You have a telephone, right? You have a computer, right? You want to save money, right? BAM, you are a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) candidate.

It is inevitable that VOIP will replace traditional telephone service at some point. The only question is when should you jump in?

VOIP is quickly becoming more reliable and receiving wider acceptance. In fact, phone companies are already taking advantage of the technology to provide cheaper long distance rates. Like any emerging technology, however, there are kinks in the system that are still being worked out.

Advantages

VOIP has many advantages over regular phone service. One primary advantage is its low cost. If you have a fast Internet connection (DSL or cable), you can make PC-to-PC phone calls anywhere in the world FREE. PC-to-phone connections usually have a charge, but probably still cheaper than regular phone service.

You can sign up with a VOIP service provider for a monthly fee and get unlimited calls within a specified geographic area. For example, some VOIP services in the United States allow connections anywhere in North America for no extra charge. International calls are charged at a modest rate.

Another advantage is its portability. You can make and receive phone calls wherever there is a broadband connection by simply signing in to your VOIP account. This makes VOIP as convenient as e-mail. When you’re traveling, you simply pack a headset or Internet phone; then you can talk to family or colleagues for next to nothing.

Phone-to-phone VOIP is also portable. Internet phones are small and light enough to take anywhere. When you sign up with a VOIP service provider, the Internet phone or adaptor used by that service is assigned a unique number. This ‘phone number’ remains valid, even if your VOIP service is in Los Angeles and you’re connected to the Internet in London. When plugged into a broadband connection, anywhere in the world, you can make and receive calls as though you were at home .

Features like call forwarding, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID and 3way-calling, are included with Internet telephone at no extra charge. While you’re talking on the phone, you can send pictures and documents at the same time.

Disadvantages

There are a few glitches that still interfere with the technology’s broad acceptance by the public. Lack of continuous service during power outages and emergency calling are the 2 biggest hurdles.

Conventional phone service continues by the current supplied through the phone lineduring a blackout. This isn’t possible with Internet phones. When the power goes, there goes VOIP service. Battery backups and power generators that provide electricity are the current solutions to this problem.

A major concern involves emergency 911 calls. For the most part, VOIP services aren’t useful in emergencies. Traditional phone equipment can trace the locations of calls. Emergency calls are diverted to the nearest call center where the operator can identify your location, in the event you can’t talk. With VOIP, there is no way currently to determine where Internet calls are originating. There is an emerging standard called e911 however, which is attempting to solve this limitation.

VOIP also has sound quality and reliability problems. Data sent across the Internet usually arrives at its destination scrambled. E-mail and documents can be reassembled in the correct order when it arrives. Voice data also arrives scrambled, but it’s more complicated because of the real-time nature of VOIP. Some data packets may have to be dropped when they don’t arrive in time, in order to make voice connections with the least delay. This can cause brief silences in the audio stream.

Distance and speed of the connection determine the amount of data lost. Some networks receive more traffic and thus are more likely to cause audio dropouts. One way to provide high quality audio connections is to create dedicated data paths.

With the incredible amount of work dedicated to VOIP, these disadvantages will no doubt be resolved withinin the next 2 years. It is expected that by then VOIP will have widespread consumer acceptance.

Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit voip-solutions-now to learn more about this subject.

Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.

The Top 3 Ways Of Getting Cheap Cell Phones - Get Yourself Some Mobile Great Phone Deals Today!

Shopping for cheap cell phones is easy if you know where to look. Use the following tips and discover how easy it can be to get mobile phone deals.

Shop Online

You can easily find cheap cell phones all over the Internet. It’s quickly becoming one of the best places to buy mobile phones. Firstly, you get a large variety of phones to choose from and secondly, you pay less because you don’t have to go through a dealer. Not to mention, searching for cheap cell phones online is convenient, fast and you won’t have to deal with persistent sales people. Everything you need to know about any model that you’re interested in will be online and available to you.

Buy Used Cell Phones

Getting a used cell phone can also be one of your methods to a good mobile phone deal. Not all second hand cell phones are badly damaged. In fact, some of them may be in an almost-mint condition but are being sold because its previous owners were quick to switch to newer models. Because of that, you can sometimes find the latest models at very affordable prices at used cell phone stores.

