Cordless phones

Earlier this month Philips announced its latest Skype phone, the VoIP855. This DECT cordless phone combines Skype and regular landline calling without the need for a PC, and is a follow-up to the very popular Philips VoIP 841 Cordless Phone for Skype. It automatically syncs with your Skype contacts, has XHD sound, and is Skype Certified, meaning it's been through the wringer testing-wise and should provide a great user experience.

The Philips VoIP855 will be available for purchase in the next few weeks. For more information you can check out Philips's press release [PDF link] and spec sheet [PDF link], and I'm going to be posting a full review of the device here on the Gear Blog soon.

Skype Gear has been all over the news during the past week. Here are some highlights from a few reviews and articles (as well as a video):

Martin Brown from Computerworld wrote about his experience of using two Skype cordless phones at the same time (well, one at home and one at the office) for six months here. He was using the RTX DUALphone 3088 (which just won the Danish Product Award 2007; review here, shop here) at work and the Netgear SPH200D at home (review here, shop here). Both connect directly to your router so you don't need to have a computer on to use them. Martin noted the aspects he preferred on each phone (he preferred the interface on the DUALphone 3088 but the handset design of the SPH200D) and also a few shortcomings (the selection of ringtones on the SPH200D, and the lack of a 'favorites' system in the contacts of both phones for easier dialing)--though overall he's "very satisfied" with the phones. My parents have a Netgear SPH200D at their house, and I have to agree that it's a nice way to have Skype at home away from your computer (BTW, it's especially good now that's I've got a 3 Skypephone, as they can reach me whenever and it's free for both of us).

Continue reading "Gear News Roundup" »

RTX has been making cordless phones that combine Skype and landline calls for quite a while now. Today the company has a new feather for its cap: its DUALphone 3088 has won the Danish Product Award 2007 from Ingeniøren, a Danish weekly newspaper that specializes in engineering topics. The award goes to "the very best Danish technological innovations and products developed for the worldwide market," so it's quite cool that a Skype product was chosen.

The DUALphone 3088, which incidentally we reviewed on the blog exactly one year ago today, is a cordless Skype phone that lets you make Skype calls and landline calls from the same handset without the need for a computer running, because the DUALphone's base station plugs directly into your router. It also has (one of my favorite things) automatic firmware updates, so the latest features and bug fixes get installed to the phone automatically.

To learn more about the award, check out the press release on RTX's website here (or if you can read Danish, See Ingeniøren's site here). The DUALphone 3088 is also available at the Skype shop, for £85 in the UK or €129 in the rest of Europe.

Hey UK readers--you may have caught it in Wednesday's Evening Standard, but if not... Skype has been highlighted in the latest 'Really Useful Ideas and Bargains' column by Alison Cork (the item is also on her blog here). Clark mentions the Philips VOIP841--the cordless dual phone for Skype and landlines that we and many others love--and also a contest that the Standard is running in conjunction with Skype. There are 10 Philips VOIP841 phones up for grabs, and it's really easy to enter to win...

Continue reading "UK: Win a Philips VOIP841 cordless dual phone!" »

It's been quite a week for Skype gadget competitions, and they're still coming! Gadgetcandy ("Because girls love gadgets too") have got their hands on no less than five shiny Philips cordless Skype phones to give away to their readers.

For those not familiar with Philips' VoIP841, it really is a neat device which doesn't need a PC to run, doubles up as a normal landline phone, and just plugs straight into your router or broadband modem. Skypegear reviewed it a little while ago, and we were impressed with its stylish looks, ease of use and sound quality.

Continue reading "Win one of five Philips VoIP841 phones over at Gadgetcandy.com" »

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." »

So I use the DUALPhone 3088 as my regular home phone, and I picked up the handset today and there was a screen telling me new software was available. We've already had a couple of updates from RTX, the Danish makers of the DUALPhone 3088, so I was happy to see that they keep on working to improve their product.

According to this release note, the main improvements in v115 are:

• Some fixes to the phone's ability to reconnect when the signal from the router or basestation is lost
• Improved caller ID performance and phonebook lookup
• Improved audio performance

Continue reading "Another DUALPhone 3088 Firmware update now available: v115" »

Skypegear recently looked at a pair of corded USB phones from USRobotics. Now I've had the chance to try out USR's cordless offering, the USRobotics Cordless Skype Dual Phone. After a week of playing around with it I can tell you it's a solid, no-frills way to combine Skype and landline calling in a single phone. Read on for my review.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: USRobotics Cordless Skype Dual Phone" »

Skypegear is no stranger to Linksys devices--We've done roadtests of the CIT400 a while back and the WIP320 more recently. The Linksys CIT300 Cordless Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit is another member of the Linksys family that I've had the opportunity to use around the house for the past week. It's a solid device for people who want to make their Skype calls and landline calls on the same phone but don't want to spend a ton of money to do it. Read on for my review.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Linksys CIT300 Cordless Handset" »

The VoIP841 is Philips 'one phone does it all' Skype phone. Plug it in to your landline and plug it in to your router, and suddenly you have a phone for making Skype calls from, whether your computer is on or off, as well as making or receiving regular landline calls. Nice.

