Compare FREE Phone Systems Price Quotes from Multiple Dealers

Are long-distance bills stretching your budget beyond your means? It might be time to test out a Net phone.

How do Net phones work?

A Net phone is software that sets up a two-way voice connection between two PCs so you can make free phone calls via the Internet. Your PC is your phone.

That means, of course, that the person you want to connect with will also need to download the software. But the software and the calls are free for all; you pay only the usual monthly fee for your Internet connection to your ISP.

All your computer will need is a sound card with a microphone and speakers (or a headset). And Net phones generally require somewhere between 4 - 6 MB of hard disk space.

What's new about today's Net phones?

Better sound and speed. The latest crop of Net phones sound a lot better than their software predecessors of a year or two ago. They are also much easier and faster to download. You can have a Net phone running on your screen within minutes of downloading the software.

Cool features. You can also use Net phones to turn a regular phone call into a truly interactive experience:

• Exchange documents while talking.
• Supplement your conversation with text chat.
• Use a computer-based electronic whiteboard to draw and write comments on the very same document that both you and your phone buddy can see.

Downsides

But we don't recommend ripping your analog phone out of the wall just yet.

As much as the sound has improved, it's still not quite up to snuff with regular analog telephones.

Plus, listeners may still experience a second or two of delay in hearing what the speaker says.

Bottom line

Although for now you probably won't want to hold any important calls with clients using a Net phone, you may find the quality more than adequate for long-distance calls with your employees in remote offices.

And when you're on the road, you can also save yourself some long distance charges by downloading a Net phone on your laptop computer.

Some Net phones to try:

• Buddy Phone 2.06
• NetMeeting 3.01
• MediaRing Talk 7.2
• Net2Phone 10.0
• Microsoft PhoneFree 6.0

Instant Vendor Comparison

Select the vendors that you would like to compare