Soft phone

In computing, a soft phone is software that simulates a real phone and runs on a general purpose computer, rather than a dedicated device. It is usually used with a headset connected to the sound card of the PC.

Soft phones are typically a part of VOIP environments.

Many implementations are available, notably including the widely available Microsoft Windows Messenger, Adore Softphone.

The most typical softphone as of today is – Xten , TelTel, and Skype.