CNET PRIZEFIGHT: Internet phones vs. plain old telephone service

Regular phones vs. VoIP
Round 4: Features
Tonight's feature fight

This round might be the most lopsided of the fight. VoIP services offer useful features you just can't get with a POTS line. One example is adding a secondary virtual number in an area code other than your own, which lets callers--your mother or business partner, for instance--make local calls to you. Another is a find-me feature for important calls that'll ring a number of phones simultaneously or sequentially. With a VoIP service, you can also manage your account online and receive voicemail messages via e-mail.

POTS just phones it in this round. You can add some features, such as caller ID, call waiting, or conference calling, but you'll be charged for each extra you choose. And POTS wouldn't know a Web site if it tripped over one; all of VoIP's handy online features are absent with POTS.

Winner: VoIP