Shop At A Carrier Store

If you already have an account with a particular cell phone carrier or you’ve already decided which carrier you want to sign up with, then why not shop with them? Once you have an account with them, their cell phones become very cheap and they even have fringe benefits to go along with it. This can also be done the other way around. Decide on the phone you like and go with the carrier that’s giving the best mobile phone deals.

Free cell phone reviews at http://www.cool-cell-phones.com! Find out more before you buy new or used cell phones online.

Tips And Tricks On How To Get The Best Cell Phone Deals. And While You’re At It, Shop For A Great Mobile Plan Too.
These days, cell phones are offered at standard retail prices across a majority of the stores. So how do you snag a great deal? Here are a few tricks you can use to get some of the best cell phone deals available:

1. Get a great mobile phone plan to go with your cell phone. These days, getting a cell phone plan will automatically net you some great deals.

2. If you already have an account with a particular cell phone carrier, shop at their stores and keep an eye out for certain cell phones that they might be promoting. These cell phones will be on offer and you can get some great deals on them.

3. Look out for smaller retail shops that are having a sale or discount for that week. You’d never know what great cell phone deals you could get, even if it’s from a smaller store or branch.

4. Shopping online is a great way to get some of the best cell phone deals. Mobile phones are cheaper online (even after delivery charge) because you don’t have to pay the seller an expensive dealer fee.

5. Look out for cell phone deals that include a lot of free gifts with the mobile phone. A nifty hands free kit or pouch is always nice to have.

And to get really a good deal on your mobile phone plan, you might want to consider the following:

1. Make sure that voicemail is included in your cell phone plan at no extra cost. Most cell phone carriers provide this feature but there are a few which still charge for voicemail. That’s no deal at all, especially when a majority of cell phone carriers or plans will get you unlimited voicemail options.

2. If you travel a fair bit, then get a regional mobile phone plan. It’s a great cell phone deal because regional plans have the best mixture of minutes and features, with the best prices. An example of a great regional feature would be the ability to make long distance calls for free!

3. For any cell phone plan, make sure the deals include at least 150 anytime minutes. If you feel that you’re going to make more calls than that, then aim for a higher number.

Free cell phone reviews at http://www.cool-cell-phones.com! Find out more before you buy new or used cell phones online.

In 2004 the terms VoIP, internet phone service and IP phone were foreign to almost everyone except technology professionals and geeky computer types. Now most people I talk with are at least slightly familiar with these terms, as the internet phone service market is now starting to take off. Contrary to what many people believe, VoIP is not a new technology. It was introduced to the public in 1995, by a company called Vocaltec. By using internet phone software, registered users could make phone calls via their computer using a dialup internet connection. I made my first internet phone call in 2000 using my computer, a headset, a dialup internet connection and a free account with Net2Phone. The sound quality was terrible, but it was an absolutely fascinating experience to be making a free long distance call over my computer. Now in 2005, ten years after the first commercial use of VoIP, the technology is finally ready for prime time!

Significant improvements have been made with VoIP in the past five years, and communications companies have started investing heavily in the technology. The quality and reliability of service has improved so much within the past year or so that VoIP is now suitable and reliable enough for everyday residential and business use. In fact, so much attention is now being given to the continued improvement of VoIP technology that it’s well on it’s way to becoming the PREFERRED method of communication by home users and businesses alike.

There were around 1.5 million internet phone users in the USA in 2004, and around 2.1 million today according to Telecommunications Industry News. According to various statistics I’ve seen, the number of VoIP users in the United States is projected to be around 17 to 18 million between 2008 and 2010. This in an increase of over 1000% within the next 3 to 5 years! Experts also estimate that by 2007, 75% of long distance calls worldwide will be made via the internet. The US is currently not the biggest user of VoIP technology - there are about 7 million users in Japan out of approximately 12 million worldwide today. The internet phone industry is booming, and will continue to grow over the next decade. It seems that everyone including EBay wants in on the exploding VoIP market now, as evidenced by their purchase of VoIP provider Skype in September 2005.

