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IPSpeak 3000
Price: £50 + calls

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 28/06/2004
Featured in magazine:
Issue85
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: IPspeak
Tel: 0870 351 3978
Web Address: www.ipspeak.net


It may look like a mobile phone from the Nineties, but this handset doesn't connect to the mobile network. By hooking it up to your PC you can use it to call any phone in the world – landline or mobile – with a view to making serious savings on your phone bill.

Features
The system does everything that a landline can – you simply dial the phone number you require using the handset and talk through it as you would a standard phone. Unfortunately, it doesn't have mobile phone-like features such as text messaging, but is perfectly adequate for chatting.

Performance
Sound quality is surprisingly good. There's a slight delay on voice calls, which you notice when talking to someone in the next room, but would barely register if you were chatting to someone further afield. Connections are quick to make, taking no longer than a standard phone call, so the entire process is remarkably similar to what you might expect from a regular phone service.

Ease of use
Making calls is easy. Once you've got the software installed, all you have to do is plug in the phone and dial the international version of the number – so a central London number would start 00 44 207. Beyond that there's little else to worry about, except that your computer needs to be switched on in order to accept calls from other users of the service.

Value for money
It's the price of the calls that's going to make or break a service like this and IPspeak compares very favourably to standard BT charges, although it's international calls rather than national where you're going to make savings. A half-hour call to elsewhere in the UK costs 66p with IPspeak. Although a weekend call on BT is cheaper at 45p, similar calls on weekdays or evenings could climb up to £2.37. America is similarly priced, offering half an hour for 66p compared to BT's £6.73 off-peak. Australia and most of Western Europe is just 4p a minute. We haven't included discounts like 'Friends and Family' but you get the idea.

Lastly, calls between customers of the service are free, and you can buy two phones for £80 if you've got a friend you'd like to chat to. On the other hand, if all you want is point-to-point internet chatting you could both invest in cheap microphones for well under a tenner and chat using instant messaging software like MSN Messenger or ICQ.

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