Voip/sip calls on iPhone

dinneenp

Hi,
I'm looking into this a bit but can't seem to get the basic answers that I want:
What are the advantages/disadvange of voip on iphone (cheaper calls etc.)
Will I always hear an echo of what I'm saying when talking?
Do I need a wifi connection for it to work, will it work with the 3G broadband Add-On I have on my phone?
There are a lot of different providers (truphone, isip)- has oneone used any? Is there a chart anywhere that'll compare rates?
Is the setup easy and once set up do I just launch the application and then dial?
If I want to use mainly for local/national calls to mobiles and landlines is it worth it/are rates that good?
Anything else worth noting?
thanks,
Pa.

Mr Bloat

I used to have Siphon installed on my iPhone for making voip calls through Blueface, you can check out blueface.ie or your favourite voip carrier to compare call costs, etc. If you know other people with voip at home or on a mobile, obviously you can call them for free but in general I think voip calls are cheaper.

It's been a while since I've used it to any great extent but as far as I can remember, most calls were pretty clear with no noticable noise or echo but it'll depend on the data speeds in the area you are in.

It's probably better to use over wifi but there's an app on Cydia called voipover3g that'll let you make the calls over 3G on the phone. As far as I can remember voippver3g was always on and I suspected at the time it was draining the battery a bit but I didn't do any scientific testing on it!

I don't know about a chart comparing rates but if you visit each of the voip carrier's websites you'll see quickly enough what each can offer. The only one I've used was Blueface and I've always found them excellent.

Setup is easy-peasy once your iPhone is jailbroken. Just install Siphon and voipover3g and you're good. Siphon integrates into your address book and looks and works just like the regular dialer.

You'll have to do the legwork in comparing rates yourself, I'm afraid.