Patent ID: 7570630

Claim:
A telephone device comprising: a user interface for receiving, from a user, a telephone number to call, wherein the telephone device is capable of originating a packet-switched call and capable of originating a circuit-switched call, and wherein the telephone device is a device selected from the group consisting of a voice telephone, a fax machine and a dial-up modem, and program logic executable to decide, based on the telephone number, whether the telephone device should originate a call to the telephone number as a circuit-switched call or as a packet-switched call, wherein the program logic is executable to determine, based on the telephone number, whether the call is an international call and (i) in response to a determination that the call is an international call, to decide that the telephone device should originate the call as a packet-switched call and (ii) in response to a determination that the call is not an international call, to decide that the telephone device should originate the call as a circuit-switched call, whereby, if the program logic decides that the telephone device should originate the call as a circuit-switched call, then the telephone device originates the call as a circuit-switched call, and, if the program logic decides that the telephone device should originate the call as a packet-switched call, then the telephone device originates the call as a packet-switched call.