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October 27, 2005
Click to Call via VoIP
I've been asking my friends, colleagues, students, almost everyone I can, about the consequences of nearly free data communications and data storage. All of the maneuvering among Google, MSN, AOL, and other content sources must be part of that phenomenon (see No Wonder I'm Confused below).
Another consequence has to be telephone use. Voice over IP (VoIP) is getting better and better and I'm told that it's hard to tell a quality difference between VoIP and a regular cell phone. As we have more and more wireless clouds, what will we need a cell phone for?
Microsoft must see something similar. They bought Teleo, a small California startup this week:
"Teleo's technology, still in development, is notable for such features as click-to-call: a user can click on a phone number — listed, say, on a Web page — and immediately reach someone with a regular phone number on the circuit-switched network.
"The company also is looking at other options, such as making it part of a localized search engine offering. A person looking for a nearby restaurant could, for example, search for area eateries and then use the technology to call and make a reservation."
I'm not using VoIP, but why not? Surely, it's only inertia. And if I could click to talk to a number I'd just looked up -- the restaurant is a great example -- I'd do it.
Posted by DavidK at October 27, 2005 08:39 AM | Permalink