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With more players jumping into the already populated space of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP), the perceptive user has that much more choice. Vonage is a leading player in this marketplace with over a million subscribers worldwide in a short lifespan of three years. However, there is a set of negatives too, so wait until you reach the end of this review before you decide to switch from your traditional landline service to Vonage telephony.

What is Vonage and how does it differ from your landline connection? For a start, you must have a broadband connection, preferably cable-based; a dial-up is no good. When you call Vonage customer service for a connection, Vonage sends you a tiny box, which you have to plug to your telephone and your cable modem or DSL. You are now set to start a Vonage conversation.
With a Vonage connection, you have access to your telephone through your computer and the broadband connection. The other big difference from a traditional phone service is cost effectiveness; with a Vonage, you can cut your telephone bill significantly, and converse worldwide by buying local telephone numbers from Vonage.

Vonage offers a set of four monthly packages for all calls in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico: a premium unlimited offer at US$24.99, a basic plan of 500 minutes at US$14.99, a small-business unlimited package at US$49.99, and a basic small-business offer of 1500 minutes at US$39.99. For calls from the US to other world destinations, there is a nominal per-minute rate applicable, which is well below what you would pay to your landline service provider. For example, for a minute’s call to Mumbai (India), you need to pay only US$0.17; for a call to the UK, it is as low as US$0.04 per minute.

The Vonage Website lists the charges applicable to each city on its network. Perhaps the best part of Vonage is that you can carry your US telephone number to any part of the world with broadband connectivity, and call the US at local call rates. For any reason, if you are dissatisfied with Vonage services, you can opt for the 14-day (or 30-day for some packages) money-back offer. This trial period is enough time to try out the excellent features that you get with Vonage:

• An unlisted telephone number

• Call waiting, callerID

• Call forwarding, 7-digit dialing (rather than area code +number used in many markets, including Lingo)

• An innovative voicemail feature

• Repeat dial

• Dynamic periodic feature updates

However, Vonage is not all positives. Its founding premise is a bit wobbly; your connection is afloat only as long as your broadband connection is. Any Internet outage and Vonage will cease to function. Call quality is also dependent on the speed of your broadband. Then there is the question of availability of a local number for your city; Vonage may not have your city listed, so you should confirm this with Vonage customer support before deciding on the service. Vonage is facing stern competition from AT&T and Verizon, and users have preferred the call quality of AT&T to that of Vonage. Vonage is also not the cheapest VoIP service around in the marketplace.

However, Vonage is a winner on features. If you have a dependable broadband connection, need to make frequent international calls, and travel to world destinations but need to stay in touch with the US, Vonage is for you.

Hamesh Brown enjoys writing about VoIP. See http://www.voipreviewsonline.com/2005/10/vonage_review.html for another Vonage review.

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Let’s be honest, if you’re still using a pink Princess rotary phone, the explosion in communication technology has really passed you by and you’ve got a major learning curve to overcome. But if your only association with the Princess phone is viewing it in faded pictures from your on-line family photo album, VoIP could have a place in your life.

For those new to this acronym, VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol - which means nothing more than sending your call through your Internet connection instead of through telephone lines. What takes place behind the scenes is complicated, but for you the changes are pretty simple: Yank the phone cord from the jack in the wall and plug it into a port on your computer, install some software, and start saving money. That’s right - SAVE money.

The biggest selling point for VoIP is its lower cost. You save money because your provider is sending your calls over the Internet using software that sends your call along the least congested and least expensive route. They pass these savings along to you. For many, the cost of VoIP for both local and long distance can be less than the cost for local service alone. In addition, you save money directly because calls sent over the Internet are not subject to communication taxes. To see what you can save, check your last telephone bill.

Because your outgoing and incoming calls are now digital, computers can capture, manipulate, and store information about the call. This enables VoIP communication companies to offer more features — such as voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, and speed dialing - at no additional cost.

For more information about how VoIP can save you money and make your life easier, contact your local carriers.

Tony Gattuso is an Authorized Agent for Cavalier Telephone Service. As an agent he provides Cavalier VoIP service throughout the east coast.

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Strangely the Nokia 3120 classic never sold particularly well, which strange as it is actually a pretty good phone. Like other similar models from Nokia the design is quite modern and would appeal to a wide range of users.

There are countless special offers on offer to possible mobile handset customers. For instance, using a mobile phone comparison site you may get a free line rental for 12 months or a mobile phone with a free Moet Pink Champagne.

The Nokia 3120 classic is equipped with Polyphonic, MP3 ring tones along with a vibration alert . The 3120 classic has support for 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and 3G UMTS 850 / 1900 . This phone has a 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video(VGA); secondary VGA video call camera. A WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML compatible browser is also included. The Nokia 3120 classic comes equipped with bluetooth, making it as easy as possible to integrate with devices, like hands free sets or even a computer. In terms of the the display the mobile phone is fitted with a 2 inch screen, which is a disappointingly sized display for the money. The screen is a TFT, 16M colors. The Nokia 3120 classic is that is supplied with a Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh (BL-4U) battery. The Nokia 3120 classic has a battery usage of 290 hrs standby time and talk time of 1:30. Compared to other models, the 3120 classic is compact and lightweight. In terms of colours the 3120 classic can be bought in, Graphite, Plum, Powder White, Deep Red and Chestnut Brown. The 3120 classic weighs in at 85 g. There are also a number of additional features on the 3120 classic like:

Although this is one of the latest mobile handsets on the market, it remains possible to pick up a bargain on the 3120 classic.

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The N95 is not the best mobile phone Nokia have ever produced, but it remains worth evaluating. The N95 is fully featured for the price. The Nokia N95 is a very well designed mobile handset with a contemporary feel to it.

Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3 ring-tones are enabled on the Nokia N95 along with a vibrating tone. This phone is bluetooth enabled for interactivity with the majority of accessories. The display is a TFT, 16M colors. The N95 has support for 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and 3G HSDPA 850 / 1900 - US version. A 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary CIF videocall is integrated into this mobile phone camera. For those that need access to the Internet on the move a WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser is included.To allow mobile Internet access a WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser is included. The Nokia N95 is that is supplied with a Li-Ion 950 mAh (BL-5F) battery. The Nokia N95 has a battery duration of 220 hours standby time and talk time of 6:30. This handset can be bought in, Silver, Plum, Black, Pink and Red. The Nokia N95 is quite compact. The Nokia N95 weighs only 120 g. The N95 has a number of other useful features such as:

This is now quite an old phone, but still does a great job. If you see one, being sold off in a cheap end of line deal you will be able to grab a really good bargain. The most cost effective place to buy a mobile phone at the present time is on the web. Shopping online can save you a lot of money, surprisingly, it is possible to get 18 months free line rental on the Nokia N95 , which do not cost anything to run.

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