For those that are committed to bringing a laptop everywhere the go adding a VOIP application to your arsenal is money well spent. If you have heard of Vonage, who hasn’t woohoo, you know what VOIP is. Simply put with a high speed internet connection and a softphone you can make and receive calls. Popular providers of VOIP are Skype, Gizmo Project, and VoiceTalk. Look for reviews and each of these products in the future. Many of the instant messaging programs like GoogleTalk and MSN also have voice capability. Generally computer to computer is always free. Computer to phone (outbound) and phone to computer (inbound) costs only pennies per minute. As long as your hotel has free internet access you are all set. Connect to the internet, start the software and away you go. If someone has left you a message you should receive notification at software start. The only additional item you need is a headset with microphone. Check your local electronics store or eBay. I use a small ear piece with built in microphone similar to a mobile phone headset.

Skype.com – Skype is a good starting point. The application is very popular. Many of your friends may already use it. To see an example of Skype’s outbound rates go here. Calls to the US are $0.024 cents per minute. Very affordable to call your family and check in. Skype to Skype is free. You just need 2 accounts and the PC at home has to be on. I prefer to pay the couple of cents and call a regular phone number.

A lesser known but feature rich product is VoiceStick. VoiceStick offers a unique USB plug-in device. Simple plug it into any computer with an internet connection and you can make calls. They also offer a softphone version. You can try VoiceStick for just $10.00 by signing up for the Next2Nothing plan. You get an inbound phone number with an area code of your choice. It includes voicemail, call forwarding, deeply discounted international long distance and more. VoiceStick is well worth reviewing. So go to voicestick.com to learn more.

I have used Skype for years with good success while traveling abroad. While it isn’t as convenient as a global sim card for your mobile phone you still have the ability to communicate with home. Some VOIP applications will run on your smartphone as well. So wifi + smartphone = global phone.

Others to review:
VoipVoip – PC softphone
Gizmo Project – Gizmo5

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