PC World Gives Thumbs Up to AT&T CallVantage Softphone

AT&T uses the CounterPath Eyebeam softclient in a rebranded manner and has only begun to push the softphone recently after a launch last summer here at CES in Las Vegas.

For those on a PC you can take your CallVantage with you. With all the other ways to do the same thing via Skype, Free World Dialup (yes it's still around), GizmoProject, Yahoo Messenger with Voice, AOL AIM Phoneline, etc. I'm not sure that the late entry is really going to make many waves despite how well it works.

With CallVantage's Find Me/Follow Me service and Gizmo, or with GrandCentral or Webley I can have what the CounterPath client does for the most part. If I want to make my number appear to be my home number, I can dial into AT&T's inbound Call Manager, log on and then dial out using DTMF tones and accomplish the same thing without adding more software.

For those though who don't use any of the above, and want to have their CallVantage on the road, it is a very good solution. I've used a similar CounterPath client on a PC with Broadvoice and the service worked as expected, with only some minor echo and latency issues which by now I figure the crew at CounterPath have cleared up.

On the subject of softphones, wandering around CES I was intrigued by the new Windows Vista Sidebar and how many new applications and devices that will spawn. The very Mac like Widget Vista Gadget's are rather interesting and I expect that sector alone to be a hot area for controlling Voice 2.0 applications. One that is out is a new softphone from Japan.

Comments

[Sanjay Jhawar]

The Callvantage softphone seems well implemented - but offering it at an extra $7.95 a month seems misguided.

After all the service is the same, it is simply another end point. It would make more sense to charge $30 one time for the client software, or netter still nothing extra at all - it should just be a Callvantage differentiator.

Callvantage is a residential service marketed by AT&T in regions where they do not offer local service and almost impossible to find on the AT&T website if you enter any zipcode where AT&T has local service.

As a residential primary line replacement it is going to be used by families as well as singles. Most families won't want to use the home number for calls during international or other travelling - that would be for singles, or business users.

So the softclient is a convenience function within the home then. Not worth an additional $7.95. And you can't video call anyone since there is very little takeup of the Callvantage softclient (and modest take up of the Callvantage service itself), so that value prop needs Metcalfe to kick in first.

This VoIP industry professional had Callvantage at home and is switching to Earthlink. Unlike AT&T Earthlink bundles naked DSL at a respectable 8mbps and has lower calling costs internationally than Callvantage and VoIP that looks to the consumer like PSTN. Lack of a softclient is not a factor in switching.

So who did they think would use it for $7.95 a month?

Sanjay