VoIP Phones for the Home Office

Any home office (or regular office for that matter) has got to be outfitted with the proper communication medians; in other words, a good home office will have a number of communication tools ranging from the classic fax machine, to the latest IP phone equipped with Polycom services. In fact, more and more folks are choosing to switch their regular old landline with the latest in VoIP service.

Switching over from your traditional phone service to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service can potentially save you quite a bit of money. There is a little confusion going on as to what type of phones are compatible with VoIP; the truth is that there are many different types of phones that can be used in conjunction with your VoIP service. There are a lot of different types of physical phones, but in some cases you do not even need an actual physical phone, just some software that you install on your computer that allows you to make calls directly through your computer.

There are all kinds of physical hard phones you can use that are compatible with a VoIP service. USB phones are one type of VoIP phone in which the phone connects directly to your computer via the USB port. Once the USB phone is connected to your computer, it will allow you to make voice calls. A hardware based phone is another type of phone that can be used with your VoIP service. A hardware based phone is similar to any regular phone that you would find, with the exception being that it is directly connected and linked in to your data network.The phone and your computer are able to share the same network connection via a mini hub that is integrated into the phone.

If you do not feel the need to have a physical phone, then you can use a software based phone that is installed right onto your computer. A software based phone is installed onto your computer either by downloading it from an Internet source or the software can be bought at some stores. Once the phone is installed on the computer, it operates by using your speakers and a microphone that are hooked directly into your computer. The microphone allows you to talk directly with another person while the speakers allow you to hear what the other person is saying. Sometimes the microphone and speaker approach will not allow for the call to be personal because anybody could walk by and hear what was going on, if this is a problem for you then you can by a headset that plugs into your computer.

If you are fond of your traditional analog phone that you used with your old phone service, then there are adaptors that can be bought that will allow you to use your analog phone with your VoIP service. The adaptor is called an ATA adaptor, which plugs directly into your Ethernet jack and then your phone plugs right into the ATA adaptor. Once everything is hooked up properly, your computer should recognize your traditional analog phone as a standard VoIP phone.

Those phones listed above are just a few of the basic phones compatible with most VoIP services. It is up to you to decide which one would be the best option for you. There are many different types of VoIP phones available and most are pretty inexpensive; just open up your Internet browser and go to any search engine and perform a search for “VoIP phones.” You should be provided with a list of results either explaining the different VoIP phones available or websites that have the phones for sale.