What is a VoIP Phone? The definitive guide to an IP Phone

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A VoIP phone or IP phone as it’s also known, uses voice over internet technology. In layman’s terms, you can use the internet to make phone calls, send texts, or images and save huge amounts of money as well as the convenience. There are also many options for communication using a phone when a landline or mobile signal may not available. It’s also used when a mobile signal isn’t stable. The uses of a VoIP phone (or IP Phone as its otherwise known) are practically limitless and offer huge business potential.

How do I get started with a VoIP Phone or IP Phone?

One good stockist of a VoIP or IP Phone is amazon. If I was looking for a balance of cost and performance with a bit of usability thrown in I would go for the Gigaset A540 IP Voip DECT Dual Cordless Phone. These cordless VoIP Phones have got great reviews and offer excellent value for money without breaking the bank. Without trying to over nerd you, there’s an RJ11 cable included that means you can use this as a landline which gives options and creates more value. Here’s a look at the Gigaset A540 IP Voip DECT Dual Cordless Phone:

If its pure budget you want, I would probably go for the Grandstream GXP-1620.  Its hands free functionality and IP Phone enabled. It’s not as good functionality wise as your more expensive models and the phone receiver isn’t offering a perfectly crisp phone conversation but it’s a pretty good all round package if you want to get an IP Phone cheaply.

You can connect these phones via Ethernet or Wi-Fi to your standard home broadband.

An example of VoIP Phones In Use

Let’s say you have an iPhone 11 Max Pro, or any smartphone for that matter, you can download a program called WhatsApp from the app store or if you have an Android smartphone you can download WhatsApp from the Google Store. This program sends data over the internet in the form of messages, pictures, and you guessed it: Voice!

One of the great things about this service is the fact that you only need internet to make a phone call. There is no need for phone signal at all. That said, if you are relying on 3 or 4g then of course, you still need signal but you can certainly save minutes and messaging costs. Sending pictures can be very expensive via SMS and this is a game changer. Typical plans may charge you as much as 50p for a picture text via SMS so it’s well worth looking into.

Business benefits of VoIP Phones or IP Phones

If you’re a business and offer your employees phones, this tech can literally save a fortune! The other great benefit is that you can employ staff in other countries and the end user won’t realise you’re in a different country. Ethically, this has been criticised but with companies scrambling to improve profitability and offer services at the lowest possible price, there has been a huge boom in VoIP for business which is justifiable.

To summarise a VoIP Phone or indeed an IP Phone, you would be mad to not investigate the various options in this article, the App for example is free to use!