Bookofjoe discussed Skype and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) a few days ago here.

I (and about 1000 of my closest friends) got this about SIP directly from Michael Robertson, former MP3.com guru, now Lindows maven:

SIP is to telecom, what MP3 is to music biz. Hold on tight boys and girls!

Make Free Worldwide Calls With World's First Affordable SIPadapter and Any Cordless or Standard Phone

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 23 SIPphone, Inc., announces the release of SIPadapter, a new, easy to use, device that makes free worldwide calling possible on any standard phone. Available immediately for $79.99 from SIPphone.com/order via their retail partner Lindows.com, the SIPadapter is the first plug-and-dial device to allow high quality SIP calls over any phone, even a cordless unit common in many households.

Telephone users can save hundreds of dollars on their phone bill by using the latest SIP technology which is now easier and more powerful then ever. A single SIPadapter can be purchased for $79.99 and a 2-pack is available for $149.99.

Each SIPadapter comes immediately ready to use with no monthly fees or activation fees. There is also no per minute fees, so callers can avoid large long distance charges which means a SIPadapter can pay for itself in a very short time.

SIPadapters include plug-and-dial technology from SIPphone.com making it easy to install and begin using. To install a SIPadapter, users simply plug the deck-of-cards-sized-unit into any broadband Internet connection such as a cable modem or DSL connection with a DHCP configuration. Then they plug a standard phone into the SIPadapter. After a short startup time, the phone will ring and when answered play a "welcome ring" announcing that the phone is available for use. A SIPadapter comes with a unique phone number beginning with (747). Users can hear their number echoed to them by dialing "**". More information including images are available at http://www.sipphone.com/adapter Once installed, users can place high quality calls to the worldwide SIPphone community now spanning 47 countries. In addition, toll free 800 and 8xx numbers can be accessed, even from SIPphones based outside the US. It is also possible to dial any telephone number using a common calling card while avoiding any monthly fees. By sharing their own SIP number with others, they can receive calls from other SIP users as well. Unlike a landline phone, a SIPphone is fully portable so a SIPphone can be moved to any broadband location and all calls to that SIP number will ring at this new location.

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