Has anyone here tried Net2phone? I tried it.
Here are my observations:
Software was easy to install. However, like most people, I have never bothered to connect a microphone to my computer... so, before installing the net2phone software, I had to find my microphone, fiddle around with my setup. The net2phone software installation then went smoothly. Then I had to "charge" my net2phone account... the minimum is $25, and if you don't have a credit card, then you would have to send a check... there is of course no way for them to charge your phone bill or otherwise give you call-then-pay-later service. The last thing that happens when you finish the credit card processing on their website is they inform you that you should close all applications on your computer everytime before placing a call. I have to say, I don't like that.
Anyway, I proceeded to call a few people, starting with myself. Yes, I called myself. What I immediately noticed was a trasmission delay. I would speak into my computer's microphone, and about 1/2 second later, I would hear my words in my regular phone. If you have never tried a conversation with such a delay, it may be hard to appreciate how difficult a normal, flowing, smooth dialogue is under those circumstances... very prone to stepping on each other, interupting, lot's of "what was that?" Aside from the nasty delay (and this was a not an overseas call, and probably not a very long internet distance, but I don't know how all the routing works), aside from the nasty delay, the sound quality was respectable, though obviously not a normal call. I would liken it to a cellular call from a marginal cell... significant static, some broken words, but usable.
Then I tried calling a friend across town. She was immediately put off because she could hear her own voice at my end, I thought due to the speakerphone nature of my microphone-computer-speakers arrangment. She said she could hear what she had just said about 1 second after she said it... twice the normal delay because it's 1/2 second (very approximate) for her voice to reach my speakers, which then goes into my microphone, then 1/2 second to get back to her. So I tried turning my speakers down so I could barely hear them. She said it she was still getting the echo, though I don't know why... maybe some crosstalk within my soundcard, though it's a good card (AWE64). Anyway, the flow of the conversation was choppy at best because of the 1/2 second delay we each faced, and the sound quality was marginal. She insisted that I call on my normal phone if I wanted to talk.
But I got her to let me try one more test. All the preceeding was done with my cable modem. I get nearly 500 kbps down and 150 kbps up with my cable modem. So I unplugged it, and connected to the net with my 33.3 dialup modem. Then I called her again. This time, the sound quality was downright crappy, like a cellphone that's about to lose the call with barely a complete sentence through the whole conversation. The delay was no worse than with my cable modem, but overall the call quality was, frankly, pitiful.
The per minute cost is about 5 cents for within the US, and for example, 10 cent to the UK, 14 cents to Italy, 20 cents to Taiwan. I can see people being tempted to try it for overseas calls. Within the US, for 5 cents a minumte, given the 5 cents/minute rates now being offered by Spring and the like, and all the 1010 numbers, there is no way I would use this for domestic calls. For overseas calls, again no way for me - the delay and sound quality are likely to be as bad or worse than I experienced in my cross-town calls... completely unacceptable for a business call... maybe ok for calls to family if I don't mind the impediments to a natural, flowing conversation. As for websites that offer "click-to-talk" buttons on their websites, as 1-800-flowers does, I suspect each customer will use this feature at most one time. From then on, they will use the retailer's 800 number. Any retailer who expects to save money by offering a click-to-talk button on their website, as opposed to a real 800 number, will not see customers anxious to click again.
Finally, I should say that I noticed Net2phone software at Fry's Electronics about 2 years ago... it's not the newness of the software that's the problem here... it's been around long enough. The problem is that the internet was not designed for real-time voice conversations. Even if everyone has cable modems, the delay problem will persist. For the time being, the delay and the pitiful sound quality will keep this service as a novelty for some, and a useful tool for the ultracheap who don't converse well with or without a good connection.
All in all, I would say that conversations over the net have a long way to go.
Ohshaw |
