Internet phone calls are much cheaper than traditional ones, but more complex and time-consuming to set up because they require a PC connected to the internet. UB Port of Long Beach in California has patented a television equipped with its own internet connection and the software necessary to make phone calls, and a remote control that has a mic and earpiece (WO 03/061290). To make a call, you key the phone number into the remote, which then connects to the internet via its infrared link to the television. You then talk into the remote as if it were an ordinary handset.
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