6 Best Free Internet Phones

Sick of being hit hard in the pocket just for chatting with your friends or family? Feeling the pinch after spending a few too many hours chatting on your mobile? Then one of these internet phones are for you.

Most of these internet phones allow you to make calls from your computer to other computers, landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world. However, we must make it clear that by ‘free’ we mean that these are free to download and any calls to landlines or mobiles are not free, whereas calls to other computers are free.

Have a look, download, try them out and find the perfect internet phone for you.

AIM Pro – Aimed squarely at businesses, AIM Pro is a beefed up version of AIM that offers secured IM, voice and video. It will only run on Windows and is integrated with Microsoft Outlook and has desktop sharing built in, via WebEx. AIM Pro is much like iChat in terms of functionality in that it can’t call landlines or mobiles, just other contacts on your AIM list. Worth having a look at, free to download.
Gizmo – This is one of the most highly regarded of all the free internet phones currently available, and for good reason. Like most of the rest, Gizmo offers free calls to other members as well as heavily discounted calls to landlines and mobiles both nationally and internationally. It does chat well, but lacks video chat functionality. The big thing that Gizmo offers over the others is Asterisk PBX support, which makes it very appealing to small businesses. As you would expect, Gizmo is free to download.
iChat – As you would expect, iChat runs on Mac OS X only but does allow you to chat with any AIM, Jabber and Google Talk contact. This isn’t really a fully featured VoIP internet phone as it can’t call landlines or mobiles, but it does allow for good clear calls to computers. What is great is the video chats and special effects and screen sharing, allowing you to present documents and control a remote computer with ease. Available only for Mac OS X, you’ll need an installation CD to get your copy.
Sightspeed – While not as well known, Sightspeed is a fully featured internet phone. Like its main competitors, Sightpeed runs on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. It does everything you would expect from an internet phone; free calls to other Sightspeed users, cheap calls to landlines and mobiles, chat etc. However, the most touted feature of Sightspeed is video, with many commentators in agreement that Sightspeed has the best video chat of any internet phone app. Download it for free and give it a go.
Skype – The ubiquitous Skype. It runs on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, although it is fair to say that functionality is not the same across all versions. However, if it is a quick and easy free internet phone that you want with all bells and whistles, Skype is probably the one for you. Free phone calls from computer to computer, low cost calls from computer to landlines and the ability to acquire a local landline number via SkypeOut / SkypeIn, video chats are just some of the best features of Skype. It’s free to download, so you really can’t go wrong.
Vonage SoftPhone – If you are a subscriber to Vonage, then downloading the Vonage SoftPhone is a good way to maintain contact while on the road. If you are considering switching to a more complete internet phone solution, and by that I mean using a handset rather than headset or having a phone number so your friends can call as usual, then sign up for Vonage. I use their service at home and in the office without any problems and can highly recommend it. In fact, Vonage in conjunction with Skype (or one of the other internet phones listed here) is a pretty good way to stay in touch!