Wifi phones

Some recent Gear-related news on this fine Tuesday:

A double take on the Belkin Skype WiFi Phone

I just caught this video review of the Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype by Chris Hogg (and Chris Hogg) on Digital Journal TV. We’ve reviewed it before here. "They" run through what the phone does and say that it kicks derriere. I’m not sure of the camera and computer tricks DJTV used to make the video, but it’s pretty neat. Watch it here:

PSP’d

If you’ve got a Sony PSP Slim & Lite and haven’t tried Skype on it yet, have a look at these step-by-step instructions on Instructables. The author also goes into how to rip and convert DVDs for viewing on the PSP.

Webware 100 Winner!

For the second year in a row, Skype is a winner in CNET’s Webware 100 Awards in the Communication category. Users (like you! Thanks if you voted!)chose the winners of these awards; no doubt this year more people are using Skype in more ways beyond the computer (like on a Nokia Internet Tablet, 3 Skypephone, a Skype WiFi phone, a Sony Mylo—the list goes on…). Check out the Skype’s winning page here, and all the 2008 Webware 100 winners here.

Several interesting bits of Skype Gear-related news from the blogosphere recently, on a variety of devices that show off many of the different ways you can use Skype.

• Video: great story about usage and a Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF review
• Mobile: Results to 3mobilebuzz’s recent contest: Why I need a 3 Skypephone
• WiFi phone: Netgear SPH200W one of Time’s top 10 gadgets of 2007
• Headsets: A look at the FREETALK Stereo Wireless Headset

My full take after the jump…

Continue reading "Gear News Roundup: A little bit of everything" »

Late last month SMC put out a new firmware update, version 1.0.0.22P1, for its popular WSKP100 WiFi phone. This SMC phone was one of the first WiFi phones for Skype to come out, so it’s great to see the company standing behind the product and continuing to make improvements. This page lists the new features and improvements, of which several are noteworthy:

• New Hotspot Manager (in the Network menu) to make it easier to connect to FON hotspots
• Improved sound quality
• Improved key lock function (so it doesn’t accidentally dial in a pocket or bag)
• Over-the-air firmware updating—this is the last firmware update that requires you to plug into a computer to update

Read on to see where to get the update and my impressions of it.

Continue reading "Another Firmware Update for SMC WSKP100 WiFi Phone" »

We’ve mentioned it while it was a rumor but now it’s official—Netgear has launched the followup to its popular SPH101 WiFi phone: the SPH200W. In addition to making the phone a little smaller (and upping the battery life to a typical 4 hour talk time / 48 hour standby time), it has two cool improvements: it now includes a cradle (so you’ll know where it is and it’ll hopefully always be charged when you need it) and it works on T-Mobile USA’s hotspot network (if you already have an account of course), so you can use it at the thousands of T-Mobile hotspots across the US (link to map here).

Being able to use the SPH200W at T-Mobile hotspots makes Skype a lot more mobile. Wherever you are in the US, you probably aren’t far from a Starbucks and they nearly always have a T-Mobile hotspot inside. Getting your caffeine fix and Skype fix quickly and easily without lugging around a laptop? Sounds pretty awesome to me.

You can read more about the SPH200W at Netgear’s site here, and you can purchase it from Skype’s US Store for $149.99 here.

One reminder and two notes of interest:

Contest!

Don’t forget about the Skypegear Haiku Contest — last day for entries is June 12. Write us a haiku about Skype and the gear you use to Skype for the chance to win a Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1. Full info here. We’ve gotten some pretty good entries so far. Keep them coming!

Netgear!

On the heels of the Netgear news yesterday, American users of Netgear’s SPH101 WiFi phone should have a look at the latest firmware update, posted yesterday. It adds the ability to log onto T-Mobile hotspots across the US. Do note that it won’t work at T-Mobile hotspots outside the US, and you need to have already established a paid account with T-Mobile before trying it out—you can’t sign up from the handset.

Video!

And finally, remember the Skype coverage on The Lab with Leo we posted recently? Well, last week Skype was featured on another newscast, this time New York City’s Fox 5. It’s a nice little segment, though be warned it has a bit of that sensationalism that American local news is known for. Like the previous segment, it’s especially good for showing to people who like saving money but aren’t familiar with Skype yet. The video is online here.

There’s always plenty of speculation about new Skype phones on the way, and Jeremy Toeman over on his Live Digitally blog has some nice juicy picture this week of a possible new wifi Skype phone from Netgear, introduced to him by none other than Netgear’s CEO, Patrick Lo.

Netgear have a heritage to be proud of with their Skype phones, not least the SPH101 wifi Skype phone and the SPH200D phone, which combines a regular landline with a cordless DECT Skype phone, giving you the best of both worlds. Details are not forthcoming, it’s still in beta and hasn’t been Skype certified as yet, but this should be a great complement to the Netgear stable of phones. For more details, including an extract of the interview with Patrick Lo, check out the post here.

Continue reading "Netgear tease us with new beta Skype wifi phone..." »

OK so another little competition to let you know about, this time over on Skype Journal. Phil Wolff and the team over there have an interesting “what if” discussion going on, centred around the idea of “In-car Skypeing”. The idea comes from Jeremy Carbaugh’s Flickr photos, showing him on a video call with his pals as they drive along in their car.

