Most people don't know that they already have everything they need to start saving money using internet telephony, or VoIP. All you have to have is a regular telephone and high-speed internet access. That's it! If you have both of those, you are ready to start saving loads of money on local and long distance phone calls.

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:

Internet Phone Service has numerous advantages over traditional telephone service. The most obvious is the cost benefits. If you have a high-speed internet connection, you can make phone calls from PC-to-PC anywhere in the world for FREE! More common PC-to-Phone calls usually come with a small charge but are still much cheaper than regular phone service.

For a small monthly fee, you can sign up with a VoIP service provider and get unlimited calls within the country! International calls can also be made for a fraction of the cost of regular service.

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:

Unfortunately, there are a couple of minor drawbacks you may experience. The first is the fact that you would loose service during a power outage and the other is limited emergency calling.

Conventional phone service continues by the current supplied through the phone line during 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.

Emergency (911) calls are another concern for many potential customers as well. In the event that you need to call 911 but can't speak or have to leave, your call can be traced when dialed from a traditional phone. However, this is not the case with VoIP. Fortunately, there is currently technology being developed called 'e911' that will make this possible, so this will not be a problem for much longer.

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.

Your internet connection speed and the distance of the call are the two biggest factors in the quality of the call. If you are in a high-traffic area this may also cause some loss in the quality of the conversation. Once again, technology is constantly being improved on and this is becoming less and less of an inconvenience.

While the disadvantages mentioned above currently present minor problems, it is expected that these will be corrected by the year 2008 and VoIP technology will have become the industry standard for telephone communication.

About The Author
Mark Hipp is an avid technology and amatuer radio enthusiast. He also manages several websites including:
http://www.vonage-broadband-phone-service.com
http://www.ipod-nano-store.com
http://www.goodasnewmusic.com

To be honest, I think that wireless hot spots are really amazing. Being able to walk into a local coffee shop or library, turn on a laptop computer, and instantly be able to surf the internet at a relatively high speed is simply wonderful. I think that it is one of the most beneficial of the recent advancements in wireless technology.

I purchased personal digital assistant (PDA) that is equipped with wireless technology about a year ago. It allows me to use a stripped-down version of Internet Explorer and access information through wireless hot spots just like laptops and desktop computers. I can literally hold the entire Internet in the palm of my hand with my little wireless-enabled PDA.

This gadget also allows me to watch videos, check my email, or text message my friends. It comes in handy again and again, when I want to know what movies are playing or when Im checking my email while waiting for my bus at a bus stop thats conveniently located near a librarys wireless hot spot. However, wireless-enabled devices like my PDA or most peoples laptops need to be fairly near to a wireless hot spot in order for the connection to be established. This means that I may have to roam around while looking for good connections.

The search for wireless hot spots has even lead to war driving? This is a practice of questionable legality where people drive around in their cars with laptops setup to search out unlocked public and private wireless networks. Many different businesses are picking up on the trend, and they are now offering wireless hot spots in coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores.

A lot of businesses are nice enough to provide wireless hot spots for free. However, if you use their wireless connection, you may feel compelled to patronize these places to encourage them to keep their access free. Some chains offer free wireless at all of their locations, making it pretty easy for people to track down free wireless hot spots.

Some coffee shops offer wireless connections with purchases, but most of the other wireless hot spots require payment to access the service. This can come either through a subscription to the service provider or through a credit card payment. There are also some websites that keep track of these free hotspots. They usually work with Mapquest or Google maps to provide maps of free hot spots.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Wireless Hot Spots. Visit our site for more helpful information about Wireless Internet Hot Spots and other similar topics.

iPhone music downloads must be one thing on the mind of all proud iPhone owners. After all, the new advanced technologys baby allows playing up to 100 stored songs, apart from functioning as a regular cell phone. With such possibilities, it would be a sin to leave your wonderful gizmo empty.

Fortunately, there are websites for iPhone music downloads, and they are not limited to iTunes only. Try a search and you will see that the Internet is full of choices ?from genuine and reputed to very suspiciously looking ones. However, very rarely it is clear from the first look that the site is a fraud or scammer. Most of the time, lots of marketing tricks dont let you assess the site properly and you cant see what might be wrong with it. Below are a few points to pay attention to.

What Kind of Music Files Does the Site Offer?

This should be your first concern as you expect your iPhone music downloads to be of good quality, free from dangerous elements, and compatible with your iPhone. However, if your eyes are set on a fantastic free offer, you have few chances to get all three. Music files that are shared on P2P sites are really not an alternative for your precious new iPhone as they are often infected with viruses, incomplete, or have some nasty stuff instead of the song you want.

Is the Website Easy to Navigate and Use?

You obviously dont want to waste time trying to figure out heads and tails when you attempt iPhone music downloads. If the site has complicated navigation, no search possibility, lots of confusing pop-ups and a slow downloading speed, move on. Even navigating in a non-member area should give you a good idea of what to expect from the website.

Do They Provide Full Support and Protection?

Easily reachable customer support service, protection from spyware and adware, as well as secure payment processing are signs of a good source for iPhone music downloads. Well-developed FAQ section of a website as well as its own forum, where users can help each other, is big a plus.

What Is the Payment Mode?

Apart from the pay-per-download mode, which turns out to be the costliest in the long run, there are cheaper options. Monthly or yearly subscription plans do offer a discount, but if you want to get iPhone music downloads at cheapest, consider paying for a lifetime membership. In other words, you pay only once to become a member and after that can download unlimited number of files for your iPhone absolutely free. You hardly risk anything, because the membership fee in this case is practically equal to that of a one year subscription.

Looking for quality yet affordable iPhone music downloads, assess your options carefully, read related forums and dont hesitate to ask for peoples advice.

Davion is an ardent lover of techno gizmos. He runs a hugely popular iPhone review blog where he reveals where you can find unlimited iPhone downloads for pennies. Also, read more tips about unlimited iPhone downloads download services.

For years we've relied on the telephone in order to keep in contact with one another, which is particularly useful for those with family in other countries or serving in the forces.

Now as technology moves on, so does our method of communicating with each other. Now the trend of communication appears to be switching to the online world, with handsets slowly being phased out by headsets and microphones.

With more of us now having access to cheap broadband technology many are now choosing to make the switch to using Voice Over Internet Protocol (or VoIP) in order to make calls.

The process seems simple enough; check your connection (and perform a broadband speed test) then download and install one of the many VoIP clients out there.

All that's left to do then is decide on the price plan that suits you, connect to the service, slip the headset on and chat away to your heart's content.

Many of these programs allow users to call each others' computers through their usernames for free, but for a small fee you can call landlines and mobile phones.

Broadband connections are now widely available across the UK (and indeed the world) - and with many companies now investing in ultra-fast fiber optic technology to replace the existing copper wire system, the possibilities for communication over the Internet are endless.

VoIP technology can be particularly useful if you decide to combine your usage with that of your mobile phone. Many now choose to phone landlines through VoIP technology and make use of the free minutes on their mobile phones to call others.

Businesses too are making use of VoIP technology to conduct meetings - utilising webcams in order to conduct meetings whilst still keeping the element of face-to-face communication. Many are finding this method extremely beneficial, particularly those who have departments in other countries.

Looking for better broadband? Perform a broadband speed test and compare cheap broadband providers to find a deal that suits you.