With the exception of people that literally talk on the phone all day like customer service reps and some salespeople, It seems like there’s less of a need for desktop phones and an increase of smartphones with apps on them to make your cell phone act as your desktop phone.

Unlike the PR people and movie agents on TV, not everyone wants to be on their cell phone all the time. I for one have been using my Polycom IP 450 from Phone.com for over 2 years and it’s a real experience to use. Having a phone with heft and thick enough to rest on my shoulder when I need to type is nice plus the speakerphone is bar none the best I’ve ever used. It’s about the experience.

What’s really holding people back from going mobile only and losing the desktop phone? I’m not sure… Maybe it’s tradition, I like having a phone on my desk, in the movies every proper work station has a telephone on it. Is it call quality? I get crystal clear calls when I’m using it. Are we waiting for docking stations for our smart phones? I know I’d love to dock my phone.

The thing is, I’m just attached to my desktop phone like I imagine many other people are as well. Yes I can make calls with our Communicator on PC’s and Mac’s or either of our mobile apps. This all works great and I use it all the time but a desktop phone just has a different visceral appeal.

If there is going to be a decline in desktop phones in the near future, I don’t think it’s going to be grandiose.

Are you keeping a desktop phone or going mobile only with one of our apps? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter.

Buying our supported devices is so important. We have a variety of hardware for you to use from ATA’s (allowing you to use your old traditional phone) to the top end desktop IP phones with HD voice that sounds like you’re talking to someone across the table from you. You can even choose to use your cell phone or our computer app called Communicator.

I’m pointing this out because recently we had a customer try to use a non supported VOIP phone and it was hard for them to provision it. Once they decided to return it and use one of our supported desktop IP phones it was a matter of just plugging it in and waiting a few moments for it to boot up. They had a dial tone and were happy again.

If you’re considering getting a phone to work with Phone.com then please take a look at our Phones and Devices page and pick something from there alternatively you can use the Communicator PC app (Windows and Mac supported) or a cell phone app. These may be a good option if you’re constantly mobile or just like minimalism.

How do you connect to our service? IP phone, Communicator or mobile app? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter.

Interesting news for any heavy Google product users. Google just announced on their blog that they are merging storage for Gmail, Drive and Google+ users. This means that if you were using the free version of Gmail like I am and you’re running out of space now you can use space from Google+ and Drive.

Keep in mind the total space is reduced by 5GB, don’t bite off the head of the messenger… I’m a little annoyed but it is a free service so who am I to complain. I’m personally grateful for this because I’m on the verge of having to purchase more Gmail cloud storage so this will put it off for another year I hope.

What is your email setup? Do you do anything elaborate like forwarding all your email to Gmail and handling it from there (I do that with my Phone.com email)? Microsoft Exchange? Any other free email services like Outlook.com? You can talk to us/me (Jeb) on Twitter or Facebook.

When I call a company I have some expectations.   I was shocked when I called an established businesses conference call bridge and heard something along the lines of “this is a free conference call service”.  My initial thought was doesn’t their phone service include conference calling like Phone.com?  Besides this is a horrible image to portray to me, that your company can’t afford a conference call bridge.

Don’t get me wrong, every penny counts when running a small business and I don’t suggest anyone should spend those pennies without a need but there’s no reason to use a service that announces that it’s free, making your company look cheap.  Every Phone.com extension gets it’s own conference call number or bridge as it’s commonly referred to.  I’m always ecstatic to host calls because I get to use my Phone.com bridge, it’s a bit of a pride thing now, knowing I’m not using some free service.  The really sad thing was these companies can definitely afford a proper bridge.

If you use Phone.com service then make sure to check out our HD Conferencing.  You can access it from the box on the left of your extensions control panel right under the Settings option. If you have any questions message us on Facebook or Twitter.