Phone adapters are necessary for a number of business and home purposes. Many small businesses with few telephone operating personnel find that on-hold adapter solutions are vital for transforming a regular phone into a customer-retention tool when multiple customers are on the line.
Telephone adapters also are useful for travel, or if you want to make calls through your computer, using Skype or another online service rather than paying for local and long distance calls. Internet technology enables easy calling, but you'll need an adapter to use your actual phone to talk.
When looking for phone adapters, do the following:
1. Shop for on-hold adapters if you're adapting your regular phone for business use.
2. Search for USB connection adapters to use your phone for Internet calling.
3. Find travel adapters if you need to plug in to a phone line abroad.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Get on-hold phone adapters and telephone recording adapter devices to retain your callers
If you're operating with a regular telephone and need on-hold solutions for your business, on-hold telephone adapters can be a big help. Program your on-hold phone adapters to play music or a message, or contact an on-hold marketing company for help selecting on-hold solutions for your business.
I recommend: Music on Hold offers easy-to-use adapters to play music or a message while your customers are on hold. If you want to hire someone to help you select on-hold solutions for your business,
Telephone on Hold can assist with your on-hold marketing. If you also want to look for a telephone recording adapter to monitor the phone service at your business, check out
DynaMetric.
Shop for a USB telephone adapter to talk online
Most telephone adapters simply convert analog signal to digital to connect your phone to your computer. These devices may be called analog or VoIP adapters, but just make sure that the adapter fits your phone connection and your computer input (probably USB).
I recommend: Magic Jack offers an easy-to-use USB device and service, and
D-Link sells an adapter branded with Skype's name, which you may like if you're a Skype user.
VoIP Supply also offers a range of analog telephone adapters.
Get a travel telephone adapter to make calls in foreign countries
While it's not common with the wide availability of wireless technology, if you need to plug into a phone jack in a foreign country for any reason, you'll need a telephone adapter to convert the phone jack just like you would with a power jack. Shop travel supply retailers for the adapter you need.
I recommend: Laptop Travel and
Walkabout Travel Gear are both travel telephone adapter suppliers. Search these retailers if you're looking for either a country-specific or universal telephone jack adapter.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Make sure to check the compatibility of any telephone adapter with both the phone and the computer you want to use. Different phone and computer models have different specifications, including the type of USB connection and other input and output features.
The official source of Telephone Adapters is the Telephone Adapters page at Business.com
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