Top Softphones For Mac OS X

I’ve been thinking recently about VoIP and OS X. I suppose a lot of people are inclined to think that VoIP on OS X doesn’t go any further than Skype, or iChat. But interestingly there are some very good alternatives to these 2 apps available for OS X. And, might I add, it has to be said that some of the others are more convincing as a softphone.

Take into consideration that iChat is not, strictly speaking, a full-featured softphone simply because it cannot call outside the .Mac / AIM network. The other softphones listed here are what I would call full-featured, complete with PC - landline functionality, as well as the usual chat and file transfer capabilities.

So without further ado, the top softphones for Mac OS X.

1. Skype
The pre-eminent softphone is also available on Mac OS X, and while development on key features such as videoconferencing lags behind the Windows version, Skype for Mac OS X is a polished and stable application. Skype looks and feels very much like a proper native OS X app, the latest version has a sleek and minimal interface that has very little in the way of screen real estate. Skype allows a user to make free calls to any other Skype user, anywhere in the world. You can also engage in a a free video chat, again with anyone in the world.

Skype is platform independent, it doesn’t matter if you are calling someone on a Windows PC or Linux, you’re call will work. Same goes for video chats. Unlike iChat, Skype is a full-featured softphone. You can call any landline or cell phone anywhere in the world. You can also rent a telephone number that allows anyone to call you on Skype.

However, there are things about Skype that need some work. The demand it can place on your CPU is at times noticeable and can slow your system down. It also uses it’s very own home-brewed VoIP protocol, so it’s not possible to hook Skype up with a SIP-based VoIP provider. And rather annoyingly, I seem to have been getting a lot of random spam-calls on Skype recently, a trend which is probably going to grow as more people come online.

2. Gizmo
Ah, good old Gizmo. Unlike iChat and Skype, Gizmo uses SIP. What does that mean? Well basically, you can hook any SIP-based VoIP provider into Gizmo and make your calls. It also offers support for the Asterisk PBX, making this a pretty good solution for Mac-based SMEs. Gizmo is platform independent (Mac OS X / Windows / Linux), you can make calls to anyone regardless of their OS. It offers the usual softphone call plans; free calls between Gizmo users, cheap calls to landlines and cell phones and the ability to buy a telephone number that allows non-Gizmo users to call you. It’s all fairly seamless.

They also have an Adium-plugin, so you can call anyone from within Adium using Gizmo. How neat is that! I’m still looking for bad things to say about Gizmo … oh yeah, there’s no videoconferencing. Who cares, this is about VoIP!

3. SightSpeed
SightSpeed have been getting a lot of attention recently, in fact you might have seen it running on MTV’s TRL. Like iChat and Skype, SightSpeed offers both calling and videoconferencing capabilities. It also offers the typical softphone call plans; free unlimited call between SightSpeed users and cheap calls to landlines and cell phones.

SightSpeed’s major selling point is it’s video conferencing, which many say is actually better than iChat’s. 1-to-1 video is free and using their Pro Plan, you can conference with up to 4 people participating. Like Skype, SightSpeed is platform independent (Mac OS X / Windows) and you can rent your own number so non-SightSpeed users can call. Other features include video-blogging and video emails.

It all sounds so good, but hold on! SightSpeed doesn’t look or feel anything like a native OS X app. And if you’re like me you’ll want to keep your Mac experience as clean and Aqua-tastic as possible.

4. iChat
Apple’s very own iChat is slick, easy to use and comes pre-installed with every Mac. iChat allows a user to talk via the internet or Bonjour with anyone on their contact list. However, it is not a full-blooded VoIP softphone in that you are currently unable to call a landline or cell phone. The interface is as you would expect, clean and succinct.

But what really makes iChat stand out is it’s brilliant videoconferencing capabilities. With iChat you can videoconference with up to 4 people, but you need a fairly hefty system to host a conference of this size. Thanks to the H.264 video codec, video quality is good with very little lag and very good clarity. Personally I just love the way the a videoconference looks in iChat, the black background and glossy reflections add a real sense of the participants being around a common physical space.

But not everything about iChat is as it should be. It currently does not support calls between Mac OS X and Windows and support for USB webcams is very patchy indeed. If you know a lot of people who use AIM then iChat is probably your best bet, but not being able to call people outside the network is disappointing to say the least. Maybe this will be one of the secret features in Leopard?

5. WengoPhone
WengoPhone is another option if you are unhappy Skype, Gizmo or SightSpeed. It’s a full-featured Open Source softphone for OS X that has been developed under the GPL license. This is quite an interesting app, with some nice features including the ability to chat with contacts on MSN, YIM etc. As with other softphones, WengoPhone offers free calls between WengoPhone users and cheap landline and cell phone calls. It also allows you to hook up with any SIP-based VoIP provider, nice!

What’s more? You can also make free computer-to-computer video calls. WengoPhone also happens to be available for OS X, Windows and Linux. And if you like to stay within your browser, WengoPhone has a nice Firefox-plugin.

There are other softphones for OS X, such as Megafon and the amiciPhone. But in reality, I’d advise you stick with the main ones above.