Net2Phone gets you yapping online
- — 02 June, 2000 15:17
The hassles of fumbling with microphones and speakers may disappear with the release in June of two new devices that route calls on Net2Phone's voice-over-Internet Protocol network.
They are a Universal Serial Bus phone-like handset called a Yap Phone and the Yap Jack, a cross between a modem and a sound card that lets you make calls without needing a PC.
The two are part of a new line of Net2Phone hardware called Yap (Your Alternative Phone) Internet telephony products.
Both Yap devices are subject to the internet's fickle nature, which makes Net-based phone calls sound great at times and barely audible at others. The Yap Jack supports echo cancellation and full-duplex voice, says Net2Phone.
The $US60 Yap Phone comes with a prepaid Net2Phone calling card good for 1000 minutes of chat time in the US. After that, calls cost 1 cent per minute, billed to your prepaid Net2Phone account. International fees start at 3.9 cents per minute. PC-to-PC calls are free.
The $US160 Yap Jack comes with $US10 worth of pre-paid minutes. Yap Jack-to-Yap Jack phone calls are free; domestic calls cost 2.9 US cents per minute; and international calls cost the same as Yap Phone calls.
The Yap Jack fits between your phone and wall jack: You plug your phone into the Yap Jack, which in turn plugs into your phone jack. You need to configure it to work with an internet service provider that supports point-to-point protocol, which eliminates America Online.
Then, just dial a number and then hang up the receiver. Yap Jack dials your ISP and Net2Phone places the call over its network. Once the call is routed, your phone rings; you pick it up and wait for the person you called to answer. The whole process at first seems awkward and can take a few minutes, leaving you wondering what is going on.
The Yap Phone works with a version of the Net2Phone 10.0 software.