Now, whilst the benefits of Skype video calling whilst in the car might not run beyond being able to check whether or not your partner is picking his or her nose at the traffic lights, the idea of a Skype-equipped car really is pretty cool, and not so crazy as wifi becomes more and more ubiquitous and flat-rate mobile data tariffs begin to become the norm.

Continue reading "SkypeDriving Contest over at Skype Journal: Win an SMC Wifi phone and FON Router" »

Nothing gets me going like a good firmware update. (Well, when it comes to gadgets anyway…) It’s great when you know developers are still working to improve devices you’ve bought by fixing bugs and adding new features.

With that in mind I’m happy to note that SMC has just posted a new firmware, version 1.0.0.19P1, for its WSKP100 WiFi phone. We reviewed the WSKP100 a while back—it’s especially cool because it works with FON hotspots. Read on to find out what’s fixed and where to get it.

Continue reading "New Firmware for SMC WSKP100 WiFi Phone" »

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.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype" »

Now, the title of Laptop Magazine is slightly misleading, in that it actually covers a whole range of mobile devices - “mobile solutions for business & life”, as their tagline puts it. Bearing this in mind, the thinking behind their latest offer is more obvious: they are offering 10 SMC Wifi phone and Fon Router combo packs to their Canadian and US-based readers and online users. But hurry, as the promotion ends on the 15th May.

Rumour has it there may be a firmware upgrade coming out for SMC’s Skype wifi phone soon, so this offer from Laptop Magazine is very well timed! To win one of these bundles, currently selling for $159.99 in the US Skype Store, you just have to answer a simple question:

Where is the craziest place you would set up a WiFi connection and make a Skype or VoIP call?

Continue reading "Be quick to win one of Laptop magazine's Skype bundles..." »

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" »

It’s great to use Skype on your computer with a headset, but once you try it with something that looks and feels like a real phone it’s tough to go back. The Linksys WIP320 Wireless-G iPhone for Skype is a good example. It’s a WiFi phone available at the US Skype Store that I’ve had the opportunity to play around with for the past couple days. Read on for my take on this iPhone.

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: Linksys WIP 320 Wireless-G iPhone" »

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" »

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.

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" »

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...!" »

We’ve already seen photos from CES of the Asus Aiguru S2 in both its red and white livery, and we’ve seen the official photos of it in sombre grey, but as you can see from this fabulous quality snap, it also appears to be available in a rather eye-catching pink!

Continue reading "CES 2007: Asus Aiguru S2 wireless phone available in *how* many colours??!" »

US-based Linksys brought out their first Skype phones way back in the summer of 2004, but the two new phones in their iPhone range are the first two Skype phones they’ve bought out that don’t need PCs to run. Both are being released in the US immediately, which should hopefully mean that US-based customers will be able to get their hands on them from retailers such as Amazon in time for Christmas. In fact, Amazon are already listing them here and here!

Continue reading "New iPhone Wifi and Cordless Skype phones announced by Linksys" »

Having a wifi phone is all very well and good, but the question is: when you’re not using it, where do you put it? It’s all very well and good putting it down on the sideboard, but if your house is anything like mine, before you know it’s disappeared under a load of clutter.

As if by magic SMC announced two interesting new products last week to complement the SMC WSKP100 Skype wifi phone and address this very need: a simple charging cradle for the phone, and a charging cradle which also includes a wifi access point.

Continue reading "A home for your Wifi phone: the SMC charger with wifi access point" »

As I’ve already remarked regarding Dabs.com and Amazon.co.uk, sales of the first wave of Wifi Skype phones have been very strong indeed.

We’ve already seen moves from manufacturers such as SMC to ensure that these phones can be used with more and more Wifi hotspots outside of the home, and Belkin’s announcement last week that their new Wifi phone would include Boingo’s software allowing users to automatically authenticate with around 60,000 Wifi hotspots worldwide including US outlets of Starbucks and Kinko’s for a flat subscription of $7.95 a month is indeed very welcome.

Continue reading "Belkin's new Wifi Skype phone: use it with 60,000+ Boingo hotspots" »

I’ve had quite a few people (including eagle-eyed Skyper Seb - thanks mate! ) asking whether or not the SMC / FON router bundle announed a while ago would mean that the SMC phone would be compatible with FON hotspots. The official answer: Not yet, but soon.

Continue reading "The SMC - FON bundle - does it work with FON hotspots or not??" »

Following on from yesterday’s news regarding availability of the Philips VOIP841 and DUALPhone 3088 from RTX, news reaches Skypegear that the Netgear Skype wifi phone  is now available in India.

India is obviously a big market for Skype, and apparently now Indian Skypers will be able to talk wirelessly via the Netgear phone.

Continue reading "Netgear Wifi phone available in India" »

The tech shops of Japan’s Akihabara district will have a new Skype-certified Wifi phone hitting the shelves very soon: The Buffalo WSKP-G (Google translation into Google-English here). It has Skype built into the handset and so doesn’t require a PC at all to operate, just a wifi internet connection.

Continue reading "Buffalo Skype wifi phone hits Japan" »

How do you make it as easy as possible to make Skype calls over a wifi phone? Well, Skype, SMC and Fon have put together one pack that contains everything needed to get going for £99 / €139 / $159.99:

• SMC’s WSKP100 W