Time for me to check out VoIP
True, I’m not a big phone talker. I never use all the minutes in my cell phone plan. So, in general, I haven’t been that excited about the whole Internet-based telephony thing.
It’s probably related to the fact that my previous experiences with computer-based phone calls weren’t all that great. I remember back six or seven years ago when an early version of MSN Messenger had the ability to dial any U.S. phone number and make calls for free. I used that for a stretch of time when I was a poor college student, and it was…decent.
But some recent developments have rekindled my interest in this area. First, Skype calling to the U.S. or Canada is now free. Apparently, it’s totally, 100%, no-bones-about-it free. Like, for real.
That’s enough to get me over to their web site. Skype’s download and install instructions are very well done, and the application itself has a nice fit and finish. The app itself worked pretty well too…the conversation sounded good through built-in mic in my PowerBook and regular iPod headphones. In my opinion, it sounded better than a cell phone.
One thing that tripped me up was that U.S. phone numbers need to be dialed with both a ”+” and a “1” before the number, as in +12125551234. So, watch out for that.
Another thing that’s causing me to think twice about VoIP is that Vonage is getting ready to release VoIP solutions for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, both of which have WiFi capabilities. That’s pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.
