WiFi Calling

I recently purchased a Belkin WiFi Skype phone. This is a fantastic device that enables you to connect to Skype without needing your PC/MAC switched on. What makes this phone great is the fact it gives you the chance to make free calls, to friends / contacts who use Skype, even when you are not at home, as all you need to is connect to a wireless network to make a call, which means that if you are on a foreign holiday, and your hotel has free wireless access you get cheaper calls back to the UK, free voicemail access, and don’t get charged for receiving a call, which makes it cheaper than using a mobile phone.

Also with Skype you can purchase voicemail, a Skype In number (to enable people without Skype to call you) and Skype Out credit so you can call people who are not on Skype at a cheap rate of 1.2p a minute to most countries in the world (some countries cost more to call on Skype)

I think WiFi calling is going to be a big thing in the next couple of years, due to the cheap call charges, and the expansion of wireless networks all over the country - some cities are installing city wide free WiFi, which could make a mobile phone redundant, as it costs more to use. Businesses will also benefit as it will be a cheap way to enable employees to call each others, and mean that no matter where an employee is, such as working from home, that employee will have one contact number / ID

The only downside as far as I can see is that the device does not have the ability to connect to a “pay as you use” wireless network, as the software does not have the ability to connect to networks that require you to pay to use them, and the phone itself does not have shortcut keys to key functions, as on mobile phones, such as a voicemail button etc. Also the phone does not yet support the SMS function recently built in to Skype, nor can you send a message rather than call a Skype contact.

All in all this is a great phone, and makes a great way to communicate with people.