiving calls within minutes. Now that's pretty cool!
Your options are to either signup online with a service like Vonage (one of the leading providers) or visit your local computer store (or store that sells computers) and pickup a "retail" installation kit. Ordering online takes a few days to receive your adapter, but in my opinion worth the wait. You get a better adapter and if you use the link above, you also get a free month of phone service.
I personally use Vonage and have been really happy with the service, especially recently. It's taken some time for the industry and service providers to mature and work out the kinks, and I think it's now at a point where it's a viable alternative. So much so that I've cancelled my local phone service and use Vonage exclusively.
Let me know your experiences and any questions you might have.
Another technical term for broadband phone service is VOIP, or voice-over-internet-protocol.
The service requires a broadband internet connection (cable, DSL, T3, T1, etc) along with some type of phone adapter (each company provides their own compatible hardware).
It's now quite simple to install and setup your service, especially compared to your local phone company. Pretty much just plug and play... plug in the adapter to your cable modem and then to your computer, reboot and if all goes well, you can be making and receiving calls within minutes. Now that's pretty cool!
Your options are to either signup online with a service like Vonage (one of the leading providers) or visit your local computer store (or store that sells computers) and pickup a "retail" installation kit. Ordering online takes a few days to receive your adapter, but in my opinion worth the wait. You get a better adapter and if you use the link above, you also get a free month of phone service.
I personally use Vonage and have been really happy with the service, especially recently. It's taken some time for the industry and service providers to mature and work out the kinks, and I think it's now at a point where it's a viable alternative. So much so that I've cancelled my local phone service and use Vonage exclusively.
Let me know your experiences and any questions you might have.
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