In today’s mobile workforce, it’s important for traveling employees to have cost-effective phones in order to communicate with the office, coworkers, customers and clients. As everyone has all too often experienced, cell phones have their limitations; they work well if you are in range of a cell tower – but heaven forbid you should have a hill between you.

What’s more, you’re limited to battery life, roaming charges and the inevitable “drop” when you’re just at the point of sale with your customer or client.

Enter softphones.

A softphone is a software program that enables you to make telephone calls over the Internet, by simply using a computer. The primary technology used in softphones is VoIP systems (Voice over Internet Protocol), which allows for free or inexpensive calling.

Softphones allow you to place calls from your computer to a ground-based telephone line, or cell phone. All you have to do is use your computer as you would a telephone, and dial the number using the numbers on the keyboard. The cables of the computer network will act as a medium and transmit your call.

When using a softphone, you have a choice of what type of applications you want to communicate through: a handset or a headset. Both integrate directly into the computer’s USB ports, and both have great sound quality.

Headsets tend to be more popular because they are portable and hands-free, giving your traveling employees a familiar “work environment.” In addition, this type of accessibility gives your mobile employees more flexibility in how they can reach their clients, especially with the features.

Softphones are very similar to standard phones because they offer many of the same features: call waiting, call forwarding, access to voice mail, teleconferencing and speed dialing. The only “catch” is that you’ll need a VoIP phone system service provider. However, VoIP service providers are not only easy to find but they also guarantee a cost reduction to your business phone bill.

Softphones are ideal for businesses that are trying to keep their calling costs down, or who have employees that travel a lot. Company employees can now sit in a hotel room with Internet access, and make a hands-free call that is as dependable as a land line and as clear as if both speakers were in the same room.

About the author: Sylvia is a web content writer. She enjoys connecting with industry professionals to write articles on recent business trends, such as the the latest in telephone systems technology.

Without a doubt, mobile phones are great devices. They can store important phone numbers and details for you. You can order food from them, no matter where you are. You can use them as map finders, and even browse the Internet. In fact, they are more than just a device nowadays; they are essential tools for the modern human being. However, did you know that you can get a mobile phone that is completely eco-friendly nowadays, and do your bit to help the environment?

Yes, as great as mobile phones can be, they do take a toll on the environment from the beginning of their inception. As with other manufactured items in the world today, mobile phones have thousands of components in them, which means that they also use up a lot of resources. Studies actually show that if you talked on your mobile phone for one hour every day for 365 days, you would end up producing the same amount of carbon dioxide that a jet uses up to fly to New York from London – believe it. The appearance of smartphones isn’t helping this predicament, either.

What you can do to help is switch to an environmentally friendly mobile phone, which comes with several benefits over its non-green counterparts. In general, eco-friendly mobile phones use up recycled materials during their entire production, styling and design with hopes of reducing the impact of resources on virgin materials. Plastics, for example, can be used around six times, which can reduce the amount of plastic filling up the landfill sites; and most eco-friendly mobile phones nowadays use recycled plastics during their production, as well.

Packaging has been a huge problem with these phones, too, because they are usually packed in boxes that are unnecessarily big for them. Manufacturers of green phones are now looking at this unnecessary use of materials during packaging and are making a big difference in reducing the use of these materials.

Eco-friendly mobile phones usually don’t use any harmful chemicals, either, like lead, mercury, cadmium, polyvinyl chloride or flame retardants. Plus, since they are designed to save energy, you won’t have to charge them as much. How great is that?

Basically, owning an eco-friendly mobile phone would be like owning a regular mobile phone – but with a much smaller carbon footprint. This means that a green phone will be environmentally friendly all throughout its design and production stages.

Of course, you should always look for a mobile phone that can do all of the things that you need it to and one that gives you useful services, has various applications, good network quality and attractive style. Fortunately, eco-friendly mobile phones do all of the things that regular phones do, too, but with an extra function: they have a much more positive impact on the environment.

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The most popular form of communication among people is talking on the phone.

It does not matter where you are in the world you will still want to keep in touch with friends and loved ones and not have to pay extortionate costs for the privilege.

What you want is a calling card that you can use anywhere in the world, on any phone whether it is a landline or mobile but at the same time you want to pay reasonable rates.

What you do not want is a calling card that must be used in a special adapted phone in the middle of town around the corner and up the hill, after the long hard slog you then you arrive and realize the only phone that accept these cards is out-of-order, these are unpractical and inconvenient.

Pingo.com is ideal for calling cards as their service is great and it is so simple to use. The rates are honest and regularly checked so you know you are always paying a fair price on international calls. The call connection is reliable and the call quality is perfect.

What I also like about them is the ease of the service.

1. Pick up the phone

2. Dial either the local access number or the free phone access number

3. Enter my pin

4. Then start dialing out

I have even set speed dials of my most popular dialed numbers for my convenience although I will be soon setting the service up on my laptop which will mean calls will be even cheaper for me.

The other feature that I found useful was the option to have auto-top up enabled so if my balance falls below a pre-determined level it automatically gets topped up. So Pingo ensures that your credit never runs out on that all important phone call, I have not experienced this with other phone companies.

Just to give you an idea of the prices if I was to call India from the UK or Germany from my laptop (using Pingo.com soft phone via an Internet connection) it would cost me just 1.75 cent a minute.

This is why I do not worry so much about how long I am on the phone for and about my bills getting too high, as I know am using an economic provider.

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I am lucky to be a telecommuter. I can work wherever I am, which is completely awesome. I moved to Buenos Aires, but decided to skip the winter and spend summer in California with my Mom. We drove up to visit my brother and drove back. And I’ve been working the whole time. There are some things I’ve learned about being a digital nomad, as it were:

• Paper doesn’t need batteries. While traveling from place to place, it’s a good idea to have important phone numbers, confirmation numbers, etc. on paper. I love technology as much as the next person, but while you might feel clever by emailing yourself everything, iphones can go dead, you can forget power cords, and wifi connections can go down. A 3×5 card is super efficient.
• Remember the plug adapters. Your computer will be rendered useless unless you can plug it in and charge it. So write a big note on your forehead.
• Have a back-up plan for Internet access. Many hotels say they have wifi online, but don’t when you show up, especially in South America. Have a back-up plan. In Buenos Aires, this isn’t typically a problem, because there are plenty of cafes with wifi and locutorios where you can pay for access by the hour if you are really in a pinch.
• Have web-accessible email, and email yourself copies of everything. If something goes wrong with your computer, you can salvage a lot of data if you have emailed it to yourself through Google mail, or some other such service. They haven’t lost tons of data yet, and I doubt their data is as vulnerable to emergencies as mine.
• Be prepared for variables such as heat and noise. If you are used to working in a comfortable quiet environment, don’t take it for granted when you are going to work somewhere else. Bring layered clothing, earplugs, or at least earphones to put on some music.
• Plan to rest. Don’t assume you will be able to get into a hotel after a long flight and work a full day. Schedule in time off to catch up on your sleep. You are going to be less productive on travel days, so plan for it.

Those are all the important tips I can think of. I would love to hear from others who work and travel as well. What works for you?

Julia Evans wrote this article for AffordableCallingCards.net where she blogs about her life as an expat.  She also writes a personal blog Evans’ Gate about living as an American expat in Buenos Aires, where she lives with her husband.  Comments on both blogs welcome!