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Thread: Internet phone

  1. #1
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    Default Internet phone

    Does anyone use an internet phone. A guy at work was showing me his skype phone the other day.

    according to the web site it is $2.95 a month unlimited calls, in the USA.

    Here is the web site if you would like to check it out.

    http://skype.com/
    troll Free. It's all in your mind.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    need wifi so it isnt replacing a cellphone(yet anyways) and in the house you will only have one phone. But it's sure to get more and more popular and user friendly everyday

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    I thought it might be worth the try just for the long distance calls alone.
    troll Free. It's all in your mind.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    I have the Internet phone for the house. Works great, local and long distance for 29.00 a month anywhere U.S. or Canada. You can have up to 4 phones hooked up to your cable modem. It has more features than a normal phone. Like when I get a voice mail it sends it to my yahoo email (or anywhere you set it up to go) 3 way calling, call blocking, caller id, anonymous call rejection, just to list a few. If I went with the local phone company everything is long distance including the next town over.

    I get my Internet,phone,cable in one bill, and I have it set up to come out of my checking account every month.

    DC

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    This is the company I have here.


    DC

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    Thanks I'll have the wife check it out.
    troll Free. It's all in your mind.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    There are several different options for Internet VoIP phones...

    1. the "Software" solutions use a mic or "phone" plugged into a computer which then interacts with sw on the computer to place calls or receive calls. This is what Skype is (unless its changed recently)

    Positive: basically its cheap, and its cheap... oh and its cheap.

    Negative: Last I looked Skype users couldn't get calls from regular phones but once again this may have changed.
    - When calling someone a really weird series of numbers and letters shows up on CID.
    - Its more "cool to have" then functional

    2. The "Hardware" solution is what is most common these days. Almost all cable providers offer VoIP service and the big names like Vonage are in this area. They give you a base station and then a number of portable phones. It works just like a phone and you can port in your numbers as well.

    Positive: Normal Number for Caller ID
    - LOTS of included features normally including Web accessible voice mail and features like call forwarding
    - Less Expensive then standard phone service
    - unlimited long distance

    Negatives: DESTROYS network performance, don't expect to do anything while on the phone, if you do any gaming you will suffer massive lag when the phone rings
    - Reliability of your internet connection will have a huge impact on the phone service. If you are using Cable and you are in a high usage area the phone won't ring, you'll get 1 way audio and lots of other issues.
    - You need to have sufficent bandwidth to run the phone, in a lot of cases adding the price of the added bandwidth will make it less cost efficent then wired phones


    3. Cell Phone via UMA/WiFi - This is currently sold as "Hotspot@Home" by T-Mobile and allows you to use your cell phone plan / minutes in your house. Unlimited usage plans are also available.

    Benefits: Only 1 phone bill. cost of adding unlimited usage plan is low if you need it.
    - Only 1 number, everywhere, always and only 1 bill to pay every month for phone service
    - Supposed to switch seamlessly between WiFi and GSM allowing you to make a call in the house and then leave and drive around or get home and walk inside and have it switch
    - You have your cell phone / PDA / Crackberry at hand at all times and it works in the basement
    - Multiple phones can use this at the same time so no waiting for your son/daughter to get off the phone before you can make a call. Everyone has their own number and own line

    Negatives: Only 1 phone means you may always be at work
    - Still need sufficent bandwidth
    - Wireless coverage throughout the house may require an additional router
    - T-Mobile branded router has added functionality. Highly recommended, they aren't that expensive though (50?)
    - If you break your cell phone you are SOL

    **They are releasing a new version which will allow a standard RJ11 phone to be plugged right into the router so if your cell phone is broken or you don't want to talk on it you can use a regular phone as well.

    Hope that helped.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    I use a Skype-like voice-over-IP (VoIP) service for making and receiving some phone calls. Very cheap compared to long-distance and especially international calls made over the plain old telephone system. In fact, I don't even have a regular landline; I have a dry loop from Verizon that just provides DSL service. (I also have prepaid cell phone service.)

    The main drawback is the extra latency introduced compared to a regular landline, but I haven't found it to be much of a problem so far.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    We used to use Skype when my buddy was in Iraq, he would talk to his wife and family about every day. I would speak with him about once a month. It worked pretty well over the phone and was great going PC to PC with a web cam.
    http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o92/quipfan/pc_pics/stay_back_100_meters2-351x146.jpg

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Internet phone

    If you're going to do it make sure you have broadband and I would just look into a SIP service. we had vonage once at a remote office and it sucked a big one.

    I have a SIP line on a cisco phone here and it's solid.

    Used to have SIP via vocalocity under a polycom phone and it was good too....phone arent hard to config either.

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