Panasonic

Here's a roundup of some recent Skype Gear-related news:

Hardware

• As Peter mentioned, British comedian and ubergeek Stephen Fry had some nice words for the 3 Skypephone S2 earlier this month.
• Computer Act!ve gave the Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype a spin and liked what it found--I reviewed it here and also found it pretty slick.
• The Panasonic KX-WP1050 made Computerworld's list of 10 great Wi-Fi gadgets for work and play.

In Other News...

• Skyping the election--the US presidential election is certainly heating up following Friday's first debate between the candidates. It's been really interesting to watch how the candidates have been using technology as a part of their campaigns; this article in Forbes discusses Skype's role
• Using Skype to run a language tutoring business.
• Keeping in touch with a girlfriend while off on an adventure and keeping up with grandparents via video.
• One for the offbeat file: a Skype song. Is it electronica? Ambient? I'm not sure, but I like it.

In my last post I mentioned how I was taking a flight on American Airlines and would have an opportunity to test out the Gogo Inflight Internet from Aircell (and see if I could get Skype working on it of course). Well unfortunately my plan was foiled (foiled!) because instead of a single long flight from the east coast to the west coast of the US, I had to fly through Chicago, meaning both planes were relatively small and weren't equipped with Gogo service. It may have been for the best though--Aircell is not happy about people making calls over their service. Alas, if you take a Gogo-equipped flight and are able to get Skype working over a VPN, do let us know in the comments.

My trip was not a total disaster in the Skype department though--on my return flight on United, the August issue of their Hemispheres Magazine had a full page feature on Skype gear. It's nothing we haven't covered on this blog before (Skype on PSP, Plantronics .Audio 910 Headset, Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, Panasonic KX-WP1050, Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000), but it's still nice to see Skype in a mainstream magazine like this. Here's a scan of the page (click to make it larger):

So you arrive at your hotel, exhausted after a long flight in a far-flung part of the world, unpack your bags, power up your phone to call home only to discover: no wifi network. This doesn't have to be Kazakhstan; as any road warrior knows there are many major hotel chains in Europe and the US who only offer cable-based internet access rather than having any kind of wireless internet.

This is where the Panasonic KX-WP1050 (to give it its true title) comes into its own. Yes; Panasonic have packed into their neat little travel box not only a slim little wifi Skype phone, but also a little mini travel wireless router, which you can use both for the phone and, if needs be, for your PC or other wifi-equipped devices. Available now to US customers, Skypegear got to test it at home and away...

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Panasonic KX-WP1050 Wi-fi Skype phone with Wireless Travel Router" »