Webcam v skype phone?

C

cong

Guest
Having a chat with my son on a daily basis,by mobile phone, is costing us a fortune.His flat in Dublin has no landline, but has wireless broadband. I live in Cork and also have wireless broadband.Should we buy webcams or skype phones to save on our mobile bills?
 
cong said:
Having a chat with my son on a daily basis,by mobile phone, is costing us a fortune.His flat in Dublin has no landline, but has wireless broadband. I live in Cork and also have wireless broadband.Should we buy webcams or skype phones to save on our mobile bills?
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You need neither, just a microphone that you should be able to pick up for a tenner. Most webcams will have microphones so that could be an option, however I think the best sound quality comes from the [broken link removed]
edit: All this assumes you have a computer + broadband connection.
 
Thanks clubman but calls are made at 10 p.m.so its not ideal to be walking the street on mostly wet and windy nights to the nearest payphone. Headphone+microphone sets are a good idea. thanks Diarmuidc.Is special software required?
 
If you both have laptops/pcs you can download skype from here:
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/
Install skype, then setup an account (you can get help from the skype.com site if you have problems)
Then as mentioned buy a headset with microphone and that's about all you need (A webcam is not necessary unless you want to see each other).

Just to let you know you will not be charged to call each other if you are both using Skype, you will be charged about 1c per minute if you are calling from skype to a landline and it's about 18c per minute to call mobiles from Skype - hence Skype it is best if both of you use skype.

The only thing is that you will both need to be logged into Skype i.e. you will have to have your laptop/PCs turned on - you can get VOIP phones which do not need to be connected to your PC, such as:
[broken link removed]
- might be an option to consider?

From the above I may sound like a Skype salesperson but I have no affiliation with them - just a happy customer!
 
in regard to rebelman and cost to mobiles i thought, perhaps wrongly that it was only around 2 cents per minute say to england..i am very new to all this and may be incorrect
 
Just checked ringing an Irish mobile from Skype and it's currently 16c per minute - not sure about to English mobiles though?
 
ClubMan said:
Could he not use a payphone?
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Clubman, you are very fast to cull other people's smart comments. This one is neither helpful or funny, and all comments should be either or.

Skype is brilliant. The US mobile are more like landlines, I ring my sister on her mobile in New Youk for 1.7cent per minure on skype. I also have siblings in the UK & Paris & it has slashed my phone costs big time. Very simple to use too.
 
I gather people can ring you on your Skype from an ordinary phone - this correct? Definitely the case with Blueface (an internet phone co on which you can keep your old eircom number if you had one).

Also, I believe theres a device which means that you dont need your computer on all the time to make or receive calls or to know when someone is calling you. Fairly sure this is the case for Blueface, but not certain re Skype.

Come to think of it why would you need Blueface at all, wouldnt Skype do everything?, provided:

1. You've never had an eircom number, or if you did you dont mind losing it.
2. People can ring you via Skype from their ordinary phone.


The only other concern I'd have is the quality/reliability of internet phones. I think that, even if I manage to get broadband, it'll be a bit patchy so the question is whether its going to be so patchy as to make having an internet "home phone" unviable/unreliable/consistently annoying.
 
You can get a wifi phone that connects to a wireless network without a computer being on Belkin have one
The actual number you can use to ring skype from a landline was only available in the UK last time i checked so you could get a number for there but not ireland

I have A vodafone connection and using skype usually I can hear fine but I apparently break up a bit when talking-Lucky for them I rarely get a word in..
 
samhradh said:
- you have to spend 10 euro month- but skype is still free if that makes sense.
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Am researching SKYPE and have come accross this thread....if I only use SKYPE to call other SKYPE customers do I still have to pay 10 euro a month ?
 
Skype might not work that well over a Wireless ISP. They usually suffer from high latency and lag. So try before you go down that route.

I don't see why a mobile would cost a fortune, unless you rang a lot. What plan are you both on? Do you have a phone a friend set up? Whats the frequence and length of calls. Have you considered using free texts instead of calling all the time.
 
You could also investigate other mobile phone packages.....for example Meteor has a free evenings (8:00pm - 6:00am) and free weekend deal to mobiles and landlines. I think that vodafone has call a friend free option.

Just a thought...
 
I used to use the built in microphone of my laptop and a dinky headset and then we got new ones in work so grabbed one as quicky as I could! The difference in call quality is huge. Anyway so just bear that in mind. Also if you want to have an idea of how good your line is check out here....http://www.irishisptest.com/runmyspeed.php you can see all the results with particular emphasis on voip quality of service. Another option other than Skype is www.blueface.ie, calls to each other are free, as are freephone numbers in other countries (handy as alot can't be called from here anyway), you can see their rates here http://www.blueface.ie/rates/rates.aspx One good thing about them is you get a (landline type) phone number which other people can call you on, meaning that the two of you don't always have to be chained to the PC, I don't know if Skype have a landline to skypeid service.

I have used both services and they're both good quality lines. Blueface does a pay as you go service and also shows itemised bills.
No affiliation, just did some basic testing before.
 
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