6 Popular VOIP Software for Linux that You Might Not Know
This is a guest post by Mr. Zach Ripples. If you would like to contribute too, please contact me.
Since its arrival in the market, VoIP has undergone a lot of developments. Now it is being used in many large corporations as the only calling service. Here I would like to discuss the most popular VoIP apps for Linux.
Table of Contents
Ekiga
It was previously known as Gnome Meeting. It can be downloaded free. We can enjoy videoconferencing and VoIP calls through Ekiga. All H.323 compatible hardware and software can be used with Ekiga. We can use it with UNIX also. To use Ekiga, we should have SIP account. Meanwhile, to make PC to phone calls, you should have account with any VoIP service provider. Although Ekiga people recommend Diamond card Worldwide Communication Service but there are many other VoIP service providers like Vonage, Axvoice, Broadvoice etc.
Gizmo5
It was earlier known as Gizmo Project. This is free software for pc to pc calls. Like other applications, it also has features like call recording, missed calls, messenger style text messages etc. It can be used for computer to phone calls too.
(Editor note: Gizmo5 has been acquired by Google on November 12, 2009)
Skype for Linux
The most commonly used VoIP application is Skype. It has approximately 500 million users across the globe. The reason behind its popularity is that it is built on the basis of another VoIP service and users do not have to deal with the complicated SIP settings. Although, Linux version of the product is not as comprehensive as that of windows but still it is useful for the people who want to use it on Linux. However, there are many who fail to detect camera with Skype.
Empathy
This software is like an universal client for various instant messengers or chat software. Nearly all the chat software features are included in this software. This software is included in Gnome in its 2.24 version.
Twinkle
Twinkle is the most popular Linux based SIP software. It supports Linux only and it is an open source SIP client. We can use two lines simultaneously in Twinkle. It offers 3 way conference calling facility. It has in band as well as out of band DTMF. STUN support for NAT traversal is also available. It is available as a Firefox extension also.
KPhone
This SIP user agent is also used for Linux. It supports IPv4 and IPv6. Kphone supports NAT-traversal STUN. It offers SRTP encryption for voice.
Check with your VoIP provider
The point to remember is that only software is not enough if you want to make VoIP calls. You have to subscribe with some VoIP provider also. There are several VoIP providers like Vonage, Axvoice and Skype etc. Some VoIP providers recommend particular software for their service. Before you install the software, you should ask your service provider if any particular application is required for their application.
Guest post: This article is written by Mr. Zach Ripples. Blogging is his passion and he has been doing this since he was an O level student. His favorite topic is VoIP technology. Currently He is working for Axvoice – Internet Phone Service Provider in USA and Canada.
[image courtesy of Florian Seroussi]
A number of voip phone application developers are over triumphing their products. Many of them are providing voip phone service also with their product. I am unable to undestant why we need their application when we have messenters like gtalk and yahoo messenger?
I guess you did not read the article carefully. The article is not about ordinary voip applications but it is about voip applications on Linux. Besides that many of the messengers that work with windows either work partially or do not work at all with linux.
I think he does not understand the difference between a voip application and a messenger. If you are using a messenger, you can’t call anyone on a phone number. If you are using a voip application, you can call any number in the world. In other words, via vop you can call PC to PC as well as PC to phone.
Voip phone info is very good, I have been looking for something other than Skype.
hello I have a BLACKBERRY bold with tellus. [Canada] could somebody please reccomend a free voip client that will work? I don’t need anything fancy, just want to make free calls.
while currently focused on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and PSTN, its power lies in its ability to be easily extended.