Devices Ring In Better Quality for Web Phone Calls

Telephone engineers have spent a century perfecting the ultimate consumer device: the home phone, an appliance so comfortable and easy that even a preschooler can use it.

So you would think that computer engineers would have learned from the humble telephone when they started designing Internet telephones--devices that allow people to make free or very cheap long-distance phone calls using regular Internet connections.

Not a chance. Over the past five years there have been all sorts of Rube Goldberg-like setups: microphones, speakers, software installations, wires galore and any number of annoying requirements such as making the person receiving your phone call use the same device.

It’s been a mess, but the situation is changing. A few companies have just begun to sell Internet telephone devices that--astoundingly--allow people to use regular telephones to make a call over the Internet. What a breakthrough.

The $160 Yap Jack made by Hackensack, N.J.-based Net2Phone Inc. and the $100 Internet Phone Wizard by Actiontec Electronics Inc. of Sunnyvale are two new devices that have begun to make home Internet phones decent consumer products.

A third product, TalkFree from Utah-based I-Link Inc., goes one step further, eliminating the need for any new hardware or software. Just a telephone, a computer and a Web browser is enough to use the service.

I have used many home Internet phone systems over the past few years and the sound quality of this latest batch is by far the best--a tad better than cellular phones and, in the case of I-Link’s TalkFree, almost as good as a regular phone call.

Internet calling is still nowhere near as simple or convenient as using a regular phone. Businesses, home office users or families that don’t make many long-distance calls shouldn’t bother. But it is a good option for heavy overseas or domestic callers on a budget who don’t mind trading off a little quality for a much cheaper price.

The cost ranges from free for domestic calls in the case of Actiontec’s Internet Phone Wizard and the TalkFree service to up to 70% off international calls with Net2Phone’s Yap Jack.

Internet Phone Wizard

The Internet Phone Wizard is a little box that sits between a computer and a home phone. It connects to the computer through a universal serial port and to the phone with a regular phone line.

The Phone Wizard requires a special program loaded on the computer and, of course, you need an Internet connection, which typically costs about $20 a month.

To make a phone call, you first connect to your usual Internet service provider and then activate the Phone Wizard program.

When you pick up the telephone, the Phone Wizard automatically opens up a Web page for an Internet phone service provider, which makes the phone connection over the Internet. You can choose from several free services. I picked Dialpad.com on Actiontec’s recommendation.

Dialpad.com allows free phone calls within the United States and Canada. It does not allow international calls, although there are other services that offer them on a limited basis.

After logging into Dialpad’s Web page, you use your phone to dial the number. In a few seconds, a phone connection is made and you can start talking. The process may sound simple, but in reality, it isn’t.

The problem is that the Phone Wizard relies heavily on the computer. Instead of focusing on the simplicity of the telephone, the device ends up dragging in all sorts of computer issues, such as installing software and loading hardware drivers.

The installation process is not too bad for those used to working on their computers, but the less savvy should be prepared for such techie instructions as: “Double click on the icon for IPW.EXE located at the root level of the CD-ROM disc.”

The Phone Wizard is also poorly integrated with the Internet phone services. It is essentially tacked on to these free services, resulting in many annoying extra steps to make a phone call, such as logging into a service and clicking on a variety of boxes that don’t relate to the Phone Wizard. The whole process seems more slapped together than any product of the past.

Even when the system is all set up, the sound quality is only passable. It’s about on par with a cellular phone, complete with clipped words, annoying gaps and occasional muddy sounds.

Yap Jack

A much better solution is the Yap Jack. It’s another little box, but one that doesn’t need a computer to work. You still need your own Internet service, but the Yap Jack has a built-in modem so it can connect to the Internet on its own without a computer.

A regular phone plugs into the Yap Jack, which then plugs directly into the wall. Simple.

Now comes the hard part. You have to enter your Net2Phone account number, password, your local Internet phone number, your Internet account name and password into the Yap Jack.

The only way to do this is with the telephone dialpad. Numbers are entered directly, but for letters, you have to use various combinations on the dialpad.

For example, to enter the letter “c” you hit the number “2” four times. The capital letter “Z” requires hitting the number “9” nine times.

