Choosing A Voip - Skype Vs Vonage

It's important to standardize a technology for it to achieve mass adoption. One of the reasons the Internet has taken off so well is that everyone uses the same protocols and standards to communicate. No matter how awesome a technology is, it can't gain worldwide acceptance unless certain things are standardized - both so that everyone can communicate with everyone else and so that people don't have to learn multiple ways of doing things. The same is true for VoIP. Till a short while ago, standardization seemed a long way off with conflicting protocols and codecs. Then SIP came along and we're now finally entering a state where VoIP is set to be standardized. However, Skype is an exception. It has its own standards and protocols and seems to be quite popular. Another service is Vonage which runs on an "SIP like" system. In this article, we compare the two and see how they're different. Skype Skype is best defined as instant messenger with voice. It's not an open protocol so the Skype software is needed to communicate. This means we need either a computer or a smartphone which is on all the time. People chat using the computer's microphone and speakers. So it doesn't function like a real phone. The advantage of course is that if you're spending a lot of time with your computer, it's easier to plugin in a microphone/headset and just continue talking as you go about your work. google_ad_client = "pub-2311940475806896"; /* 300x250, created 1/6/11 */ google_ad_slot = "0098904308"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250; Moreover, Skype to Skype calls are free. Vonage Vonage works on a different model entirely. For one, it's SIP based which means that in principle, any softphone anywhere in the world can communicate with the Vonage SIP proxy. However, most home users don't do this. The Vonage guy comes over, sets up a "vonage router" with all the settings in place and you can simply connect your regular phone to it with the phone ports behind. This works like an ATA adapter and router rolled into one. So once the service starts working, it's pretty much like using a regular telephone. Of course, there are some benefits to Vonage like 911 service which isn't available with Skype and unless you're planning long planned chat sessions, Skype is definitely inconvenient. For ad hoc use, Vonage is easier and hassle free. And the voice quality is just as good as a regular telephone. So in the end, it depends on what you want. If you want a replacement for your regular phone service, Vonage is your choice. Otherwise, use Skype for intermediate calls now and then.

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