softphones & more

     After posting my previous article on wifi phones, I decided that it’s time to finally do something about my computer’s voip softphone. I currently use Skype, whose temporary “free calling to any phone” is officially over. Having switched to Ubuntu, I realize that I really should ween myself off the proprietary Skype which even my sister’s job won’t let her use because of security risks. Ekiga is already installed on my Ubuntu dapper, so I decided to finally get a SIP account. But, now what? I don’t know anybody on SIP (just Skype), so I ended up on a furious internet search to check out my options. This (below) is a condensed outline of what I found, and boy was there A LOT on this subject out there, phew!

• Skype - PROS: I know people on it, video, text messages & file transfers are included, easy to set up and use. CONS: the Linux version is OLD OLD OLD, brings my system to a screeching halt everytime a text message is being sent, Skype forces your computer to act as a Supernode from time to time (did you know this?), and since it is closed proprietary software (why is this important?), you can’t contact anybody not on Skype (except if you pay to call a landline/cellphone).
• Ekiga - Formerly known as GnomeMeeting, Ekiga is already built into Ubuntu Dapper, has an easy to set up account, is compatible with SIP & H.323, and has a nice interface with audio/video, as well as chat; though I don’t see anything for transferring files, and it doesn’t look easy to find other users. I haven’t found any yet, and so cannot really comment on much other than how Ekiga looks. I now use Ekiga all the time, and its great! For a list of programs that work with Ekiga, check this out. For a beta Windows version, try here or here or HERE (updated).
• Twinkle - Some people love this softphone, and it does look promising. I like the simplistic interface. Twinkle is a SIP phone, and is only available for Linux.
• Gizmo - It’s like Skype but runs on the SIP protocol, so at least it’s compatible with other software. The problem is that it’s closed source, and like Matt says, it’s just the lesser of 2 evils.
• Wengophone - From France, a multi-platform based on the standard SIP telephony, but does not yet offer interoperability with other SIP providers (???-I find this very dumb, but they’re working on it). However, it does offer text messaging & file transfers with many of the major players, such as MSN, Yahoo, AOL, & Jabber, and even has a Firefox extension(only up to v1.5 though), so you don’t have to install a whole new program if you don’t want to. Wengophone really does look like a possible Skype-killer, especially if they enable service with other SIP phones, and if I can ever get it to work on my computer (I will try again…–>see #3 below).
• Linphone - An open-source SIP phone for Linux, with video and text messaging as well.
• GoogleTalk - Only available for Windows, & its on the Jabber protocol, so it doesn’t work with SIP phones.
• Tapioca - very promising compatibility tool, a framework for VOIP & IM. From their site:
  

  With Tapioca you can connect to SIP, Jabber, MSN, IRC and other connection managers that are compliant with the Telepathy specification. Integrate VoIP and IM in your application using your favorite programming language with just a few lines of code, and without having to concern about protocol implementations.

  Boy, do I wish I knew “a few lines of code!” For those of you who do, please tell me how to create an all-encompassing softphone for audio & video with chat & file transfer & interoperability with everybody…please?

• Jajah - I originally saw this as an extension for Firefox. What I gathered from the website is that you can use Jajah (online or *some* cellphones) to connect mobile phones & landlines. The idea is not to have to download any software and just use them as a cheaper way to connect. To other Jajah users, the call is free only if they meet all these conditions, and to non-Jajah people, low calling rates apply. I have added on the Firefox extension, since I heard that Jajah is compatible with other softphones (even Skype!), but I have not yet figured out how to actually look for and call those users (see note below). I also see no text messaging(only SMS to mobile phones) or file transfer options, which is to be expected, since they do not advertise calling through the computer. Note: the Jajah desktop application has likely been abondoned, as I cannot find it on their site (and Wikipedia explains this as well). Here or here it seems you can still download it for Windows, although I have not checked if it works yet or not. If it does, this may be the best bet for telephony with other softphone users such as Skype, etc.–> (see #1 below)
• Rebtel - Similar to the new Jajah, Rebtel connects regular phones with each other through the internet. For $1 per week, you can make all your international calls local, by connecting through the internet with Rebtel. You don’t pay for any weeks you don’t use the service, and it’s simple to set up. This is a great way to save money calling people abroad. It works like this: “You call your friend abroad, using your mobile, they hang up and call you back while you stay on the line, Rebtel connects your two local calls over the internet.”
• Barablu - a free calling community that I saw before but dismissed as too small to be worth it. The community still seems to be small, but their options are growing, and now are offering free video, mobile to mobile, etc, within Barablu.
• PhoneGaim - a SIP extension to the popular all-inclusive instant messenger, Gaim. Built more for Linspire users, and available for Windows, PhoneGaim looks like it could be an interesting contender, but it hasn’t taken off yet or has it been abandoned? Calls to PhoneGaim & SIPphone users are always free, and other promising details are posted in their FAQ.
• SIP Communicator - a JAVA VOIP & IM client able to work with protocols such as SIP, Jabber, AIM/ICQ, MSN and soon others like Yahoo and IRC. Open Source & free, SIP Communicator is still in its development stages, but it is already available for multiple platforms (Windows, Mac, & Linux) and sounds VERY promising.(see #2 below)
• Tesco - VOIP internet calling with a Tesco phone. Free calling to other Tesco phone users, and cheap rates to anybody else, pay as you go (a plus!), and free voicemail for when your internet connection is off. Seems simple & cheap, and many people swear by it.
• Voipbuster - Free phone calls to many countries for 120 days, after a 10 Euro fee. I think this promotion has changed from the earlier days (I saw people posting 1 Euro and without time limit before). Anyways, I found this on Ubuntu Tutorials, a great tip from a commenter:
  