More people are showing interest in obtaining Internet Phone Service because they are starting to hear more about it. This is due in part to more “converted users” raving about the amount of money they are saving and the great features they get for free (I love my VoIP service so much I wrote a website about it!). A greater awareness has also come from increased advertising efforts by major cable and communications companies. Many cable television and phone service companies (like Verizon) have been pouring money into VoIP technology in order to capture some of this new market share.

In an effort to hold on to their customers, many regular PSTN (public switched telephone network) phone companies are now offering “unlimited long distance calling” for a flat monthly fee of around $39 per month. Current subscribers are starting to cancel their traditional phone service as they are convinced that VoIP is a better option. Not only is VoIP cheaper (under $25 a month for unlimited calling), but most Internet Phone providers throw in all of the optional features for free. Phone companies charge extra for services like voicemail, caller id and call waiting. I think phone companies have missed the boat when it comes to competing with VoIP, but that’s a topic for another article……

With all of the telephone service options now available, it is becoming difficult for consumers to choose the right provider for their needs:

Should you subscribe with a true VoIP service service provider (like Vonage, Packet8, SunRocket, Voip.net, etc…), or should you choose the phone service that your cable company provides? If you compare VoIP provider rates with those of the cable company, “pure” VoIP providers are clearly the winner. Cable companies do provide free installation, but VoIP is really very simple to install. Many cable companies offer discount through “package deals”, but it’s always smart to compare total cost and included features with VoIP providers before making a decision.

Should you switch to VoIP and get rid of your landline phone, or keep what you’ve got and pay for unlimited long distance calling? If you don’t use the internet, keep your landline phone and forget about VoIP for now. To get the most bang for your buck out of VoIP service, you need to have cable internet service. This eliminates the need for a phone line and “dial tone” that you have to pay the phone company for. To use VoIP in the most cost effective way, calls should go through your cable broadband connection - this eliminates the need for standard phone service. VoIP does not work well over dial up internet; you really need broadband in order to get the best audio quality.

Depending on your long distance calling habits, VoIP internet phone service can save you between 20% - 80% per year vs. traditional PSTN phone service. The technology is mature now and the quality of service is great (and getting better all the time). It’s hard to beat unlimited local and long distance calling for less than $25 per month, plus you get free voicemail, caller id, call waiting, call return, and all the other features you’re used to paying extra for.

VoIP is definitely here to stay, and cost savings is only one of the many benefits it offers. Internet phones will change the way the world communicates. It’s now possible to live in another country and have a US phone number, you can have several “virtual” phone numbers in different states or travel the world and bring your home phone with you. It’s an exciting time in the world of communications - are you ready to switch to VoIP?

(c) Copyright 2005, Debbie Jacobsen. All rights reserved.

To learn more about Packet8 VoIP service, visit http://www.savewith8.com. For more information on VoIP internet phone service, visit my blog: Internet Phone Service - The Future is Here.

Don’t Be Fooled When You Shop For New Cell Phones. When You Buy The Latest Mobile Phone, Make Sure It’s Really New.

So you’re thinking of buying the latest mobile phone and your friend says “Why not get a used cell phone? It’s cheaper and just as good!” Now that isn’t quite accurate. It may be true that you can get a fairly new second-hand cell phone at a cheaper price, but the question remains, why would you want to?

In the past, new cell phones used to be much more expensive and it was probably better to get a used mobile phone because of the price. But these days, it’s quite different. New cell phones are more reasonably priced and they come with great cell phone plans that you don’t want to miss out on. Obviously, you won’t be able to enjoy these offers when you buy a used phone.

It’s also true that you can still get some of the latest mobile phones when you buy them second-hand. But why would you want to buy a reconditioned phone? It may look like a new cell phone but you wouldn’t know if it has ever been broken or if any of its parts have been removed or replaced. If you’re shopping for the newest cell phones in the market, then you might as well get a brand new phone. The only reason you might want to get a used phone is because the mobile phone model that you’re interested in is either out-of-date or out of stock.

Honestly, if you’re looking to buy a new cell phone, then you might as well head to the store and get the latest mobile phone on offer. At the very least, you know that it’s new out of the box, and there is a negligible risk of your new cell phone breaking down for no apparent reason.

Free cell phone reviews at http://www.cool-cell-phones.com! Find out more before you buy new or used cell phones online.