NetZero Voice

Netzero offers a very basic pc to phone voip service called NetZero Voice. The service lacks many of the features offered by its rivals, including videoconferencing and avatars, but in terms of call quality, NetZero Voice is one of the very best.

It also offers free PC-to-PC calls, voicemail, instant messaging, and an e-mail account with 1GB of storage.

So if you value the basic call quality of your voip service over the frills, NetZero Voice is an excellent choice.

NetZero Voice comes in three flavors.

The free version provides no-cost, pc-to-pc calling between NetZero Voice users. This is similar to Skype or Yahoo messenger with voice.

There are also two monthly plans. NetZero Voice 100 gives you 100 PC-to-Phone minutes in the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico & costs $3.95 per month.

The pricier version, NetZero Voice Unlimited, at $14.95 per month gets you unlimited pc-to-phone calls to the US, Canada & PR.

Cnet's editorial review had this to say about NetZero voice. "Hands down, NetZero Voice offers some of the best call quality we've experienced recently in a VoIP service. In our anecdotal tests of PC-to-PC calls, connections for both parties sounded superb, with none of the typical VoIP problems, such as latency, chop, and distortion."

NetZero also offers internet services in different flavours called NetZero Platinum, NetZero 3G and Free NetZero. Reviews of these services are available at http://www.dsldealsreview.org.

8x8 Launches New Annual Service Plan

Residential and Business VoIP SErvice provider 8x8 today announced a new annual service plan to its suite of residential voice and video Internet phone services.

The annula plans will add a new payment plan like SunRocket or Viatalk and will provide a single payment, lower cost alternative to Packet8's monthly Freedom Unlimited service plan.

The new Freedom Annual plan, like its Packet8 Freedom Unlimited Plan; offers unlimited U.S. and Canada calling, Packet8's advanced calling features and a free (after rebate) Packet8-enabled 5.8 GHz Uniden Cordless Phone System for just $199.00 per year.

"Our new Freedom Annual plan is an excellent value for Internet phone service subscribers, offering users even greater savings on Packet8 unlimited calling services along with a free, high quality expandable cordless phone system that installs in minutes and gives subscribers access to Packet8 service throughout their homes," said Huw Rees, 8x8's vice president of sales and marketing.

Packet8 recently made news when it launched Packet8 Softtalk and was discussed in one of our posts. Packet8 softalk is a computer-based application which allows you to use your PC or Laptop to make voice and video calls over your high speed internet connection...

You can read about different voip plans offered by Packet8 and read independent reviews of leading Voip Providers at http://www.voipdealsreview.org.

Viatalk Website Down?

The Viatalk website seems to be down for quite sometime this morning. I did a search on Google and didn't find any post about a schedule downtime annoucement by Viatalk....

DSL Provider Earthlink launches Small Office DSL

EarthLink introduced Small Office DSL Plus today, a high speed Internet connection that does not need a local phone line. Instead, Small Office DSL Plus works by using a line set aside for data service.

Small Office DSL Plus gives small and medium-sized business owners a new option for obtaining
high speed access. Its benefits include:
- High speed service for phone systems that do not support
line-shared DSL.
- Broadband access that works in conjunction with third party voice
systems.
- Professional installation at no extra cost and free hardware after
rebate.
Linda Beck, the executive VP and GM for EarthLink Business Solutions said "Small Office DSL Plus is the latest offering from EarthLink Business
Solutions. This service takes away the added expense of a local phone line and is a perfect solution for small and medium-sized businesses that can't get DSL from their local phone company."

Small Office DSL Plus provides customers with a fast connection with download speeds up to 6.0Mbps and upload speeds up to 768Kbps. Service
plans start at $79.95 per month. The new service is available to both new DSL users and existing EarthLink Business DSL customers.

For more information on EarthLink Business Solution's Small Office DSL
Go to Earthlink Pricing: Free equipment and free activation (after rebate) and $79.95/month for the first 12 months.
Free Wireless Router.
One static IP address.
12 email accounts100MB of email storage per email address
20 hours of free dial-up per month.


Go to Earthlink

Vonage Chairman buys Stocks worth $1.3M

Jeffrey Citron, the chairman of Vonage has bought another $1.3 million worth of vonage stock. This comes after the company's May initial public offering. Jeffrey Citron, the founder, chairman, and chief strategist of Vonage. This make him a 33% stakeholder in the company.

Citron served as chairman and CEO from January 2001 till February 2006, when he resigned from the latter post.


