Is VoIP the next Big Thing?
Tech execs are confident consumers will soon change how they make phone calls lessening the need for a phone line from a old school telecoms company. VoIP basically turns telephone calls into just another piece of software running over an IP network, and due to this simplicity the future for VoIP seems pregnant with possibilites.
From the very start when Skype emerged on the scene the industry has been buzzing. Google has entered the Voice over IP industry with an IM and voice app and is testing a Wi-Fi consumer service that could help it deliver phone and information services to wireless devices.
The tech companies are already beginning to sell double function products such as digital cameras that appear to be a normal digital camera but when a person slides the back of the camera down, there’s a keypad for making calls. Memory sticks that store from 64 megabytes to 1 gigabyte preloaded with a softphone are also now available. They come with a microphone and earphones.
Companies such as Google, Yahoo, and EarthLink have already experimented with such technology. Last winter Yahoo added improved Voice over IP calling to its its instant messenger program. Google has also released Google Talk. AOL announced it would be offering its VoIP service called TotalTalk. AOL’s TotalTalk will essentially let people replace their traditional landlines. It has advanced communication features, such as unified voice, e-mail and instant messaging, and call-management.
I think it is an astute observation that the phone companies will face a challenge with these drastic changes emerging with VoIP technology.
