The first round of WiFi phones built for Skype has been out for a few months now. While they all have the same liberating functionality, each different phone tends to have some distinguishing feature that sets it apart. For example, the SMC WSKP100 WiFi phone can connect with FON hotspots, and the Linksys iPhone WIP320 has a great screen and automatically updates its firmware. I recently had the chance to put the Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype through its paces. What can it do that the other Skype WiFi phones can’t? Read on for my review.

First Impressions

It looks like a mobile phone; it’s definitely a handsome device. It’s black and has a really nice finish—it feels a little like leather. It has silver trim and the plastic buttons, while close together, are responsive and offer good feedback (and it’s shiny—it doesn’t photograph very well).

The screen is good and clear; you can adjust the brightness and contrast but I found it fine by default. The screen is big enough, but could be bigger—there’s a good amount of free space on the front of the phone into which Belkin could have put a larger screen.

In the box you get some documentation, an AC adapter, and a USB cable for charging and updating firmware—that’s it. It’s definitely a device meant to stand on its own.

Functionality

When you first turn the WiFi Phone on, after going through a disclaimer that you can’t use Skype for emergency dialing, the device is quick to look for available wireless networks. I had no problem connecting to my router using WPA encryption (entering the router password the first time took some tapping, but after that the Belkin remembered and logged on automatically). After tapping in my Skype name and password (which it could also save), I was signed in and ready to Skype.

The feature set on the Belkin WiFi Phone is similar to other WiFi phones we’ve seen. You can browse your contacts, see your call history, change your status, search for and add contacts, and check your SkypeOut credit all within a standard Skype interface that’s graphical and quite intuitive. You can’t conduct text chats, but the person sending you the message is informed you’re not receiving them and you’ll get them when you next sign on. You also can’t purchase more SkypeOut credit from within the phone.

Call quality was generally quite good. Nearly perfect when I was in close proximity of my router. If I went far away from my router (when the phone would indicate only one or two bars of signal strength), then both my Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls did suffer a bit. The call would get a bit choppy or the person I was talking to would hear a bit of an echo. But it’s difficult to tell whether it’s the phone, the router, or the Skype network generally at that moment that’s causing the trouble. But for the most part my call quality was perfectly fine.

The phone’s firmware can be updated by connecting the phone to your computer via USB cable and installing an update. Skype 3.2 (which has a beta out) adds multi-device presense, which means that when you’re signed in to Skype on multiple devices, your most recent status is synced across them. It will take a firmware update—hopefully Belkin will issue one soon.

Oh, and what special feature makes the Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype different from the other Skype WiFi phones? One word: Boingo. Boingo Wireless operates over 60,000 wireless hotspots around the world, and they’ve struck a deal with Belkin to allow the WiFi Phone to work on the Boingo network. Access on Boingo isn’t free, but for travellers especially, being able to use the Belkin WiFi Phone in so many places is certainly compelling. Using a phone would be a lot more convenient than pulling out a laptop every time you wanted to make a quick call.

Conclusion

The Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype looks good and works well. The ability to hop on Boingo hotspots makes this Belkin a great choice for people who already use Boingo. However, it should be noted that Boingo is the only pay hotspot this phone is guaranteed to work with—it doesn’t have a browser so it can’t click agreements and get online in some cases. But it’s great as a way to use Skype away from the computer in any home or office setting. You can purchase the Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype for $179.99 at the US Skype Store or for £109.95 in the United Kingdom.