This can get a bit tedious, but it is not that hard. Setting up the device took me about 15 minutes.

To make a phone call you pick up the phone handset, hit a button on top of the Yap Jack, enter the phone number and then hang up.

The Yap Jack automatically connects to your Internet service provider and routes your call to the Net2Phone network. When the network is ready, it rings back your phone.

When you pick up the handset, you should hear the usual ringing sound. The whole process takes about a minute.

The sound quality is better than the usual cellular phone call and at times is almost as good as over a land line.

The phone can still be used to make regular phone calls as long as the Yap Jack button is not pressed.

The drawback to the Yap Jack is that you have to pay for phone calls. It costs 3.9 cents per minute for calls in the United States--a minor savings over the 5 cents per minute available from many phone companies for regular calls.

The big savings are with international calls. A call to Beijing costs 13 cents per minute compared with about 32 cents per minute with AT&T.; Moscow costs 6 cents per minute compared with AT&T;’s 31 cents. In some cases, the savings are minor so it pays to check before investing in this device.

The Yap Jack comes with $10 worth of calls to get things rolling.

TalkFree

By far the simplest approach to Internet calling is I-Link’s TalkFree--a phone service that requires no new hardware or software, just a computer, a Web browser and a phone.

To make a call, you go to TalkFree’s Web site at https://weblink.i-link.net and enter your telephone number and the number you want to call. In a few seconds, TalkFree rings your phone. When you pick up the handset you will hear the other phone ringing. That’s it.

The sound quality is the best of the bunch, almost as good as a regular phone call. The reason is that calls travel entirely over I-Link’s private network in contrast to the other services, which require that calls travel part of the way on the users’ Internet connection.

TalkFree would be my hands-down recommendation except that it limits calls to a maximum of one hour and you can’t make international calls--a huge limitation that takes away most of the reason people are interested in Internet calling in the first place.

The service also has a very quirky requirement that you click on the TalkFree Web site every three minutes.

The clicking is because TalkFree pays for its free phone service with Web advertising. Clicking on the company’s Web site every three minutes ensures that while you are talking, you are at least glancing at one of the ads on the Web page.

The restrictions make TalkFree an interesting service but not a compelling one. It is perfect for my children to gab with their cousins, but I wouldn’t use it unless I was truly desperate and broke.

The interesting thing about TalkFree is that it really doesn’t need to use the Web, a computer or anything beyond a regular telephone.

The computer and a user’s Internet connection is only necessary to display advertising. People could just dial directly into I-Link’s network and place a call over the company’s private network.

I-Link has a pay service called V-Link that allows users to do just that. For $10 a month, customers get low-cost long-distance and a host of other services, such as conference calling, voicemail and caller ID. But its prices for overseas calling are nowhere near as cheap as the Yap Jack and in some cases are even higher than AT&T;’s rates.

I suspect that all the inconveniences and erratic pricing of home Internet phone calls will quickly sort itself out.

The future belongs to systems--already available to corporate customers--that require no computer or Internet connection at all. These systems function exactly like a telephone except that calls are routed over a private Internet-like network.

Until those services are available to consumers, the Yap Jack is a worthy option for cheap Internet calling. Just make sure you make enough calls to justify its $160 price tag and the $20 a month for an Internet connection.

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Internet Phone Connections

Actiontec Internet Phone Wizard

Street price: $100

Requirements: IBM-compatible computer, Windows 98, CD-ROM drive, a USB port and an Internet connection

Where to buy: Fry’s Electronics

Domestic rate: Free using the Dialpad.com Internet phone service

International rates: Depends on which Internet phone service is selected

*

Net2Phone Yap Jack

Street price: $160

Requirements: Internet connection

Where to buy: CompUSA, OfficeMax, Office Depot and Fry’s Electronics

Domestic rate: 3.9 cents per minute

International rates: From 3.9 cents per minute for calls to London to $1.62 per minute for calls to Zanzibar

*

I-Link TalkFree

Street price: Free

Requirements: Any computer, a Web browser and an Internet connection

Where to buy: Free on the Web

Domestic rate: Free

International rates: Not available for international calls

*

Connect

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