NetPhones
Deltathree.com
Offers free PC-to-phone calls to the
US and PC-to-PC calls elsewhere. The service is currently rated very highly
for consistently good voice quality. It sports a clean interface, handy
address book, voice mail and free calls for directory assistance. The
downside of this service, however, is limited speed dial facility and
too many flashing banner ads.
Dialpad.com
Dialpad also offers free PC-to-phone
and PC-to-PC calls. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface and good voice
quality. The service also offers address book and voice mail facilities.
However, the company ad takes up a lot of space, resulting in two separate
windows, one for dialing and one for the address book.
Firetalk.com
The advantage with using Firetalk
is its Instant messaging service. This is in addition to free PC-to-PC
calls and voice mail. The interface, however, is crowded and it does not
offer a PC-to-phone facility.
HotTelephone.com
This service offers free overseas
PC-to-phone calls, but no PC-to-PC calls or voice mail. Another disadvantage
is the flashing ads in the browser dialing window.
MediaRing.com
Media ring allows the user to make
free PC-to-phone calls to the US and China. Coupled with a great looking
interface, the service offers free PC-to-PC calls, voice mail and lets
you send e-mail messages using streaming technology.
Net2Phone.com
Net2Phone was earlier a pay service.
Now, they offer free PC-to-phone, free PC-to-PC calls, voice mail and
fax services. A subscriber also gets a free headset after purchasing call
time (US/Canada only).
Pagoo.com
Apart from having free PC-to-phone
calls and voice mail, Pagoo enables you to receive calls when you're online.
It also has Caller ID, address book and free calls to directory assistance.
A big advantage is that there are no irritating ads to distract the user.
The service, however, does not offer PC-to-PC calls.
PhoneFree.com
Phonefree offers free PC-to-phone,
PC-to-PC calls, Voice mail and video conferencing, video mail, buddy lists,
and free calls to directory assistance. The only disadvantage with this
service is that you can't minimise the program window when making a call.
ZeroPlus.com
This service offers free PC-to-PC
calls, voice mail as well as call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID,
buddy lists, speed-dial, online billing, white pages and a handy text-chat
feature. The downside is an ungainly interface as well as no PC-to-phone
call facilities.
TalkFree:(www.i-link.net)
TalkFree uses a PC only to initiate
the call. The user does not require a headset, sound card, or other PC
devices. The user types his phone number into a field on I-Link's Web
site, then enters the number he wants to call, in another field. I-Link
calls the user back on a land line and asks him to confirm the friend's
number. The call then goes through and the two people can talk to each
other on their regular phones. Like other Internet phones, TalkFree uses
the Internet for transmission, but because of I-Link's proprietary hardware
and software, the voice quality is phenomenal.
Compiled
by Suhana D Basu
[email protected]