Bluetooth headsets

Big news for US Skypers today--Skype and Wal-Mart have announced a partnership that makes Skype-certified products available at 1,800 Wal-Mart stores across the US starting today. What sorts of gear will Wal-Mart be carrying? There's a pretty wide range:

Continue reading "Skype, Wal-Mart; Wal-mart, Skype." »

I recently wrote up a review of the Plantronics .audio 910 Bluetooth Headset, a great way to chat on Skype and on your mobile phone wirelessly. But what if you already have a bluetooth headset? You can probably still use it with Skype. Read on.

Continue reading "How to use your bluetooth headset with Skype" »

Have you seen how many different phones there are to make Skype calls now?! This year has seen an explosion in different new models, so I thought it was time for a quick Skypegear overview on the different phones you can use to make calls via Skype.

Cost-wise Skype phones run from around £10 right up to hundreds of pounds, so it's important when you're choosing a phone that you pick one based not just on your budget, but more importantly on your needs. I've divided them up into four categories:

• Phones that you need to have your PC on to use
• Phones that can be used without a PC
• Speakerphones
• Headsets.

Of course there are other ways to make calls such as by plugging in a phone adaptor to your regular phone, or by using the in-built mic in your webcam, but these really are 4 main ways of improving your Skype audio calls with hardware.

There's also a great interactive guide to choosing a phone in the Skype store, but read on for more info...

Continue reading "The 4 main types of Skype phone...or, a beginner's guide to buying a Skype phone" »

A friend of mine sometimes jokes that bluetooth headsets are evil because on the TV show 24, only terrorists wear them. I used to completely agree with him. A few years ago I tried to Skype with an old bluetooth headset I had. Seemed like a great idea, but the experience left a lot to be desired. The headset never fit very well on my ear, I couldn't control any of Skype's functions using the headset buttons, and the bluetooth driver on my computer would only work half the time. When it did work, sound quality was lousy--callers complained that they heard an echo (the mic picking up the speaker)--and every ten minutes the connection would break in a staticy explosion and I'd have to turn the headset off and back on to resume speaking.

Needless to say I was skeptical when the US Skype Store sent me a Plantronics .Audio 910 Bluetooth Headset to try out. But I've been very pleasantly surprised. The major difference between the Plantronics and my previous bluetooth-Skype attempt is that the Plantronics is Skype certified, so it's actually designed to interact well with Skype. The difference is like night and day. Read on for my review.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Plantronics .Audio 910 Bluetooth Headset" »

Life isn't easy being an international firm of architects. Gone are the days of waltzing around in black polo-necks, talking Bauhaus and minimalism and wearing thick black specs to impress the ladies. These days, clients are demanding, deadlines are always imminent, and the boundaries of creativity always ready to be pushed.

It is these kinds of pressures that, with offices across the UK and in Prague, architects  Lewis & Hickey operate under. As you can see from their website, Lewis & Hickey are far from conventional in their approach to office space and working practices, and so Skype were delighted to work with them on the first Skype for Business showcase in the UK.

Continue reading "International Architects get a full Skypeover" »

The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards have been going since 1989, and are a way for the industry to acknowledge products that their team of independent judges consider to be the best designed products in consumer technology. Skype partners managed to bag no less than three honorees this year at CES, so congrats are due to:

• Thomson - for the GE DECT 6.0 Embedded Skype Residential Phone
• Plantronics - for the .Audio 910 Bluetooth Headset
• Netgear - for the SPH200D cordless Skype phone

The Plantronics is pictured above; (slightly blurry I'm afraid) photos of the other two award winners with their newly earned stripes after the break...

Thomson cordless GE Skype phone...

Continue reading "CES 2007: Skype partners bag 3 Innovation awards" »

What the nxZen VoIP headset lacks in vowels, it certainly seems to make up for in performance. Ontario-based manufacturer Gennum's first Skype-certified cordless headset works via a USB adapter, and contains a number of features designed to make a really clear, crisp Skype calling experience.

Continue reading "Gennum's nxZEN headset: unpronounceable but powerful" »