IP Phones
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on IP Phones
Many businesses and individuals choose VoIP phone service because it is much less expensive than traditional landline phone service. While most VoIP providers do not require specialized phones to be used with their services, there are IP phones that are made to be used specifically for use with VoIP telephone service.
Specialized phones made for VoIP service closely resemble traditional home or office telephones. They typically have a handset as well as the speakerphone function and keypads for entering phone numbers. Most have displays that show caller-ID and voice mail messages. Where they differ from traditional phones is in their hardware. A VoIP phone will have an Ethernet or wireless network that is used to send and receive messages through the data network of the Internet. These phones usually also have PC data jacks in order to allow the computer and phone to share a data connection. And some phones used with VoIP service receive their electrical power from power over Ethernet (PoE) through the Ethernet cable connected to the computer.
There are also wireless IP phones and Wi-Fi enabled PDA's and mobile cellular phones that can connect to VoIP networks to run IP telephony clients. This allows businesses and individuals to use VoIP services without being tied down to a desk. For more information on how to use telephones for VoIP service with your home or business, click on the links on the left.
IP Phone Service
Part of an emerging technology that's changing world telephony, some call mobile IP phone products "smartphones"By Elliot Feldman, freelance television and new media writer/editor Coney Dog Productions To the naked eye, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone resembles any other telephone or cell phone product. However, it's actually a phone product that allow users to place voice phone calls over a computer's Internet network instead of a standard telephone network; thus, the term "IP Phone," or Internet Protocol Phone.
Variations of mobile VoIP Phone products include:
- A standalone IP phone with hardware that resembles a standard mobile phone or analog phone product
- A Wi-Fi enabled mobile VoIP phone with hardware that resembles a mobile phone or a PDA; in the latter case, these types of PDAs may also be called smartphones (Besides Wi-Fi, other such IP phone network protocols may include SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, and HSDPA, or High-Speed Downlink Packet Access)
- A mobile IP phone with fixed and mobile telephony convergence; i.e., the ability to switch between standard telephone/cell phone networks, computer networks, and other networks
- An Instant Messenger-enabled IP phone that supports communications from phone to PC and PC to phone
- Voice Mail
- Speed dialing
- Call waiting
- Call hold
- Auto Attendant – a feature that provides automated messages to callers and directs calls
- Call forwarding, or Find Me Follow Me
- VoIP phone operating systems include Symbian, Windows Mobile 6, RIM Blackberry, and iPhone OS, Linux, Palm OS
Find VoIP telephone service provider product comparison resources
An Internet phone service provider with the right features for your business VoIP phone will sell or recommend the right IP phone product for your business.
Try: Voxilla.com provides product reviews for those looking into Internet phone service software for Internet phones. VoipReviews.org offers a long list of comparison reviews for VoIP service providers.
Visit VoIP service provider websites
Specific VoIP telephone service provider websites recommend compatible Internet Protocol phone products.
Try: T-Mobile offers "Unlimited Hot Spot Calling" Wi-Fi enabled Internet phones such as the Blackberry Curve and the Samsung Katalyst. Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. mobile media company offers service for its 3 X-Series Internet Phones made by Nokia.
Find a VoIP telephone compatible with your operating system
Some users prefer specific operating systems such as Linux and RIM Blackberry.
Try: Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system (OS) website recommends Internet phones from Samsung, T-Mobile and AT&T. The Blackberry North America website recommends RIM Blackberry OS-enabled IP products. The Linux Online website recommends the Linux OS-enabled smartphone products, particularly the Nokia 770.
Get information on VoIP phones compatible with VoIP applications
VoIP applications offer specific features that may be compatible with your business needs.
Try: The Skype VoIP application offers its own 3 Skypephone product through UK mobile media company Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. Google Talk is Google's VoIP application coupled with their IM service. Visit the Google Mobile site to see Google Talk-compatible IP phones. Gizmo 5 sells its own phone product that works on its open source VoIP operating system.
Get product information on specific mobile IP phone system models
Nokia is one of the pioneers in IP mobile phone technologies. Apple's iPhone is also becoming a player.
Try: The Nokia E-Series and the Nokia N-Series Internet phones are among the prime movers in the development of smartphone technologies. VoIP applications for the Apple iPhone are available at the Apple iTunes App Store.
- Keep track of news and views about phone product developments in fixed and mobile telephony convergence where phone products have access to both landline and mobile networks.
- When buying an IP phone system with a free or low-cost mobile phone service provider such as Skype, be aware of current litigation in governmental courts centered on conflicts between VoIP services and traditional telecommunication and cable companies.
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