The world?s first cordless 2-in-1 Skype? Internet telephone For maximum freedom and minimum telephone bills! The new Olympia Cordless DUALphone is the first cordless Internet telephone on the market, using Skype?. It has been developed with you in mind and uses the latest technology, making it easy to install and cheap to use. How VoIP Works If you've never heard of VoIP, get ready to change the way you think about long-distance phone calls. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method for taking analog audio signals, like the kind you hear when you talk on the phone, and turning them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet. How is this useful? VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way to place free phone calls. The practical upshot of this is that by using some of the free VoIP software that is available to make Internet phone calls, you are bypassing the phone company (and its charges) entirely. VoIP is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to completely rework the world's phone systems. VoIP providers like Vonage have already been around for a little while and are growing steadily. Major carriers like AT & T are already setting up VoIP calling plans in several markets around the United States, and the FCC is looking seriously at the potential ramifications of VoIP service. Above all else, VoIP is basically a clever "reinvention of the wheel." In this article, HowStuffWorks will show you the principles behind VoIP, its applications and the potential of this emerging technology, which will more than likely one day replace the traditional phone system entirely. Dual Phone The Olympia Cordless DUALphone is a cordless telephone that can be connected to a normal telephone socket and a USB port on a PC. The display shows whether your friends who also use Skype?, are online. If they are, you simply have to press the appropriate green button and talk to them for free ? no matter where they are in the world. If their PC is switched off, or you want to call someone who doesn?t use Skype?, you simply press the other green button and call via the standard telephone connection. Features Call free of charge worldwide via Skype? to other Skype? users. All other calls are charged 2-in-1 cordless telephone ? Internet telephone and standard telephone in one Plug & Dial ? Easy to install ? easy to use International and long distance calls at low rates with SkypeOut (requires purchase of SkypeOut credit online) Extra telephone line free of charge ? simultaneously ordinary telephone and internet calls Ability to participate in Skype? conference calls Secure and encrypted communication Multiple handset capacity ? up to 4 units Caller ID (CLIP) (requires service from Telkom) Call forwarding, Call waiting Future-proof: The software of the handset and base station can be updated via the USB interface Technical characteristics DECT ? the European cordless telephony standard Dialling via PSTN (Public Service Telephone Network) Dialling via Internet: Skype? to other Skype? users Dialling via SkypeOut to standard telephone numbers Distinctive ringing between standard telephone and Internet calls via Skype? Range: Indoor up to 50 meters / Outdoor up to 300 meters Talk time: up to 6.5 hours Standby time: Up to 100 hours 16 KHz audio sampling Telephone book: 160 entries Redial: 30 entries Call log: 30 entries Key lock Physical characteristics Handset, base station, 2 extra click-on colour handset face panels AC Adapter (230 V/50Hz) Display: 2 lines 16 characters each (dot matrix) and icons Display back light 5 ring tones Headset jack Minimum system requirements PC running Windows XP, 2000 or 2003 Server 400 MHz processor 128 MB RAM 15 MB free hard disk space CD-ROM drive Internet connection (any broadband: cable, DSL, etc.) Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN) Recommended system requirements PC running Windows XP, 2000 or 2003 Server 1 GHz processor 256 MB RAM 30 MB free hard disk space CD-ROM drive Internet connection (any broadband: cable, DSL, etc.) Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN)