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Skype 2.5
skype.com

Once upon a time, Voice Over Internet Protocol used to be a fringe technology, but as more and more people get broadband connections in their homes and offices, more and more people are becoming interested in VoIP technology. VoIP, essentially, is an Internet-based telephone protocol, allowing users to connect directly to each other over the ‘net. As VoIP becomes more popular, there’s also a huge push to connect VoIP service to the regular telephone backbone, allowing people on their computers to “phone” regular land-line telephones, and vice versa.

One of the things that really got interest in VoIP heated up is a VoIP application known as Skype. Set up like an instant messaging program, Skype allows users to keep a contact list of their friends and family in a window showing whether they’re online or offline. When two users are both online and connected to the Skype server, one of them can initiate a “call” to the other; the Skype server will let both parties know the exact internet address of the other, and then the users’ Skype clients will create a direct peer-to-peer connection between the two users.

While calls between Skype users have always been free over the Internet, Skype has recently announced that until the end of 2006, users will be able to try to the SkypeOut service for free, allowing Skype users to call any land line located in the United States and Canada. In other words, now’s a great time to give Skype a try, if you haven’t already.

While the free calls are certainly a nice bonus, one of the other key selling feature for Skype is that Skype-to-Skype calls use wideband audio, for higher quality voice connections. With a landline, the voice is extremely compressed and tinny, but with Skype calls, it’s almost like you’re there in person. In fact, many members of the TWiT.tv family do the podcasts over Skype, and apart from a bit of delay from time to time, it would be hard to tell that the participants weren’t in the same room.

The popularity of the Skype service has led to a variety of associated products, like wired and wireless headsets/handsets. Not only are there a number of premium-priced USB headsets now popping up, there are also a growing number of products that are designed like a more traditional telephone unit, but with added functionality designed to make us of Skype-specific features.

Cyberphone-W
www.voipvoice.com
$50
There’s a lot of VOIP hardware out there, but a lot of the products designed to work with your computer are Windows-specific product. VOIP Voice has now addressed the problem with a Mac-ready product called the Cyberphone-W. The Cyberphone-W looks like a remarkably slim telephone handset, complete with a cord, but this one plugs into your Mac’s USB ports instead of into a phone jack. It has a couple different buttons than the usual handset: this one features a Skype button for toggling between Skype feature, a volume control that doubles as a scroll control for the Skype menu, a pause/hold button on the handset, and a voicemail button along the back of the handset.