Where once business led the way in bringing the cost benefits of cheap internet telephony to the bottom line, consumers are now taking it up and driving its development. This has led to a rush of improvements by telecoms equipment makers to appeal to home users. New offerings are appearing to bridge the gap between standard telephony services and cheaper new telephony offerings.

One approach is to use wireless broadband and high-speed 3G mobile offerings as a platform to provide VoIP on mobile handsets.

It is still early days for such services, however, and the range of such offerings is limited to just a few carriers.

Another approach is to use existing instant messenging services such as MSN’s Instant Messenger as a route for IP telephony.

This, however, limits the user to contacts they have using the same IM platform.

Tech Check this week looks at another alternative: VoIP on handsets designed as dual-use devices, able to provide standard telephony as well as internet voice communications.

We chose two such devices from well-known names in the standard and DECT handset market - Uniden and Linksys, and found many similarities.

Uniden VG100 Gateway

MOST of us are pretty familiar with our computers, and are well aware of the price advantages of using the internet to make phone calls, but it’s a fair bet VoIP’s reputation as a techies’ tool has scared many people off.

Some mobile operators have started offering access to VoIP services such as Skype via wireless broadband, but it’s still hardly a mass communications tool.

Enter companies such as Uniden and Netcomm, which have released products designed to bridge the gap between conventional and internet telephony.

Take Uniden’s VG100 VoIP Gateway, a product designed to provide seamless VoIP access in the home.

Not that it does away with the need for a PC. You still need a Skype account and credits, which involve going online to sign up, and then you need to connect it, by way of a USB cable, to the computer.

After that it should be as easy as picking up your handset and making a call.

The gateway itself is small (about the size of a cigarette packet), boxy and grey, rather like an external modem or router.

Thankfully, it doesn’t need an external power source (an annoyance with the comparable Netcomm V100 offering) but requires just a standard telephone cable to a handset and the humble USB connection to a PC.

Tech Check tried it out with a Uniden DS 7960 DECT handset, which in theory should provide premium operation, but the company claims it is compatible with any standard landline handset, and will even forward calls to a mobile phone.

Dialling out on a Skype account (once you have it set up) is just a matter, then, of hitting the hash button twice to access a Skype out tone.

According to Uniden, the unit’s echo cancellation technology and full duplex sound quality provides superior call quality to older or standard VoIP services.

I still found the quality mixed, more dependent on the volume of network traffic than the technology itself.

Still, VoIP users should be pretty used to this at the moment, and those with the technical knowhow and resources can always try tweaking it.

On the plus side, the gateway is a pretty inexpensive introduction to VoIP for newbies. We’re talking less than $100.

The promise of ease-of-use and seamless operability may well be in the eye of the beholder, but it’s a lot better than some similar products I’ve tried.
- Roland Tellzen

SPECIFICATIONS
Features: PSTN and Skype dialling; echo cancellation and full duplex sound quality; automatic switching between Skype and standard phone calls
Price: $99
More at: www.uniden.com.au
Rating: 8/10Linksys CIT400 iPhone

NO, it’s not the more famous Apple device, but until the Cupertino computer maker gets around to releasing a handset, and a 3G one at that, this is a far more desirable and useful piece of gear.

In fact, while the current configuration of Apple’s iPhone makes it difficult to understand why hundreds of thousands of North Americans have shelled out up to $US599 ($698) each to own one, there are very few reasons not to spend a comparatively meagre $240 with Linksys.

Sure the Linksys iPhone doesn’t have a flashy interface, nor does it play music, but it does let you make free and cheap calls over the internet without having to plug into a computer.

It also connects to a standard phone line so you’re not wedded to VoIP.

The real beauty of the CIT400 iPhone is that it looks like a regular cordless phone and for the most part acts like one as well.

The only thing that gives away its internet heritage is the small base station that needs to be tethered to a broadband router via ethernet.

The iPhone’s cradle is wireless, so even if the base station needs to be near a PC the handset can be kept in any room.

When you want to make a VoIP call, the iPhone taps into a built-in Skype service and new accounts can be set up using the handset or online.

Skype-to-Skype calls cost nothing, while billing rates for Skype to mobile and landline calls start at 2.7c per minute, according to the VoIP company’s website.

For outgoing calls, the main way the CIT400 differs from a regular phone is that it asks if you want to dial out using VoIP.

If you want to ditch your old landline, traditional phone numbers are available through Skype’s website, so people can call you even if they’re on a fixed line or mobile phone.

Be warned, though, call routing has led some local Skype users to complain of lag when using VoIP to place calls to fixed lines and mobiles in Australia.

All things considered, there were really only two bones we had to pick with this product.

The first is that you can’t purchase Skype credit through the iPhone handset, you have to go online.

The second is that if you’re a regular computer-based user of Skype, your contact list won’t automatically sync with the handset.

That’s a nuisance, but as far as we’re concerned it’s a small price to pay.
- Ben Woodhead

SPECIFICATIONS
Features: PSTN and voice over IP dialling; cordless handset; wireless cradle and charger; base station with ethernet and RJ11 sockets
Price: $239.95
More at: www.linksys.com.au
Rating: 9/10CONCLUSION

AS yet, no fixed-line telecoms maker has been able to completely cut the link between VoIP and the PC, although mobile services such as Hutchison’s X service may be a pointer to future directions.

That said, both products this week offered a good compromise between standard fixed-line handsets and VoIP.

The Linksys product edges to the lead mainly on its ease of use, but both are well designed to help newbies get their heads around the benefits of telephony over the internet.