Action tec InternetPhoneWizard

Action tec's packaging implies that the InternetPhoneWizard is a device for making phone calls across the Internet. But it's really a USB sound card and telephone switch, using various free third-party Web sites provided for telephony, which you can use with an ordinary sound card.

The InternetPhoneWizard lets you use an ordinary telephone to make calls through an ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider). It's a small box that connects via USB, with two RJ-11 sockets on the back. So, provided you've got the right adaptors, you can plug in a phone without changing wires around. In theory, while on-line, you can now use the phone as normal, while routed over your Internet connection via an ITSP. It supports Dialpad.com, MyFreeLD.com, HotTelephone.com, E001.com and deltathree.com, which has since been renamed iConnectHere.com in the UK.

The different ITSPs have restrictions. The first three only allow calls to be placed to the US or Canada, while E001 only allows you to call Hong Kong or Singapore. HotTelephone allows calls to other countries, including several in Europe. We tried HotTelephone to Norway, and both Dialpad and iConnectHere to the US. These sites are very US-centred - on one we had to use a fake US-style address to register, as a genuine UK one was rejected, and some required us to use US-format international dialling codes. It often took several attempts to get a connection too. The driver detects the phone handset being lifted, and automatically opens a connection to your ITSP. IConnectHere is supplied, which must be installed separately, although there's now a newer version available as a 1.48Mb download. This supports telephone-keypad dialling. For the others, the driver opens Internet Explorer (IE) with your chosen ITSP's home page, and you must log in and use the site's own dialling interface. If you're already using IE, the page you're viewing is replaced with the ITSP's. When you hang up, it quits IE, closing as it does any other pages you might have been viewing.

Some aspects of Internet telephony are constants. The process of digitisation, transmission and reconversion introduces an irritating delay between one end speaking and the other hearing. Echo is also a problem. Sound quality varies from good to awful, depending on your Internet connection speed. The driver is also very CPU-intensive: using a Pentium II/450 with 128Mb of RAM still caused breakups. If left running, the Action tec constantly consumed 75 per cent of CPU power, causing dramatic slowdowns in background tasks.

The packaging also claims to support call waiting, and switching between Internet and ordinary phone calls. This is disingenuous - to get both, you must have one of Action tec's special call waiting-capable modems or, for the latter, two phone lines or a non-telephone Internet connection such as ISDN or ADSL.

The PhoneWizard lets you use an ordinary phone to make free calls to certain places over the Net. However, you don't actually need it to use the services. The quality is patchy, and the time lag, echoes and distortion are distracting. Unless you're an impoverished heavy phone user, you'd be better off with the services of a discount long-distance call company, especially as most UK users currently pay for local calls.

Author: Liam Proven