Read vonage reviews.

Packet8 Softalk

Packet8 recently launched a service called Softalk which is a nice addition to its VOIP and VOIP Voice products.

What is Packet8 Softalk?
Packet8 softalk is a computer-based application which allows you to use your PC or Laptop to make voice and video calls over your high speed internet connection.

So with softalk a subscriber can call traditional land lines and cell phones plus they can call both packet8 voice and video subscribers. What makes it unique is, subscribers will be able to enjoy high quality video communications when traveling, without needing to carry a separate device. All they need is a laptop with the packet8 softalk s/w loaded.

Pricing:
Softalk is available in two plans.
Softalk Basic Allows you to make FREE calls to other Packet8 users. You can order your Softalk Basic online and receive a unique account number and password. Then, start making your voice and video calls online! ItÂ’s easy to use and FREE!

Softalk Premium This plan provides you with a telephone number. Its costs only $5.99 a month, plus a one time activation charge of $9.99. For this you get 500 inbound/outbound local and long distance minutes in the US and Canada. International calls will be per packet8's international rates. With softalk premium plan you also get a ton of features such as Voicemail, Voicemail to Email, Caller ID plus most importantly the E911 service.

Systems requirements:
You will need a PC or laptop running Windows operating systems. Then you will need a headset and microphone or a USB phone for voice calls. For video use, a standard digital camera or off-the-shelf webcam is required. You won't need a webacm to receive video images.

Softalk will add momentum to Packet8's existing Freedom Unlimited VideoPhone service.

You can download Packet8 Softalk from Packet8 website.
You may read Packet8 reviews and other Voip Reviews at www.voipdealreview.org

How to Shop for a VOIP Service Provider

The advantages of switching from a regular phone service to a VOIP service are manifold. The biggest advantage being cost savings both for residential consumers and small businesses. With broadband internet (dsl and cable) having garnered a critical mass among residential customers and small businesses, voip presents itself as an extremely viable option. The cost advantage comes from the voip technology which uses the ubiquitous cheap internet as the back bone for communication.

Several companies have established themselves as worthy players in this field challenging major telecom companies. Vonage by far is the biggest voip service provider in the US and Canada followed by Packet8 , Verizon, SunRocket , Lingo and Viatalk , not in that order though. The more the number of service providers, the more confusing it becomes to choose from when you go voip shopping. Alll voip providers aren't made equal. Each provider having some advantages over the other.

There are three major yardsticks you should consider before choosing a voip company.

1. Call Quality
2. Price
3. VOIP Features

1. Call Quality - Voip being a newer technology, it still hasn't matured enough. So call quality varies between different providers. Also sometimes the call drop rate is high among some providers. Read reviews, do some research about a provider's call quality before signing up.

2. Price - Most provides have multiple price plans. The basic plan, which is always the cheapest, most providers offer is a fixed number of long distance minutes every month. Its pretty much like cell phone calling plans, where you get a few hundred minutes of long distance calls every month. Rates like $9.99 per month for 200 minutes will beat any regular phone company rates. The higher priced plans come with unlimited long distance calling in the US & Canada for a higher fixed fee. Though prices for unlimited plans are higher that the basic plans, they are still cheaper than regular phone company price plans. There are also plans tailored for small businesses which may include video conferencing.

3. VOIP Features - The most important VOIP feature you must have is the ability to make 911 emergency calls. VOIP companies provide E911 service, which is similar to the 911 service provided by the cell phone companies. Some voip providers do not provide an E911 service. Make sure your provider has a E911 service if you are dumping you regular phone company altogether and switching to a voip provider. Other features include voice mail, call forwarding, call waiting, 3 way calling, online account management, current phone number transfer and many more. Do some research and make a list of features you want to have with your voip plan and ensure the voip provider you are choosing has those features.

Promotions and Offers - Though the VOIP plan pricing are always cheaper than your regular phone company rates, most voip companies come up with limited time promotions like free 1 year or six months of service when you sign up during the promotion period. SunRocket and Viatalk seem more aggressive in offering such deals to gain some market share. If you can sign up during these ongoing promotions, it will save you some additional money. There are many voip related web sites that keep an up to date listing of the current voip promotions. These web sites also provide visitors with user and expert reviews and will be a great tool for your research and helpful in choosing the right voip provider for your need.

You may read independent VOIP reviews and keep track promotions at http://www.voipdealsreview.org. You may also sign up to get voip promotions alerts by email.