Intelefone Offers Free Flyfone USB
When you subscribe to their service, you will get a free Flyfone USB "Internet Phone." Some are saying that the Flyfone will revolutionize the way people communicate. That sounds like a bit of hype to me, but let's take a look at what the Flyfone is and what it offers.
At its core, Intelefone's service could be described as a beefed up Internet phone. The concept and practice of the Internet phone as been around since the mid-90's, but up until now, it hasn't caught on with the masses.
You may have seen commercials for companies offering broadband phone service, such as Vonage. This is a similar idea, and completely portable.
In the "old days," we would connect a microphone and speakers, or a headset, to the sound card in a PC. Then, using Internet phone software, we would make and receive calls.
In theory, bypassing the phone company to make long distance calls sounded appealing. All you had to do was get the person you wanted to call to set up the same system on their end, and you could talk.
But those were the days when not many of us had broadband connections. Getting more than a few people to set up their Internet phone systems was not practical. It also was not very portable, and laptops were very expensive. There were also no Internet cafes, and no one ever heard of a wi-fi hotspot or wireless broadband.
Thanks to advances in Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Flyfone USB can be used to call any phone from either a broadband or a dial-up connection. And thanks to advances in infrastructure, wireless, and other technologies, we are closer to having a "ubiquitous Internet computing experience" in many major metropolitan areas.
I'll tell you what Intelefone says they are offering with the Flyfone USB...
According to Intelefone, "you use it just like you would a regular phone." Well, kind of. There are two calling plans that get you "regular phone" type features such as caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding, 3-way calling, redial and so on.
You also get call transfer, hold, a phonebook, and online account management. Once you receive your Flyfone USB, getting started with calls is a matter of...
- plugging the phone into a USB port on your computer
- installing the software (which you can download from their web site)
- activate your account online, and that's it - you can start making calls!
Calls from Flyfone to Flyfone are always free. Calls to other phones depend upon the plan you choose and where you are calling. Note that the rate you are charged doesn't depend on where you are calling from. So, you pay the same rate to call, say, London, whether you and your Flyfone are in Israel or the United States. Also note that calls to mobile phones have a different rate structure in each country.
On the go...
One of the great things about the Flyfone is that you can use it anywhere you have a broadband or even a dial-up connection. It will be fully functional as long as you can get your laptop connected to the Internet.
So, wherever you have an Internet connection, your laptop, and your Flyfone, you get the same calling rates as if you were using it at home.
That means you can easily use the Flyfone USB while traveling. You can use it from any wi-fi hotspot, hard wired broadband, or land-line dial up connection. So, you can call from your hotel room, an Internet cafe, or your uncle's house in Acme, Oregon.
The idea here, obviously, would be to get those people you call most often to get their own Flyfone so that you can call each other at no cost (other than the monthly fee). In that respect, nothing ever changes. Ten years ago we were trying to get everyone we knew to get an Internet phone in order to bypass long distance charges, and so it goes with the Flyfone USB!
