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You have heard of VOIP – an acronym for Voice Over IP. You have also heard of VOIP phones and perhaps wondered what they are. While regular mobile phones use a wireless cellular network and regular landlines use a public. S witches telephone network, a VOIP phone (also an IP phone) converts your voice into a digital signal that is transmitted over the Internet and the. Converted back to voice at the recipient’s end.
What is a VOIP number?
VOIP phones come in all shapes and sizes
Can I call a regular number with a VOIP phone?
Yes, VOIP phones are able to reach regular phone numbers. When calling a regular number, a VOIP call signal is converted to a regular telephone signal before it reaches the destination.
Why use a VOIP phone?
VOIP phones come with a few benefits that regular telephone lines do not have.
For starters, with VOIP, you can use a single number across multiple devices. That means you can I itiate a call from that number from any one of those devices and calls to that line can be answered on any of the assigned devices.
Not only can VOIP lines be used across multiple devices, multiple users can make and receive calls on them simultaneously.
This makes VOIP phones ideal for business phone systems used for customer services by businesses. When you call you network operator’s customer care line, chances are that you are calling a VOIP line.
Secondly, because VOIP calls are transmitted over the Internet, they are a cost-effective means of voice communications – far cheaper than. Traditional calls. This is true for both local and international calls.
Next, you can carry your VOIP phone around and use it wherever there is an Internet connection. It doesn’t matter what international code or area code is assigned to it, you will be able to use your VOIP number anywhere you can connect to the Internet.
Lastly, you can also setup toll-free lines on a VOIP telephone system, so your customers don’t have to pay to reach you.
Disadvantages of a VOIP number
As with all things that have benefits, there are also disadvantages to using a VOIP call. The major one is that you need a stable, dependable Internet connection, otherwise the call becomes patchy and noisy. If you are using a wireless connection, it is susceptible to the weather as well.
Latency is another problem with VOIP phone calls. During calls, you will notice a small delay in the voice of the person at the other end. It is the same at their end, too – there is a often a delay in your words to them.
Lastly, unlike traditional telephone calls whose locations can be determined in an emergency, the location of a VOIP phone cannot be determined that easily. Your IP address can give away your general location, but rear h and rescue teams, or police teams, won’t be able to determine your precise location.
What does a VOIP phone look like?
The appearance of VOIP phones differ. Some come in the shape and form of a landline. Others look like mobile phones. Some run on a PC connected to a microphone and headset. Some have a keypad while others have a touchscreen. All of them make calls over an Internet connection.
How much is a VOIP phone in 2023?
It depends. You can find some really affordable ones for as low as US$90 and for as high as US$900. It depends on your budget and your specific needs.
In addition to your Internet costs, there is usually a fixed monthly fee for VOIP service. If you are porting an existing number to VOIP service, there is a few for that, as well.
Also, if you are assigning your VOIP number to multiple devices, that will attract an extra cost for multiple call paths.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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The foldable phone market is getting some diversity, finally, after Samsung has held a near-monopoly in the market for a few years. More and more brands are now making them and it is important to keep up-to-date with the latest and the foldable phones in the market.
While there is now greater diversity in the market since the first one arrived in 2019, so far, all foldable phones released have fallen in two broad categories – the bigger, horizontal, tablet-style or book-style folds (after the Galaxy Z Fold style), and the vertical, compact flip form factor (after the Galaxy Z Flip style). It is safe to say that Samsung Mobile has defined the field for everyone else.
Let’s start with a look at all the tech companies making foldable phones in 2024.
- Who is making foldable phones in 2024?
- The biggest companies in foldable phones
- The Latest Foldable Phones in 2024
- The Best Foldable Phones of 2024
Who is making foldable phones in 2024?
At the top of the list is Samsung, the big daddy of the foldable market. Samsung foldable phones are available globally, and if you are here in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, Samsung is a strong player in those markets and you shouldn’t have any trouble getting your hands on a Samsung Galaxy Fold or Flip.
Samsung’s latest are the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5. The Fold6 and Flip6 are being expected later in the year.
Motorola is another phone brand that has been a pioneer in the foldable phone space. The company is known for the Motorola Razr lineup built in the compact, flip-style form factor. Following after the Motorola Razr 2022 was the Motorola Razr+ released in 2023. A successor will be released sometime in 2024.
Motorola Razr+
Huawei has had foldable phones in the markets they have a presence in. That excludes the United States, as there is a ban on Huawei products here. Huawei Pocket S (flip) and Huawei Mate Xs 2 (fold) were both released in 2022.
Xiaomi is one of the pioneers of foldable phone and has a couple in the market already. Its latest foldable is the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2.
Vivo has been making foldable phones for a few years now and have some in the market already. Its latest foldable is the Vivo X Fold+.
