I recently tried out a few different services, all free (of course), and found many of them to be quite lacking. VoIP, although a great idea, isn't quite there yet. There's often problems with delays and, to be honest, most headsets don't exactly have the greatest microphone quality. Many free VoIP services offer things like 30, 60, 90 minutes of use per week, unless you put a deposit in your account, then you get 120, 300, 360 minutes a week for free. Basically, you're paying to have a certain number of minutes per week. These plans can be great if you call places like China, Afghanistan, and the like on a regular basis. If you do, give Internetcalls.com a look.
However, for those of us that just want to call people in the USA and Canada, then iCall is the better bet, and best of all, completely free. Unfortunately, iCall is only supports Windows (Vista, XP, 2k) right now, but it does support the iPhone so an OS X client might not be too far off. (I sent them an email about an OS X client, I'll post when I get a response) Just about the only downside I can see to iCall is that the if you have a free account, a nag window in the client will pop up asking you to pay for the Pro service when you start the client and after you make a call. Just click "I'll upgrade later" and you're back to making more calls.
It shouls also be noted that like most VoIP services, iCall does NOT support emergency calls. If you need to call the fire dept or police, you'll have to use something else.
nothing after the jump
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