Plug-in handsets

Looking for a new Skype phone with style? Hulger's got you covered--their Pappa*phone is made out of wood (American walnut) and brass and has a very modern, minimalist design. Each phone is handmade out of a single piece of wood by Furni of Montreal--the unique wood grain runs from the handset to the base and ensures that no two phones are alike.

However, (bad pun alert) these phones don't grow on trees--they're relatively pricey at $300. They also aren't Skype certified. But if you're looking for a phone that's as beautiful as it is functional, the Pappa*phone could be a good choice. You can learn more about the phone at the Hulger website here; Moco Loco also recently published some interesting photos of the phones in production here.

[via Boing Boing Gadgets]

So we have this tagline on Skypegear, on our front page—

Tell Skypegear how your Skype phone helps you at work, at home or on the move for your chance to win a brand new Skype phone every month...

Well, we haven’t been getting any entries because we haven’t been talking about any contests. At all. So we’d like to gradually change that, and to start we’re going to have a little competition. The prize is the Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1 we reviewed a few weeks ago.

Over the next three weeks we want to hear about what Skype gear is doing for you. Is it making you more efficient or saving you time and money? Tell us. But here’s the catch. It has to be in the form of a haiku.

Continue reading "Skypegear Contest: Win a Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1" »

  

The Futiro Luna, along with its two siblings the Terra and the Solo, must be the best looking Skype phones going at the moment. And the good design goes beyond the styling; the full telephone keypad has a pleasant key response, the hands-free feature works excellently, and the call quality is second to none.

So it is really good news (especially for the 12.33% of Skypegear readers who read it on a Mac!) that the Luna has now passed certification for use with a Mac. There's not been too many products Mac certified for Skype yet, and hopefully Futiro's other two phones, the Terra and Solo will soon join it. All we need now is a version in white to sit nicely next to the smooth lines of that G5!

The Luna is a corded USB handset, meaning that you just install the driver for the phone, click to allow it to use Skype, and then plug the handset straight into the USB. To make a Skype call, all you need to do is pick up the phone and press the green button. The little up and down buttons allow you to scroll through all of your contacts.

Skypegear reviewed all three phones back in April - see here for the reviews. The Luna retails at £47.95 / E70 from the Skype Store, or is available direct from Futiro for shipping to other parts of the world.

Continue reading "Sexy Futiro Skype phone certified for Mac use" »

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've been trying to get my parents on the Skype bandwagon for quite a while now, and while they're willing to give it a try when I'm around to show them what to do, they're reluctant to attempt it when I'm not around (when they should be using it to call me!). Two phone from USRobotics, the USB Internet Phone and Internet Mini Phone, may just change that. The pair have been out for a while and I recently had the chance to check them out. Read on for my review.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: A Pair from USRobotics" »

 

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 Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1 is a slick little device that works as both an optical mouse and a Skype phone. I got my hands on one from the US Skype store, and after using it for a couple days I can tell you it's a really good choice for business travellers and others who want to combine the functionality of a headset and a mouse in a compact package. Read on for the full review.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1" »

Ooh not one but three phones from Futiro have come Skypegear's way for testing. The Solo, Terra and Luna are Futiro's answer to an all too common problem which plagues some phones (not just Skype ones): they tend to sometimes look like they have fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Not so these three beauties, who wouldn't look at all out of place in the offices of a designer architects or swanky boutique. Skypegear got all three to have a play with...

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Futiro Solo, Terra and Luna" »

 

There is a tendency for phones to be, well, a bit too phone-like: all boxy and eighties-looking. Futiro are an Irish-based company who specialise in making phones that break the mould: curvy lines, minimalist button layouts, shiny surfaces...oooh you could just eat them!

Whilst all of their phones are currently "corded phones" (ie not cordless), that's kind of missing the point. The range currently consists of three phones: the Solo, Terra and Luna. Let's look at them one-by-one:

Continue reading "Futiro's cuuurvy Skype phones now available in the EU & UK Skype store..." »

 

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" »

   

Taiwanese manufacturer Ipevo just don't muck about: rather than sticking with the one Skype announcement at CES this year, they've gone for three.

Continue reading "CES 2007: IPEVO pull 3 new Skype phones out of the bag" »

 

Now I have to declare right from the start of this post that personally I never got the whole 'Hello Kitty' thing. However, I do have to add that I am 28, male, and not Japanese, putting me firmly outside of the core Kitty demographic.

There is one thing I subconsciously knew when I started this blog though: It was only a matter of time before the Hello Kitty Phone for Skype turned up, and here she is!

Continue reading "Hello Kitty Phone for Skype" »