Continue reading "Philips VoIP841 Skype phone gets good reviews both sides of the Pond" »

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" »

The Netgear SPH200D is designed to let you do two things: make Skype calls, and make 'normal' calls via your landline. And not only is it cordless, it also doesn't even need a computer in order to make Skype calls as it just plugs straight into your wifi or normal ethernet router.

We've seen a few of these cordless phones pop up, and because they offer a 'one phone does all' solution they have proved very popular with Skypers whenever they come out. So how does the SPH200D stack up?

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Netgear SPH200D Cordless Skype Phone" »

Now no-one likes paying for things and, as we know, it's far better to just win them in competitions if at all possible. Web User are a generous bunch, well tuned in to the nuances of human nature, and so have very generously put forward 5 DUALPhone 3088 cordless Skype phones (the ones you can use both to make normal landline calls and Skype calls on), and 5 SMC Skype wifi phones for members of the general public to win by answering a simple question:

How many registered users does Skype have all over the world?

A fair question, and I'm sure the three possible answers you have to choose from (171, 171,000, 171,000,000) won't tax the upwardly mobile, laser-sharp intellectual demographic that Skypegear attracts. So get over to Web User magazine, pick the right answer on this page, and hopefully some Skype goodies will pop onto your doormat very soon.

For those not yet convinced, check out Skypegear's Roadtests of the DUALPhone 3088 here, and the SMC WSKP100 Skype wifi phone here.

Continue reading "Win one of 10 top Skype phones courtesy of Web User magazine" »

The Philips VoIP841 allows you to make calls both via your regular and line or, if you'd prefer, via Skype, without even needing to switch on your PC.

It's been a a fair while coming, but "digital home" buying advice website Hexus.lifestyle have managed to get their hands on one this week. The timing's great, as from March 8th Skype will be offering a combo of the VoIP841 phone and the VoIP080 phone (a corded phone that you plug into your PC) in the UK and Continental Europe for just £129 / E179.

Hexus' extensive 4-page long benchmarking test really gives the phone a good going over, covering every aspect from setup, through ease of use, to call and build quality. The verdict?

"Our take on the Philips phone is hugely positive-  almost worryingly so because we're thinking we must have missed some flaw or other."

A Hexus Media Recommendation duly comes Philips' way!

Continue reading "Philips VoIP841 receives Hexus Recommended award" »

First of all - what's Skype Pro? Well as Peter Parkes, our new Skype blogger (welcome Peter!) mentions, Skype Pro is a new calling plan from Skype, available in many European countries and in the UK. The deal's pretty simple - to paraphrase:

• Zero cents per minute calling to domestic landlines in your country — this means you can talk as long as you like and only pay the connection fee (3.9 cents or equivalent) for each call that you make to domestic landlines
• Free Skype Voicemail (normally €15 per year)
• €30 discount on SkypeIn numbers
• €5 Skype Credit included as part of the introductory offer

However, of interest from a hardware point of view are the discounts available on some interesting Skype phones and accessories such as

• A €30 discount on a Philips VoIP 841 cordless phone (£21 in the UK), which Skypegear took a look at here. 
• A €10 discount on an SMC WiFi phone (£7 in the UK), which Skypegear reviewed here.

The VoIP841 is listed as coming soon in the store at present, but keep your eyes peeled for it soon.

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 Linksys CIT400 is designed to fit square in the centre of a family's telephone setup. Ultimately designed to take the place of your old DECT home phone, it can handle both your old-style normal telephone calls and also make and receive calls made via Skype: one handset does everything, you just choose how you want to make the call.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Linksys CIT400 iPhone" »

Only yesterday Skypegear mentioned the new package Skype have put together featuring the DUALPhone 3088 plus up to 300 minutes of call credit for a grand total of £99/E139. And now news comes from Joerg Droege from the Nafcom blog of not one but two firmware updates available for the DUALPhone 3088 phone.

Whilst the upgrades mostly just fix a few minor issues, there are a few more noteable additions. For a start, you can now accept and decline new contacts from the handset, which was previously unavailable. There are also improvements to the call quality and the volume of the ringtones.

For details of the release notes, check here, and for troubleshooting, try here.