In 2022, OPPO released the Find N2 Flip in China and the brand has now made it available internationally. OPPO hardly sells any phones in the US, but UK and European residents will be able to get their hands on one easily. The company has also released the Find N3 and Find N3 Flip in October 2023.
OPPO Find N3 Flip (left) and Find N3 (right) were two of the latest foldable phones released in 2023.
TECNO, a phone maker that has a strong presence in Asia and Africa, has announced its first foldable device at MWC 2023 – the Phantom V Fold. It has the tablet-style form factor. It followed this up with the Pahntom V Flip this same year.
OnePlus, which has a small presence in the US, has affirmed that it will release its first foldable this year. It is likely that it will be a rebadged OPPO Find N2 Flip, though. The company later released the OnePlus Open in October 2023.
In May 2023, Google finally joined the fold when it announced Google Pixel Fold .
It is not certain that stragglers like Apple and Nokia will get a foldable device in the market this year. If you want one from them, you will have to wait and keep your fingers crossed.
For now, the foldable market is massively dominated by Samsung. In 2022, the company shipped 11 million out of the 14 million foldable devices shipped that year. That is a whopping 78% of the market.
The biggest companies in foldable phones
If you are wondering how the different brand stand in the foldables market, here is a breakdown.
- Samsung – shipped 11 million units in 2022
- Huawei – shipped 2 million units in 2022
- OPPO – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Vivo – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Xiaomi – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Honor – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Motorola – shipped 40,000 units in 2022
It is estimated that over 30 million foldable phones were sold in 2023. Finally, foldable devices are going mainstream and it promises to be an exciting year.
The Latest Foldable Phones in 2024
OPPO announced two foldable devices in December 2022 – the Find N2 Flip and the Find N2, but availability was restricted to China. On the 15th of February 2023, at a London event, the company released the Find N2 Flip for the global market, making it the first foldable phone of 2023 for many people.
OPPO Find N2 Flip
Unfortunately, there has been no word of a global availability for the bigger foldable, OPPO Find N2. It looks like that model may never make it to North America and Europe.
But in October 2023, OPPO announced and released the Find N3 and Find N3 Flip. Both phones are available internationally, though there has been bren no mention of U.S. availability. But while the Find N3 is not likely to ever be available in the United States, its twin brother will be. Say hello to the OnePlus Open.
OnePlus Open is an exact replica of the Find N3. As you may or may not know, both OPPO and OnePlus operate under one umbrella or parent company and this has been a strategy for a while. One device is sold with different names under the two brands and targeting different markets.
OPPO Find N3 (left) and OnePlus Open (right): Can you tell the difference?
We are likely to see the OnePlus Open go on sale in the USA and other western markets.
Of course, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 have already been released globally and are available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and countries in the European Union. They were followed up with the Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 in 2023.
In May 2023, Google announced the Pixel Fold which starts shipping in June. It is the first foldable phone by Google.
Google Pixel Fold was released in May 2023
The Best Foldable Phones of 2024
Three devices occupy our list of the best foldable phones of 2024: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, OPPO Find N3, and OnePlus Open. And our top pick is not the Samsung.
In October 2023, OPPO announced two new foldables, the Find N3 and the Find N3 Flip. OPPO Find N3 is a book-style horizontal foldable with an outer 6.31-inch 2484x1116px AMOLED panel with a dynamic 10-120 Hz refresh rate when closed. The panel has a near-conventional 20:9 aspect ratio. When you open the Find N3, you get a larger 7.82-inch 2440x2268px display with a 1-120 Hz dynamic refresh rate. Both screens can hit a top brightness of 2,800 nits. That is super bright.
OPPO Find N3 is one of the best foldable phones of 2023
OnePlus Open and OPPO Find N3 are the same device sold under a different name across the two brands and it is coming to the United States. So, everything we have to say for the Find N3 is true for the Open. And since the Open is available in western markets, it is the one that we are able to get our hands on more easily.
Phone reviewers and market analysts are almost unanimously agreed that OnePlus Open is the best foldable phone released in 2023 and the first real compelling competition to Samsung’s Fold series. You can enjoy our detailed comparison of Samsung Fold5 and OnePlus Open .
If we have to name the best foldable phone of 2024 so far, it goes to the OnePlus Open (and by extension OPPO Find N3). It has a better design and is lighter than the Z Fold5, has a better cover screen, has a more fluid hinge that closes fully flat, and has a bigger battery and much faster charging. Some way reviewers even say it has a better camera than the Galaxy Z Fold5, as well. At the least, everyone is agreed that it has one of the best cameras on a foldable till date.
If you can get your hand on the OnePlus Open, it is a fantastic piece of work, we heartily recommend it. The only sour taste in the mouth is how neither OnePlus nor OPPO measure up to Samsung’s fantastic Android software update performance. Bummer.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
