The big thing today in telephonic communications is Voice Over
Internet Protocol or VoIP. The older "Switched" system that we all
use is generally recognized to be eventually phased out for these
newer methods of telecommunications.
Simply defined, VoIP uses the Internet to deliver voice over the
same Internet connections that deliver the text, graphics and video
to your web browser on your computer. Since all data can be
converted into digital ones and zeros and then reconstructed into
analog data we can see and hear, it was a natural to do the same
thing for voice communications. That's exactly what VoIP does. Using
a computer or a VoIP handset, your spoken words are first converted
into digital data and then sent over the Internet using the same
protocols that get your browser's information from point A to point
B.
When it arrives, your digital voice data is converted back to the
analog data that we hear.
At first, the process was quite primitive and was done using two
computers running the VoIP software. The sound was scratchy at best
and the links were tenuous. Today, the sound quality and connections
are solid and in many cases are superior to the audio quality heard
on ordinary telephones.
Recently I used a service called Skype to talk long distance. The
voice on the other end was so clear that if I closed my eyes, it
sounded like the person was standing in the room next to me.
Of course VoIP doesn't always sound that good and connections can
become difficult. But these problems continue to become less
intrusive. But let's get back to how you hear the calls. If you plan
to use your computer to make those VoIP connections, the speakers
and microphone in your computer may not be up to the job. Mvox makes
two products that can make your VoIP a more pleasant one.
The miniVox MV100 ($39.99) is a high quality, portable
speakerphone that connects to your computer or laptop via a USB
connection. The device can fit in the palm of your hand but don't
let its small size fool you. Most speaker phones are half duplex,
meaning that it rapidly switches between talk and listen mode. You
may not realize it since it happens so quickly but you really can
only speak or listen. The MV100 is full duplex so that you can
listen and speak at the same time.
The MV100 also has a DSP voice processor that helps to make the
audio quality even more superior. One way it does that is by
canceling out room echoes. My experience using the MV100 was a good
one in that there were no interruptions and both parties could hear
and speak to each other quite clearly.
The second offering is the MV900 ($159.99). This device is a bit
larger and offers all of the abilities of the MV100. It also
features speaker independent voice dialing. Without training, anyone
can speak various commands like "dial" or individual numbers to
which the unit will accurately respond. The device can also store 12
phone numbers with extensions that can be activated via a voice
command. Built-in wireless communications let it work with any
Bluetooth enabled cell phone. Using this wireless standard, the MV
900 need not be physically connected and is powered by a
rechargeable lithium ion battery which yields 4 hours of continuous
talk time or 200 hours of standby mode.
Both devices work on Windows and Macintosh and require no
software drivers.
If you're considering VoIP for your home, office or portable
applications, you should definitely check out these two offerings
from miniVox.
www.mvox.com
