We’ve asked our sources for screen shots of what Google Voice Desktop looks like. We didn’t get those, but we did get something better – the actual application. We’ve taken a video (above) showing what the application looks like, showing both outbound and inbound calls. This is mostly still branded Gizmo5, although the sign up screen says “Gizmo5 by Google,” and it is fully integrated with the Google Voice service, address book, etc. The Desktop application was also automatically added as one of my phones in the Google Voice for the browser. We don’t know if this is the current internal release or something more dated.

The test calls in the video above were done without a headset, I just used the internal microphone and speakers. I also left in the random Skype call I received in the middle of the video that I thought was Google Voice just because I was thoroughly confused for a minute.

We continue to urge Google to release this software. It gives people an extra way to use Google Voice and is particularly useful when traveling overseas, where Google Voice doesn’t yet work. You can use Skype and buy a Skype-In number for €50/year to duplicate much of this functionality, but that’s just a ridiculous price to pay for a soft phone in our opinion.

My first request to Google is not to block me from using the application. My second request is to reconsider their decision to delay or scrap the project and give the people what they want – Google Voice Desktop.

Vonage has come up with this nifty little phone on a stick (a USB stick that is) that turns your laptop into low-cost phone and virtual office.

Set-up could not be easier – you just take the lid off the USB stick and plug it into a USB port. The software launches itself from the USB stick. Dialling is via an on-screen virtual keypad and you can dial by typing the numbers in or by clicking with your mouse.

The Vonage V Phone headset, consists of a pair of ear buds, a microphone bead and a clip to attached it to your clothing, plugs into the side of the USB stick.

Call quality is generally good.  One cool feature is that the V-Phone has an assigned virtual landline telephone number . This means that anyone can call you , wherever you happen to be, by calling the number assigned to your phone. It’s a handy way for your contacts to call you without racking up huge bills.

Voicemail is supplied so if your laptop is switched off or you don’t have the USB stick plugged in, you won’t miss a call.

The system works through a broadband internet connection, either wireless or wired, so you’ll be able to use the V-Phone in plenty of places. Remember that some hotspot providers ban the use of internet telephony services like this from their networks.

 The  VPhone is good if your doing lots of international travelling, where it is a lot cheaper than a mobile and it gives people the ability to call you on a fixed landline which is cool.

 Compare Vonage and Skype tariffs and features for Vonage Vplan UK. Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Skype Unlimited Europe, Vonage VPlan 5, free calls to 45 countries, Skype Unlimited World free calls to 34 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 25 countries, Vonage Vplan 2 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan. See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

To use the Skype Phone you need to pay a monthly subscription or pay for a handset then pay as you go.

So the Skype Phone is a mobile Phone that also allows you to make free Skype to Skype telephone calls.  3-Mobile provides the mobile telephone network and Skype does the VoIP part. 

If you want a good basic mobile which is cheap to use and have a network of contacts who all use Skype, this handset is ideal.

The Skype Phone can be purchased on an 18-month contract from the 3Store.

The Skype Phone handset is manufactured by handset maker Amoi. The Skype Mobile/VoIP combo phone, because that’s what it is offers a slim design and cool backlit buttons.  You can access the 3-Mobile network and 3’s Planet 3, to access tunes, games, and mobile tv clips, news and content from the likes of MTV and Warner Bros.

Accessing Skype is pretty straightforward – you can set up a new account or access an existing one when you press the Skype button. Now this isn’t full-blown Skype here. You can’t use it to access SkypeIn and SkypeOut services – the ones that let you have your own follow-me telephone number and for you to call any landline or mobile number for a small fee. This is understandable – 3 wants you to use its network for this purpose.

Sound quality is generally good and with no problems with dropped calls in the time I have been using it.

 Compare Vonage and Skype tariffs and features for Vonage Vplan UK. Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Skype Unlimited Europe, Vonage VPlan 5, free calls to 45 countries, Skype Unlimited World free calls to 34 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 25 countries, Vonage Vplan 2 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan. See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

Given the title Vonage Mobile the free VoIP app enables users to place international calls from their mobile devices. iPod Touch owners can do so by placing calls through Wi-Fi. BlackBerry owners will transmit calls over the cellular network only. iPhone owners will be able to place calls from Wi-Fi through the AT&T’s network in the United States.

While the international service is available on both cellular and Wi-Fi, free domestic calls in the US can be made over Wi-Fi on the iPhone and iPod Touch without using up minutes. Existing customer contacts and cell phone numbers will be used for connections.

Vonage expects dynamic growth for the company as mobile devices become more advanced, high speed broadband becomes more prevalent, and 3G/4G networks become more open.  Recent pushes in mobile tech have buoyed a sharper rise in VoIP use.

According to Vonage, its app will help users save up to 50 percent on international calling charges levied by carriers. After downloading the app, users need to enter an international number. They can also select a call recipient from their existing iPhone or BlackBerry contacts list. Those who receive calls will see the user’s cell phone number on their caller IDs. Charges will be taken against the user’s credit card, which they need to input when they first start using the app.

Vonage’s app launch comes on the heels of controversy over whether Google’s similar Voice app should have been denied access to Apple’s App Store. Vonage’s new mobile app is available now in Apple’s App Store and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry App World. Both versions are free.

See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

Compare Vonage and Skype tariffs and features for Vonage Vplan UK. Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Skype Unlimited Europe, Vonage VPlan 5, free calls to 45 countries, Skype Unlimited World free calls to 34 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 25 countries, Vonage Vplan 2 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan. See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

It is now expected that Google Voice will now:

Include tools as automatic voicemail transcription, SMS support, conference calling, and low-cost international calling to it’s existing 1.4 million users.

