Computer Phone: The Basics
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What exactly is a "computer phone"? The answer might seem easy, but actually it's not. It's quite an abstract term that has no hard, technical, agreed-upon definition. Is a "computer phone" a computer that also functions as a phone? Or is it a phone that also serves as a computer?
Well, a computer phone is actually both, plus more. First, it can apply to computers that function as phones. On one end of these computers are your handheld units, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), which can make and receive calls. On the other end are your laptops, notebooks, and even desktop computers.
While it might seem weird to think of these relatively large devices as telephones, you can make and receive calls with these computers with the proper accessories, Internet connection, and telephony service.
With accessories, we mean the speaker/s, microphone, or headset. Internet access can be achieved with a multitude of ways, such as a broadband (cable or DSL) connection. Finally, you'll need the service itself that will allow you to make and receive calls. An example of this is Voice Over IP (VoIP), which is a telephone service that uses the Internet as a telephone network (a global one at that!).
Secondly, we have phones that act as computers. These are around you – mobile / cellular phones are good representatives of such devices. Today's cell phones are digital, which evolved from analog mobile phones. Anyone who has used a digital mobile phone appreciates the computing power contained within; these phones aren't just there for taking and making calls. With today's models, you can send email, play full-color games, listen to music, and access the Internet.
On the high end of phones-that-act-as-computers, we have the so-called "smart phones", which get their name from their higher-than-usual computing power and many capabilities. Also, regular landline telephones can sometimes be used in VoIP services; you may also consider these phones "computer phones".
Aside from these kinds of computer phones that we have discussed, there also exists the VoIP phone, which is a traditional landline phone in appearance but has an Ethernet port used to connect to the Internet.
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