Smartphones and Soft phones Differences

Most of us will have a smartphone- that device that lets us text, chat and surf the internet to our hearts content. They’ve become essential parts of our lives and soon there will be a generation that has grown-up not knowing a world without them. Believe it or not however, there are some things that our smartphones cannot do, or are simply outclassed in other areas by the alternatives. One of these alternatives is a soft hone – otherwise known as a software phone, they are able to carry out important business features including call recording, multi-user video conferencing and call transfers, to name just a few features.
Whilst softphones may appear nothing more than a simple smartphone app, they hold a great deal of power and have the ability to add features of your IP desk phone to your smartphone. This means a great deal of convenience for the user, as well access to the aforementioned features on-the-go.
Taking a closer look at some of these features; firstly call recording, from a business perspective there are immediate positives to take when using a softphone. Being able to record all your calls can be useful for playing them back at a later date, either to simply double-check something from a conversation, review call quality and performance with a work colleague, or something more serious. Set up is really simple and comes included in the softphone dialer itself in many circumstances. There is no need to go burrowing through dozens of menus to get started, it can be as simple as pressing a single button during your call.
One other overlooked but very useful features is that of HD voice. We are used to our phone calls being in that rather scratchy, low quality tone but with a softphone you can up that quality to fully fledged HD voice. Softphone’s make calls over 4G and Wi-Fi meaning that the voice quality on both ends with be distinctly clearer for both users.
A smartphone can handle a 3-way call which works for personal use however this can be quite restrictive from a business perspective. With a softphone you can have up to a 5-way audio conference and a 3-way video conference. This means you don’t have to worry about external apps that may have hidden charges or compatibility issues, as long as everyone is one the same office network the service should work flawlessly.
Re-routing calls can be a tricky business for larger companies. Especially those who have many departments; from a customer’s perspective, there is nothing more frustrating than being bounced around the various departments trying to find the right person to talk to. Smartphones do not come with a call transfer functionality and can only be accessed through an external app downloaded from your respective app store. Softphones however, makes it easy to transfer to a co-worker in your directory- similarly to call recording, the feature is simply built-in to the software. Should you need to transfer a client to a more suitable colleague, it is simply a button tap away.
A subject that gets a lot of people talking is encryption- and particular emphasis is being placed on security and encryption in 2017 in the telecommunications industry, especially when it comes to IP telephony. It is not uncommon for a smartphone to operate over an un-encrypted line, meaning that technically anyone with the right tools know-how could listen in to and interfere with your calls. Softphones, along with many other VoIP-based telephone systems use the sophisticated SRTP and TLS form of encryption, which is designed to protect users and their data.
Arguably the most important and popular feature of a softphone is that you will not incur calls charges provided your phone is registered and twinned to your office phone system. All and any calls to and from your softphone will be billed to your business and not your phone (which is especially useful for those who use a PAYG phone.)
With various vendors available throughout the UK such as Avaya, Splice and 3CX telephone systems, there are plenty of options available for businesses. Whether you’re a startup with just a couple staff members, or a fast-growing, ambitious business of hundreds employees, everyone can benefit by using a softphone. As our mobile phones become more interlinked with the work we do at the office, it makes sense that they also gain the features of our desk phones which too, are becoming more advanced and feature-heavy.

Staveley Communications is an expert supplier of telephone systems and related technologies from leading vendors such as Splicecom and AVAYA telephone systems, and Ruckus and Ubiquiti wireless solutions. For over 18 years Staveley has delivered to more than 150 clients boasting the most hands-on, friendly and professional telephone system maintenance contracts in the UK and Europe.