Compare VoIP software

Without a doubt the most popular soft phone is Skype. There are millions of users around the world, and their proprietary transmission protocol and compression schemes offer surprisingly good sound quality. Other contenders to the field include The Gizmo Project, Free World Dialup, and a new one from Google called GoogleTalk.

Skype is the most popular free service and seems to be the model that other VoIP soft phones are based on. All Skype-to-Skype calls are FREE no matter where or when you call. In addition Skype has several premium services like the SkypeIn and SkypeOut services.

With SkypeIn you get a real phone number that people can dial from their old-fashioned phones to reach you at your computer, no matter where in the world you are. The SkypeIn phone numbers are available in several different countries including the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Voice mail is included with SkypeIn.

If you want to call someone that hasn't downloaded Skype yet, you can use the SkypeOut service. This service lets you call landlines and mobile phones around the world at local rates. Even if you're calling another Skype user, they might not have access to an internet connection at the time you would like to call.

Skype can be used with a headset plugged into your computer or with an Internet phone that plugs into the USB port. The Internet phone offers a 'real' phone experience -- the handset is just like any other telephone and includes a keypad for dialling numbers.

The Gizmo Project is similar to Skype. It has a Call In service but phone numbers are only available in the United States and the United Kingdom. Call Out rates start at 1.8 cents per minute to the United States and go up to 4.9 cents to places like Portugal and Sweden.

However, Gizmo has a few features that Skype does not have. Because it uSes the SIP protocol, Gizmo can be used to connect to users of other SIP services. This feature expands the user base considerably. Gizmo also allows you to record calls and use sound effects during calls and you can set up three-way conference calls with other Gizmo users or with people on the regular phone network.

FWD (Free World Dialup) is a VoIP service provider that also has a soft phone service. Like Skype and Gizmo, calls are free within the FWD network, and connecting to the PSTN cost just a few cents per minute. FWD also has full VoIP service packages which allow you to use your traditional phone equipment for making Internet phone calls.

GoogleTalk has just recently been released and is only available to people who have a Gmail account (also from Google). It looks and feels very similar to Skype and Gizmo, but gives you a choice of communicating via e-mail, instant messaging, or voice.

GoogleTalk, however, does not allow you to connect to the PSTN, nor does it give you the option of having a real landline telephone number. It is similar to MSN messenger or Windows messenger -- an instant messaging system with voice capabilities.

GoogleTalk does not seem to use SIP for connecting with other soft phone services, but they do use open-source standards which allows GoogleTalk to be connect with other instant messaging applications like iChat and GAIM.

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