VoIP without a PC, iPad Game accessory

While the MagicJack, a device that lets you make phone calls over the Internet, is then known thanks to its inescapable infomercials, it's not the only device of its kind.

The netTalk Duo

Take the netTalk Duo, a competing device, about half the size of a pack of playing cards and a bit thicker, which can connect your phone to the Internet through a computer, or without one, by plugging directly into a router.

Setting up netTalk is simplicity itself. Plug it into a land-line phone, a router and an electrical socket, and within a minute or so the phone will ring to let you know it is connected. At the time dial the number and connect. You do have to remember to dial 1 plus the area code even for local numbers.