Recently in VoIP Category

When SunRocket imploded last summer, I was anxious to find cheap replacements for some of the features that SR offered. One of the things I found was GizmoProject, now Gizmo5, a softphone for the computer as well as a free text message gateway for cellphones. Because I don't have a Internet package through my cell provider, that part of their service doesn't interest me at this point.

But with the new 4.0 version of their softphone, they've added the ability to do video calling as well as regular voice and instant messaging too. The biggest caveat is that to get video/audio calling free, you have to be calling another Gizmo5 participant. If you're so inclined, you can also configure the service to work with an analog telephone adapter so you can use a normal phone handset easily. I had that setup briefly using my old SR adapter, but didn't really use it at all.

To get incoming calls free from non-Gizmo5 users, you need a GrandCentral account too. All you do is give people your GC number and configure it to ring your Gizmo account. But with the ability for GC to also ring your home phone and cell phone too, that service was redundant for me. Outbound calling to non-Gizmo5 users requires that you buy minutes from them. For calls in the US, $10 buys about 8 hours of talk time. Another nice feature, but redundant when you've already got an unlimited calling plan on your home phone.

Interestingly, it appears that some of the link between Gizmo and GrandCentral might be going away. Some users report that GC will no longer dial Gizmo numbers using GC's dialout feature. One theory is that since Google acquired GC they are working on integrating GoogleTalk with GrandCentral to eventually offer a competing service to Gizmo.

At any rate, the Gizmo IM client and softphone are well worth the effort to get setup just for the ability to use video and also the ability to chat with AOL, GTalk and MSN clients. And the price is right.

After the meltdown of SunRocket, I was doing a lot of exploring for new phone service. While I trusted that Comcast Digital Voice would be a lot more reliable and less-likely to fold than a small-time VoIP, it just doesn't have a bleeding-edge feel.

GrandCentral, while still in beta, offers a ton of really cool features (for free!) that you can't get from regular phone service. First though a caveat - you still need a working 'real' phone of some sort to make this service work. A cellphone, landline, work number, etc. And because it's in beta, you have to be invited to actually sign up.

How it works is this: you sign up for a number from one of their many different calling areas. Always wanted to have a telephone number to make it look like you live in Florida? Go for it. Then you configure your number to forward your calls on in pretty much any manner you see fit. Ring all your phones simultaneously if you so desire.

I see some huge upside to this service -- the first being you no longer have to give out your home phone (or cell, etc) number any longer. Use your GrandCentral # to forward and, even cooler, filter calls for you. They a simple interface where you can send known annoying numbers right to a message that says your number is not in service or sends 'em right to voicemail.

You can also record four different greetings that will play to different categories of callers that you can assign based on address book entries. About the only thing I don't like is the inability to tell their voicemail service not to answer certain calls so that when they are forwarded on, the home/cell VM picks up instead.

Now owned by Google, you can also do outbound calling with the service. While it's in beta that feature is free, but wants it launches for real you'll have to buy outbound minutes. I'm real hopeful this service moves from beta to reality and forces companies like Comcast and AT&T to ramp up their feature sets to more closely match everything this service does.

Check out this humorous video from the New York Times about GrandCentral.

And yes, while it's all free for now ... if this really does catch on, I'd expect to either see/hear ads or have to pay to eliminate them.

Back in May 2005, I took a what turns out to be a very risky chance on Voice over IP when I signed up with SunRocket. They offered a myriad of features for $199/yr (with unlimited US/Canada calling) plus free phones if you paid in advance. After "testing" it for a couple of weeks, I decided to have our main phone number ported over to SunRocket, abandoning our Ameritech land line.

SunRocket was actually my second test of VoIP for home - prior to them I had a Vonage number but was very unhappy that their outbound caller ID didn't/couldn't/wouldn't any time soon show my name. As someone that heavily relies on caller ID to help screen calls, I just wasn't comfortable with the response we'd get (answering machines all the time) if we dialed out from a Vonage line. So I packed up the Vonage analog telephone adapter (ATA), sent it back, and canceled the service.

My first clue about VoIP services should have been when I never got my $50 back from Vonage upon returning that adapter. Flush. But no... I got sucked in by the low price SunRocket was offering and got wowed by their web portal where you could control the features, block unwanted callers, customize inbound caller ID, and on and on. I figured, hey it's only $200, and we'd be saving a ton of money compared to when our Ameritech bill was running $70+ each month for pretty barebones service.

There were lots of bumps in the road with SunRocket early on that first year. Lots of service outages that were pretty annoying, some periods of horrible echo on the line, etc. But things appeared to be settling down somewhat into May 2006 when I renewed for another year. Our cell phones worked as a fine backup for outgoing, and I had our families pretty well trained that when SunRocket was down, just use the cellphone. (A lesson that some family members have had a hard time unlearning -- they just use the cell now even though it's usually not nearby when were home). It was a trade off- for cheap service I was willing to put up with some bumps in the road. Of course, it'd have been better without those bumps, but I knew going in that residential VoIP was still bleeding edge stuff compared to plain old telephone service.

As we entered May 2007, there had been some murmurings that SunRocket might be in trouble. The company's original founders had bailed out and the folks that were brought in to replace them were from America OnLine - a company that makes lots of folks with IT experience get uncomfortable. Figuring again that the worst case scenario would be that I'd be out $200 (actually $204.11 with the fancy new mandated FCC fees) if something bad happened to SunRocket. So I ponied up again.

When we got home from one of our summer camping trips, I learned that the demise of SunRocket was likely only days away. A rumor that ended up being 100% true just a few days later.

That started the odyssey of trying to a) keep our home phone number, b) get a new phone service, and c) try and get my money back. What a frustrating journey it's been so far. And no, almost two months later, it's not quite over yet.

But I have learned a lot in the past couple of months -- details of which I'll be providing here in coming days.