Skypegear's already got it's hands on the cordless DECT DUALPhone 3088 for a roadtest and it's a real all-rounder: not only can you make Skype calls but also use it for regular phone calls, as well as accessing all of your Skype contacts, voice mail and Skype status. Now the European Skype store has bundled this phone with up to 300 minutes of SkypeOut credit for a very reasonable E139 / £99.

Not that Skypegear's tight, but there's nothing like the warm fuzzy feeling you get from giving a great gift to the love of your life that you got at a really, really good price

Continue reading "E25 off and loads of calling credit with the new DUALPhone Skype phone bundle..." »

Well it appears in the white heat of CES that Skypegear missed out on a few of the Innovations awards that Skype partners had bagged at CES; turns out that it was in fact a grand tally of at least 7 rather than the still 3 that I reported previously.

Continue reading "Correction: Skype bags 7 innovation award winners at CES rather than 3...!" »

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" »

A good showing from Taiwanese manufacturer Ipevo at CES; check out Skypegear's initial comments for more...

First up - Skype's own answer to Finnish Eurovision sensation Lordi...Skype's Ipevo product guru and resident Finn Rasmus...

Continue reading "CES 2007: More live photos of IPEVO Skype phones" »

More photos of the intriguing Asus Aiguru super-slim, email and music-equipped Skype phone from CES...more after the break...

Continue reading "CES 2007: More photos from CES of the Asus Aiguru S2" »

So CES is officially "go" today, and first off the block for Skype announcements we have Netgear's cordless SPH200D.

Sharing a very similar design to the company's existing wifi Skype phone the SPH101, the SPH200D is designed to let users make both regular landline calls as well as both free Skype-to-Skype calls and cheap SkypeOut calls to regular landlines or mobile phones.

Continue reading "CES 2007: Make Skype or landline calls from Netgear's new cordless phone...without using a PC!" »

Now the original cordless DUALPhone has to be one of Skype's best ever selling phones, and holds a special place in my heart as my first Skype phone (aww!). The combination of being able to make Skype calls and landline calls from one handset was just what I was looking for.

However, apparently with the release of Skype 3 for Windows there were one or two compatibility issues, and so Danish DUALPhone manufacturer RTX have done the decent thing and provided a firmware upgrade to take the phone to version 2.22. This upgrade also ensures compatibility with Windows Vista for anyone who has January 30th (the Vista consumer release date) marked on their Pocket PC's calendar and a whole hunk of money in their back pocket.

Continue reading "Firmware upgrade for the original DUALPhone" »

Now some Skypers might have been a little disappointed by the news last week that Philips VOIP841 cordless Skype phone won't be shipping in the US until 2007.

For those who just can't wait or those who just fancy something a bit different, the GE phone reviewed this week by BusinessWeek may be just the thing. The GE 28300EE2 (nice name chaps - catchy!) differs from the Philips phone in that it plugs into your PC rather than your router, meaning that you do have to have your PC on in order to make Skype calls (although you can happily make landline calls from it when the PC's off).

Continue reading "GE DECT Skype phone "Well thought-out device": BusinessWeek" »

I've had quite a few people asking about availability for the Philips VOIP841 cordless Skype/DECT phone.

As I mentioned yesterday, there is at least one US customer who has taken delivery of one, and news reaches Skypegear that Philips are planning on getting the VOIP841 into the EU Skype online store in December, hopefully in time for Christmas.

US shoppers may have to wait a little bit longer as it sounds as if Philips are planning to launch over the pond in early '07.

Continue reading "Philips VOIP841 Planned for December in EU" »

Cordless phones such as this new offering from RTX offer the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you have the advantages of a handset which doesn't require a PC to make Skype calls and which you can take anywhere around the house, and on the other, you still can make calls using your landline if you don't want to use Skype the whole time.

So could the DUALphone 3088 seriously replace your old landline? I got one to test this week.

Continue reading "SkypeGear Roadtest: DUALphone 3088" »

Now Skypegear loves computers, but sometimes getting home after a hard day toiling in front of one, the last thing you want to have to do is power the laptop up just to call the folks back home using Skype.

Step in the Philips VOIP841 (buy one from our online shop), which lets you make Skype calls from home without even touching your PC, as well as plain old landline calls. Brilliant! Read on for more.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Philips VOIP841 Cordless Phone for Skype" »

Aztech were showing off their tidy new Skype-certified cordless PSTN/Skype phone the V500DS last week at the Hong Kong Electronic Fair. It'll be selling in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong in January next year.

Continue reading "Aztech's V500DS cordless Skype phone enters the fray..." »

It's great to see Thomson have hooked up with Skype for their new GE-branded cordless handset, which is due in the US very shortly. Skype and Thomson have already announced that this is just the first in a whole family of devices, so watch this space.

Continue reading "Thomson hook up with Skype for the first time" »