AT&T Calls on Software Phone

AT&T's CallVantage Softphone service has been around for a few months, but a company demonstration here at CES was the first chance I've had to look at the service.

Comparable in some ways to both Skype and the Vonage V-Phone, the AT&T Softphone is a software-based phone that allows you to make and receive phone calls on your PC. While I wasn't able to test the service myself, what I have seen so far looks good.

The software is available on a subscription basis to both subscribers of AT&T's CallVantage VoIP service and new users. Existing CallVantage customers will be charged $5.99 per month for a 300 minute plan or $14.99 per month for an unlimited plan. New users will be charged $10.99 a month for 300 minutes, or $19.99 for the unlimited plan. Existing CallVantage users will be assigned a new phone number for their Softphone.

The Softphone can be downloaded and installed on Windows 2000 and Windows XP PCs. Its interface is designed to look like a cell phone; the center screen is approximately the size and shape of an average handset. From there, you can dial calls, initiate conference and video calls, adjust speaker volume, and more. To the right of this main window is a collapsible pane that allows access to call logs, voicemail, and phone books.

Softphone allows you to make and receive calls to and from any phone; because you're assigned a specific phone numbers, your callers do not need to be using the software to call you. It also allows you to make video calls to other Softphone users; a pane to the left of the main phone interface shows you the video windows.

Unlike many software-based phone services, AT&T's software also includes E911 emergency dialing service. Still, the company says it is not really designed to replace your primary phone service; it is meant to be supplementary to your landline or VoIP phone.

Stay tuned for a full review of the service once we test it out.

For more up-to-the-minute blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, visit PC World's CES 2007 Live Coverage Infocenter.

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