PC Magazine's In-Depth VoIP Review 153
Voipster writes "PC Magazine has completed their in-depth review of six VoIP providers. The Editor's Choice award goes to AT&T's CallVantage service.
Unlike other reviews that consist of making a few phone calls, PC Magazine uses Minacom's PowerProbe 6000 VoIP testing equipment which provides hard numerical scores for a DTMF detection test, a fax transmission test, and two voice quality tests, PESQ (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality) and VQES (Voice Quality Evaluation System).
However, after a very detailed analysis of each provider, the calculated scores don't carry much weight as they award AT&T's CallVantage the Editor's Choice and four other services strangely tie for second place."
Interesting Idea (Score:4, Interesting)
AT&T Bleh! (Score:1, Interesting)
Could you elaborate further?
Re:Interesting Idea (Score:3, Interesting)
However, I might consider getting a VoIP replacement at home through Comcast (are you listening Comcast guys??) when they offer it for two reasons, assuming they include call plans I want and it's cost effective.
1) Clarity on the cells in my brick/plaster walled townhome are often kinda crappy. The cheaper, multiuse, single number for everything, unfettered nature of cell phones has far outweighed my desire for a better quality phone experience, however. 2) Getting international calling plans for the cell phones would be more expensive than I'm willing to fork over. I've tried to use prepaid calling card services with the cell but found them too cumbersome. If I could get a plan that offered international service to Western Europe (I have several friends from the days I attended the University of Sussex I like to keep in touch with and it's just not the same when I can't hear their voice), for say, a flat rate of $10 a month or some reasonable per minute charge of, say 5 cents or less per minute) I'd consider getting one.
That would have to be weighed carefully with the risk of inviting telemarketers back into my life however. It's been so nice without them for the last 3 years. And no, I don't trust the National Do Not Call list to do what it advertizes.
Re:Early in the game (Score:3, Interesting)
Article leaves some important things out (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Interesting Idea (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Interesting Idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Do not try this to see if it works. In most places, there's a fairly steep fine for making a non-emergency call to 911.
Re:No Skype? Here's my review (Score:3, Interesting)
Skype uses other users as proxies to allow people to talk even when both parties are behind a NAT/firewall that doesn't allow incoming connections. The reason you are seeing those connections to strange places is probably that you are being used as a proxy for somebody located there. Conversations are end-to-end encrypted, so it should not be possible for the proxy to intercept the discussion (I say should because I have not reviewed there security, and I have questions about how well there distributed index system could stand up to MITM attacks).
I'm not saying that it wouldn't be better if it was a standardized open system, but in this case you are just being paranoid.
Re:Lots of VOIP phones in 1 house (Score:2, Interesting)