  Gabriel Hurley wrote:

  Try Voipbuster (http://www.voipbuster.com/en/index.html) it uses the SIP protocol and can be set up to work with Ekiga. For a one-time payment of 10 Euro, you have free calling to many countries.

  To set up in Ekiga:
  1.- Edit -> Accounts -> Add.
  Name: VOIPBUSTER
  Protocol: SIP
  Registerer: sip1.voipbuster.com
  User: (your voipbuster user name)
  Password: (your voipbuster user password)
  More options-> Realm/ Domain: voipbuster.com

  2.- Edit -> preferences -> protocols
  Network configuration:
  –NAT pass type: IP translation or nothing. Not STUN
  –Stun server: stun.voipbuster.com
  SIP settings: Outgoing proxy: sip1.voipbuster.com

  Actually, I did try this exact setup, and found that I had to(on Windows) revert #2 back to the original setup of STUN with stun.ekiga.net. I haven’t paid yet so I have yet to see how this actually pans out found out that I don’t need to! What is important here, is that this shows how versatile Ekiga really is - you can add different accounts to use different sip providers very easily (unlike Wengophone, see #3 below).

• Phone Gnome - This sounded great to me, as a gnome user. With all their offers of great free services, I signed up immediately. Then I found out that most of the options I wanted required me to buy their hardware. This turned me off completely. But if you are looking for an all-around voip hardphone + softphone + lots more, then I’d recommend checking them out, and visiting their informative blog as well.

     As you can see, there are a gazzilion choices out there. You just have to decide what you need exactly. Do you need to lower your costs on your existing mobile phone or landline, and don’t want to chat through the computer? [try Jajah or Rebtel] Or do you want a new calling outlet, like a softphone, that allows you to contact people through your computer?[try any SIP phone] How about just regular cheap VOIP calling? [try Tesco] More complicated yet, are you trying to run a business on VOIP, with conference calling, multiple lines, etc? [this is a whole ‘nother story]

     As for me, I’m just looking for a Skype replacement, a softphone (non-proprietary) that can connect with people using other software on the internet, with text messaging, file transfers, option to call regular phones, etc. It looks like the old Jajah or the new (to come) Wengophone might do the trick, though I’m still working with Ekiga, and I really want to try SIP Communicator. I will get back to you with my final comments…

1. Tried the old Jajah, couldn’t get it to register online, then I found out it was trying to piggyback off my Skype too. I guess its compatibility with Skype was not what I thought it was.
2. Tried SIP Communicator - could not get it to connect to my ekiga.net sip account. Tried various times, opened an extra port, etc, but it never worked, so I scratched that idea for now (it is still not a stable build yet).
3. Tried Wengophone for Firefox, but it only works up to version 1.5…. I have 2.0. Then I tried the pre-alpha Wengophone NG, by following this link. It’s a big file, about 17MB. Actually, I didn’t. It said it was going to install taking up 98MB of space, and I balked. I think I’ll wait. Wengophone 2.0 on Windows turned out to be a better idea(but still humungous at 35mb), so I tried that instead. True to form, Wengophone had a slick interface and inherent ability to chat with those on Yahoo, MSN, AIM/ICQ, Jabber, or SIP. However, I still don’t know if I can talk to any of those people through Wengo’s interface? I can’t even call other sip addresses (hopefully they’ll change this in their next version). Also, I never did get it to work on Linux… And now I find out that I cannot, for the life of me, find a way to find what is my sip address? nor a way to change the sip provider. An earlier version had that ability (see here) but it was difficult then, and all but non-existent now. What does this mean? That we HAVE to use Wengo’s service and buy into their rates. Ughhhh.
4. So, where am I now? Right where I started, with Skype and Ekiga with no contacts. Will update when I have more info….

     In the meantime, check out these interesting sites: Wikipedia’s list of SIP software, tech-faq’s list, voip info’s list, and the appleblog’s wonderful SIP overview here and here.

     I’d love to know, what softphone do you use right now, and why? Also, is there a great softphone missing in this post? Please tell, in the comments below…