I posted this review to the SWN mailing list a while back, and here is my hard copy with included images. Enjoy.
First Look: VoIP Blaster
I just received two VoIP blasters for $19.99 + shipping last night. I havent had too much spare time to extensively test them, but here are my first impressions.
The units are much smaller than i expected. The units are about the size of my Nokia 8260 (the small antenna-less phone), but slightly wider. Each unit comes with a nokia-like handsfree earphone unit, USB cable, software, a phonecard looking deal, and a quick start guide. The box is in traditional "Blaster" blue/yellow style and is a bit oversized! The UPS box is about as big as a 13" TV set.
Software installation was a breeze. I plugged the unit into my USB port, and windows detected the unit. Put the CD in, pointed the driver location to the CDROM drive, and watched it install away. An LED inside the unit (the case is smoke translucent) flashed away as drivers were installed. Once it was complete, i then installed the software off the CDROM drive. No reboots required, the unit will be up and going within 5 minutes.
The unit heavily relies on software. No dialtone is generated unless the software is running, which makes me suspect the unit is a crude "sound device", accepting/transmitting G.723.1 encoded streams over the USB bus. But this is a very good thing, especially when all you have is a laptop and wireless card and have no real way of proxying/NATing VoIP over your ethernet port (ack!).
The software is very annoying and childish for the VoIP hacker (AKA us). Ideally, I want to dial an IP address with my DTMF keys and be done with it. Thats not entirely the case. The software requires a registration process (i just hit random keys on the keyboard) in order to obtain a unique ID number. This number is similar to the dyndns concept (or any other webcam tracker) -- it keeps track of your dynamic IP and looks up against a directory server using a more permanent number. There is no charge for this PC-to-PC phone tracking service, but you will have to pay to make a phone call to a real phone number.
Assuming that both points have access to the internet, they could make use of this free directory service and establish a call (for free too). This is all fine and dandy, but what if we cant reach the directory server?
There are a couple of ways around this. You can "hardcode" a set of "phone numbers" into the software and associate it directly with an IP address. Also, the software will probably accept a call from any standard H.323 G.723.1 capable phone (I have not yet found a non-voip blaster G.723 capable device to test yet, stay tuned). But the software did accept the signaling at least from a G.711 / G.728 codec phone -- i suspect it would have worked if the remote phone also supported G.723.1.
A method of dialing an IP address directly with DTMF tones has been mentioned casually, but I have not yet been able to actually terminate such a call yet. Perhaps they were using the www.fobbit.com software? Stay tuned, as I have yet to test out this freeware FreeBSD/Linux/Windows software suite.
Author update: I have tested the fobbit application for the voip blaster. It works great, and i highly recomended installing it over the provided software. Its NAT friendly, to the point, and allows IP address dialing. More later. - Jan 2004
Sound quality is great, delays are very low. Higher quality than a cellular phone, but lower than a true POTS/PSTN call. Some day i will stick a Telegra box and dish out some PSQM/MOS scores. This unit tests phone quality, and is particularly aimed towards VoIP system testing. Latency, quality, voice detection, etc. are checked. The unit produces graphs for each set of testing, and ultimately produces an easy-to-understand quality score.
Ultimately, this unit is awesome for $16, $19.99 for two. Pick one up today! Also, if you are looking for an ethernet-only solution, check out the Cisco ATA 186 / Komodo phone.
PROS: Makes use of your PC's IP address, no extra IP needed, no hub/switch needed or consumed port, $10-$16 per unit
CONS: computer must always be present, computer and software must be functional, annoying software