New and improved technologies have been introduced in the market in the past few decades. Each and every technological change brought about has not only helped mankind to do more with its abilities but also to perform a task far more easily than before. For instance the introduction of internet in the telecommunication sector allowed an access to the world through a personal computer. Internet also enhanced our capabilities to perform various tasks and that to at a much faster rate than ever before; email. In the olden days, one had to write a letter or latter type a letter, buy postage stamps, buy an envelope, find a post office or a post box and then drop it in. it used to take weeks and sometimes even months for the letter to reach its desired destination. However, via email all this was done from one location and at the same time at a click of a button.
For those who wanted more than just an e-mail, instant messaging service was introduced in the market. Instead of sending an email to your friends, IM technology allowed internet users to chat via the internet. Initially this was an informal means of communication, however many businesses have adopted this technology due to its efficiency factor and is being used by organizations to connect with colleagues and staff. Instant messaging services allow users to send each other small text messages which get delivered within seconds if not milliseconds (instantly).
These IM clients were very successful, but then the need for voice communication surfaced which these IM clients could not fulfill effectively. It was tedious job and as already mentioned an inefficient idea to allow users to conduct voice conversations via there chat clients. This is where Voice over Internet Protocol was introduced to fill the gap. Voice over Internet Protocol is basically a technology that transfers voice signals from end to another in the form of digital data packets using an internet connection. The introduction of Voiceover IP in the market allowed firms to integrate a dedicated voice chat feature in their chat clients. Initially these Voice over IP internet phone chat features were used to allow users to make PC to PC calls, but with further advancements, it allowed users to make cheap worldwide calls which in turn did enhance the efficiency of the employees.
Many companies have tried to enter the chat client sector due to the potential profitability in this sector. Initially there was just Yahoo, MSN and a few other chat clients in the market. However, recently Google introduced its chat client called Google Talk. It allows users to send short text messages and conduct voice conversations. Windows Messenger Live is also being configured to allow user to make VoIP calls.
The major setback of the VoIP internet phone clients is that both users on both ends should be using their chat clients and should be sitting in front of their computers. Though you can make PC to PC calls for free but there are some chat clients who offer prepaid programs that allow you to make worldwide calls for as low as 1 cent per minute.
