Skype vs. Vonage

CNet has an interesting Skype vs. Vonage comparison article. The graphic above is a six round battle between Skype and Vonage. Apparently, Vonage wins the battle. Personally, I think Skype and Vonage are two different animals with vastly different target audiences. Sure, they are similar and certainly when you combine SkypeIn with SkypeOut (plus optional voicemail) you basically are mirroring Vonage's feature-set. But the big difference is that in most cases Skype users use their softphone client where as Vonage users use traditional analog phones. Sure there are standalone Skype phones, including the NETGEAR Skype phone, or even wireless Skype phones that have a base station (Linksys CIT200, RTX DualPhone) connected to the PC's USB port, but I don't think the average person is going to go this route for their home phone service. Techies - sure, but not the Average Joe (or Jane). Vonage and similar services that allow analog phones will still be the predominant choice for residential phone service.

So to me this article to me is simply trying to build some industry buzz by comparing these two big VoIP heavyweights. Still, it has some merits and some good comparisons of the pros and cons worth checking out. \n