Polycom have really grasped VoiP with both hands, which perhaps explains why their two first Skype-certified products are both handsfree speakerphones! As a company which focuses on combining voice, video, data and web content whilst communicating, there is a natural synergy with Skype.

Pretty much anyone who has had the dubious pleasure of working in an office will have come into contact with Polycom's Soundstation, which graces burr walnut boardroom tables of offices the World over, and has gained a deserved reputation for quality. This expertise with high performance enterprise products can clearly be seen in both the Communicator and the Voicestation 500, both of which are Skype certified.

The VoiceStation 500 is firmly allied to the Soundstation family, and is designed as an all-purpose desk-based Speakerphone, ideal for a small to medium sized business user. It's been out Stateside for a while, but it's only just made it over to Europe.

The key to this device is flexibility. Want to make a standard analogue voice call? No problem. Want to plug it into your PC or Mac and call via Skype? Go ahead! How about pairing wirelessly via Bluetooth and making the call? Piece of cake. You can even pair with your mobile via Bluetooth and use your mobile to place the call. It's designed as an office workhorse phone which will take anything that is thrown at it or, indeed, be thrown at anything which tries to take it.

For full specs on the Voicestation check out Polycom's site, and keep an eye out at the Skype store for details on pricing and availability.

The Communicator is the Voicestation's kid brother, a pocket-sized speakerphone aimed squarely at the business traveller or anyone running a startup from a few square feet of extortionately expensive rented London office space.

The key to a good speakerphone is, of course, the speaker, and Polycom impressive 22khz speaker pays testament to their heritage in this area. William Stofega, research manager for VoiP services at research company IDC, commented to US-based PC World magazine: "I've used Skype with just the PC speakers and microphone in my laptop, and the quality is 100 times better with the Polycom device".

Aside from the speaker, the controls are intuitive, it's powered via the USB connection and the snappy design means that the cabling is contained within the casing when stored, so there's nothing else to lug around. What's not to like?

A great full review can be found here, which really gives you a flavour of how useful the Communicator could be to anyone doing business away from home.