10 replies to this topic

[Randy&Bonnie]

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[eatingupblacktop]

Yeah, I've been using it for over a year now. Service is up and down. I think it depends on how many subscribers are on line at any particular time. You'll have to get a voip phone that has the echo cancelling and improved sound circuitry. When it's good, it's a nice feeling to keep some of that coin in your own pocket instead of feeding the telcos. When it's bad, you'll get breaks in the connection, poor sound quality, substantial delay, and in the worst case, dropped calls. I don't use it for client calls, but I do for suppliers, friends, etc., unless the call gets dropped. Then I have to call back using 1010 and blame the dropped call on a weak cell batt.

It makes for a good backup in the event something happens to your landliine. It's also the cheapest thing on the market right now, but they have bugs to work out. The most annoying aspect is when a call is dropped, your browser comes up asking for a quality report that feedsback to them. I think they should know that your call has been dropped and not insult you by asking if your happy with the quality of the service. If they ever get the kinks out of the system, the telcos will be hurting bigtime. On the other hand, when you get a solid connection you can spend hours on your call at $0. It's even cheap enough for multi millionaires to try out. The various phones/headsets/speakerphones, etc are like $50 - $100.

[1990LS400]

All you need to do video calls on Skype is a decent video camera/microphone plugged into a USB port on your PC ... and of course a stable high speed broadband Internet connection. And your PC has to have speakers. My parents are in the mid-80s and use Skype all the time to see and talk with their kids and grandkids scattered around the U.S. I use Skype to do a visual check on their health since they live 200 miles away.

As "Blacktop" said, call quality is sometimes not good. Video quality is sometimes poor but, hey, its free. When you see the number of current online users (shown at the bottom right of the Skype screen) top 10,000,000 you can almost count on call quality being poor.

[Randy&Bonnie]

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[eatingupblacktop]

Yeah you can surf while on the phone, but it does cut into your bandwidth. Keep in mind that it's based on a peertopeer connection, meaning, while you're connected to skype, their using your bandwidth whether or not you're making a call. I would also advise you to use the "invisible" setting. Don't use a webcam, so can't say. There are portable skype phones that will work outside of home if you're in a wifi area. A little more cumbersome, but you can use it with a wireless laptop/notebook on location, again as long as there's wifi or dialup service. Skype has all kinds of helper apps, like an incoming call number, call recorders, answering service, conference calling, etc. Same principal as vonage but, less expensive and less reliable. It's also a free service only to other skypers. You can call non-skype landlines, and at a higher rate, cell numbers, but you have to subscribe. Subscription is still crazy cheap. Try it - you can subscribe on a monthly basis. For the cost of a latte and a few donuts you can find out whether it's for you. Buy a skype/voip phone and if you decide not to continue with the service just return/exchange the phone.

[SKperformance]

I would not compare vonage to skype as it is a huge difference in audio alaone.
Everyone know you are not calling form a landline on skype as it is echoey or muffled (usually mic related) .
Besides vonage uses a normal phone so as long as your internet is stable no one but your pocket will know the difference.
Skype is good for the occasinal or casual traveller but not a home phone.

[eatingupblacktop]

Everyone know you are not calling form a landline on skype as it is echoey or muffled (usually mic related) .

If you go through a mic and your computer with just the Skype software, agreed, you will have inferior audio quality. The current crop of skype/voip phones on the market however, have improved substantially. Most have noise and echo cancelling filters and circuits. If you buy at the upper price level, the audio is comparable to a standard home phone. The quality for the speaker phones also depends on what you use. You have to do the research and read the reviews before buying.

There is even software now available, that will allow you to use your home phone or your computer (with a mic) and supposedly contains the same audio improvements. Haven't researched them because I have a dedicated phone and find the service itself not reliable enough to use it as a replacement for a landline.

Skype is owned by Google, so I'm sure with their resources, when they get serious about competing with the Telcos, we will see the service become as stable as Vonage/landlines. Unfortunately, when that happens, you can prob expect the price to go up as well.

[Randy&Bonnie]

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[cduluk]

It's nice to prank call people with, using the computer speaking robot

[SKperformance]

I was sure Skype is owned by Ebay not google.
If you calling others who have Skype and not in need of a home replacement , skype is good enough to use .

[eatingupblacktop]

I was sure Skype is owned by Ebay not google.
If you calling others who have Skype and not in need of a home replacement , skype is good enough to use .

My bad, I knew it was one of those conglomerates. Nevertheless, they've got the bucks to make this thing work. I guess it's a matter of timing.