The Google Voice subscription total pales in comparison to the nearly 500 million users Skype enjoys worldwide, but unlike Skype, Google Voice users must have an existing phone carrier to use the service.

Google acquired Gizmo5 in November 2009, a maker of so-called softphone software that will enable Google Voice to operate like Skype by letting users place calls via the Web from one PC to another or from a PC to a landline or mobile phone.

In addition, with VoIP termination expertise from Gizmo5 it is quite possible that Google can finally compete not just with SkypeOut, but can become a full phone service provider like Vonage.

2010 will be an interesting year for VoIP and I have no doubt Google will have some interesting VoIP news up their sleeves.

See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

Compare Vonage and Skype tariffs and features for Vonage Vplan UK. Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Skype Unlimited Europe, Vonage VPlan 5, free calls to 45 countries, Skype Unlimited World free calls to 34 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 25 countries, Vonage Vplan 2 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan. See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

A number of expects including Chad Behling, of open source software company RockBochs, expect market growth in the VoIP sector over the next few years “as bandwidth increases and users adjust to declining analogue lines”.

He went on to add that the global economic slowdown has actually been beneficial to manufacturers of VoIP products as businesses want to cut down on their external communications costs and VoIP can be an effective way to do this.

It has been estimated that VoIP and telephony are set set to expand during 2010, with the unified communications and collaboration market reaching a value of $7.4 billion (£4.6 billion) by the end of the year.

Advances in networking technologies over the past few years have had a significant impact on the way businesses deploy telephony services and has stepped up the industry’s shift from PSTN, or old fashioned fixed lined telephony towards Voice over IP (VoIP) based offerings.

Chad Behling believes that said there will be significant market growth in the VoIP sector over the next few years as bandwidth increases and the use of analogue lines declines.

He explained that the VoIP sector has benefited from the global economic crisis, because firms are looking to cut down on external communication costs and are turning to VoIP providers such as Skype and Vonage in order to do this.  He added that the ”explosive growth path” is expected to continue well into 2010.

See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

Compare Vonage and Skype tariffs and features for Vonage Vplan UK. Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Skype Unlimited Europe, Vonage VPlan 5, free calls to 45 countries, Skype Unlimited World free calls to 34 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 25 countries, Vonage Vplan 2 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan. See the Smeology VoIP Comparison Guide for all the best Voice Over IP deals

Desktop:  today’s desktop IP phones typically include single-line access, a limited number of interactive soft keys and a screen with browsing and instant messaging capabilities.  Top of the range IP phones also  feature a backlit, high-resolution,  touch screen for easy access to communications information  applications and special features.

Wireless: Wireless IP phones are becoming more and more popular with the increase of wireless networks.   That’s because wireless IP phones contain a wifi adaptot that allows it to connect to a wifi network.  Although slightly more expensive than wired phones, wireless devices can deliver long-term cost savings, with access to cheaper Voice over Ip (VoIP) vendors such as Skpe and Vonage.

Conferencing: IP conferance phones offer  instant, face-to-face communication between two or more participants. Ideally suited for small or medium-sized conference rooms, these specialty phones incorporate a camera, speaker, keypad and handset in a single unit.

Client Matter Code or CMC: This featrure allows businesses to bill each of their organisational units for calls made and identify which areas receive which volume of calls.  After being specified by a system administrator, the CMC can provide billing information to each department for accounts purposes.

Corporate Directory: IP phones with this feature have a soft key or button which lets users place a call to a number in the directory listing. Searchable directories appear  on the phone’s display for easy to access.

Smeology provides a Voice over ipVoip Comparison section  , Skype Unlimited world, Skype Unlimited Europe, Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VPlan UK, Vonage Vplan 5 free calls to 45 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan

Skype handled 33 billion cross-border minutes during 2008, a jump of 41 per cent against an industry that increased traffic by twelve per cent to 384 billion minutes.

But Skype isn’t giving everything away: 8.4 billion of those minutes were Skype-out, calls made to traditional phone lines,

While it may be the largest supplier of VoIP Skype doesn’t dominate the market: other VoIP providers were responsible for 23 per cent of international minutes, leaving traditional switched-circuit connections handling only 69 per cent of calls – down from 73 per cent during 2007.

VoIP has certainly driven operators to cut prices, meaning that the increase in international calling hasn’t led to any significant increase in revenue, but that’s always been the great thing about VoIP: even people who don’t use it are gaining from the lower prices.

Since September 2009, Skype has added 12 million more users, for a total of 66 million.

The company’s popular software lets people make free calls over the Internet from one PC to another. Skype-to-Skype minutes are growing much faster than SkypeOut and this only makes sense when you consider broadband is spreading and computers are getting much cheaper.

Smeology provides a Voice over ipVoip Comparison section  , Skype Unlimited world, Skype Unlimited Europe, Skype Pay As You Go, Vonage VPlan UK, Vonage Vplan 5 free calls to 45 countries, Vonage Vplan 3 free calls to 15 countries, Vonage VoIP USA Calling Plan, Vonage VoIP India Calling Plan

It has been reportred that in the first 6 months of 2009,  VoIP services brought in nearly $21 billion in global revenue.  The report by market research firm Infonetics Research, stated that  sales of residential and business services VoIP services are on target to grow by even more in the second half of the year.

Residential VoiP services account for the majority of revenue, with the number of subscribers growing 14 percent from the end of 2008 through the first half of ‘09. On the business side, the research firm said it expected IP Centrex and hosted unified communications service revenue to grow 26 percent year-over-year.

There is also a VoIP or Voice Over IP article section, with articles including……What you should know about VoIP….Skype Smartphone….VoIP Providers Improve call quality…International VoIP…..VoIP explained….8 VOIP questions answered….Voice Over IP FAQ’s….What is VOIP ? etc