All VOIP, all the time seems to be the mantra these days. What with Vonage raising another US$40 million, it's hard not to believe investors have got a bad case of VOIP fever. One of the biggest issues I have with consumer flavors of VOIP is that it's great if you're a young, tech-savvy person with a cable connection – but not so user-friendly for the rest of us with kids and multi-phone houses. Sure, VOIP service providers contend it's plug-and-play but that's just good marketing tactics. Until VOIP becomes easier to use, it will be a niche service. That said, there are some interesting technologies on the horizon. One of the more intriguing is from DataLogic, which has VOIP calling device technology that telephone makers can use to build VOIP/TDM phones, thereby eliminating the need for a VOIP adapter. There are also reports Intel is going to build VOIP capabilities into a computer chip. Expect a flurry of new, cool VOIP technology as the market gains momentum.
Hi Mark – just found out about your blog – good for you! I largely agree with your take, and there is a gold rush mentality happening right now. All kinds of people are getting into VoIP right now, which is a bit scary, but makes things interesting for consumers. Remains to be seen how much they really take away from Bell in Canada – am not sure it will be that much.
Was just at an IP show last week, and one neat thing I came across is that some providers are also offering a variation of VoIP over dial up, which means you don't have to have broadband to get cheaper telephony. Hmm. That could be a big deal if enough people get interested.
To be continued. Just wanted to say hi and let you know I'll be following your postings….
Jon