VOIP calls on Apple?

The launch of the Apple iPhone 4 towards the end of June came with a sense of déjà vu. As for previous Apple launches the media delighted in reporting stories of long queues of eager fans waiting overnight for the chance to be one of the first to own a new iPhone.

Unfortunately, as for previous Apple launches the media then delighted in reporting problems with the new phone. For a start the positioning of the antennas on the outside of the iPhone’s case means that if the phone is held in a certain way, sweat in the skin creates a contact and the signal can be blocked or distorted.

Apple’s solution to this problem has been to ask owners to hold the phone in a different way but owners have resorted to a variety of home made cures including applying nail varnish to the case to solve the problem.

Once we get away from all the hype that goes with an Apple launch, the iPhone 4 does have some interesting new features. One of these is the ability to multitask and have more than one application running at the same time. Apple highlight this by showing how you can receive VOIP calls even when you are using other apps or your iPhone is locked.

Of course, you don’t need to own an iPhone to receive VOIP calls. VOIP, or Voice over internet protocol, allows you to route your telephone calls over the internet. VOIP can sometimes be called internet telephony or broadband phoning. Because VOIP relies on the internet, it is considerably cheaper than other methods of phoning. For example, Callagenix is offering Callagenix IP to Callagenix IP for free.

The only constraint on VOIP is the need for a robust and stable broadband line. Callagenix recommends that you need at least 64 kbps download plus 64 kbps upload bandwidth to make an uncompressed VOIP call. Your broadband needs to be always on and it is important to make sure that there is enough band width left over for your normal web traffic, e-mails, browsing etcetera.

The availability of VOIP is revolutionising the way in which we use our telephones. Because distance is immaterial on the web, VOIP to VOIP calls enable us to talk at minimal cost or free to friends and colleagues all over the world. When the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase the global village in the 1960s computers were barely with us. Now fifty years on, VOIP is helping to make that global village a reality.