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Skype With Your Cell Phone

Posted by Zonk on from the nice-change-of-pace dept.

Praxiteles writes "Seen on Gizmodo, apparently a USB device called 'imFONE' allows you to use your existing cellphone as a VoIP phone From the article:"You simply plug this thing into your PC's USB port, pair it via Bluetooth to your phone, and you're ready to go...It currently works with imtel and Skype..." No extra contact management and caller ID works properly."

16 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Stupid by mikejz84 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So basically it turns a Cell Phone into a wireless handset for your computer. It combinds the voice quality of VoIP with the speaker and microphone of a cell phone and the great range of bluetooth--Great thinking buddy! This is not news, just another stupid crap product that will never go anywhere.

    1. Re:Stupid by }InFuZeD{ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If you look at the picture you'll realize that there is *some* usefulness in this. Take a laptop, pick up a wifi spot, and you can use your cellphone to make free long distance/roaming calls.

    2. Re:Stupid by cpu_fusion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I will add that I don't see that listed as a supported feature of this particular product, but the scheme works something like this:

      You buy two phones on a plan that allows unlimited in-network calls. You leave one phone at home hooked up via bluetooth to software that connects that cell phone to VOIP. Then you go out with the other cell phone and ... (3) profit.

      I think I'm seeing the light of the other posts though, and I definately don't see this listed as a feature of this particular package...

    3. Re:Stupid by PornMaster · · Score: 3, Informative

      Except you're likely to get considerably better audio quality with your laptop and a headset. Hell, if you could connect the cell phone via USB cable directly to the laptop at least you wouldn't have to kill your cell phone battery.

      --
      500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
    4. Re:Stupid by }InFuZeD{ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not everyone has a WiFi Pocket PC device. Lots of people have Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

      I don't know how much this thing is going to cost, but I imagine that it's reasonable ($30 or so) then it's less than the price of most bluetooth headsets and obviously lower than the price of a PocketPC (I'm not saying you won't get more value in a PocketPC, but that has nothing to do with this niche market).

      The purpose of this device is taking what you already have (or the lack of what you have) and making it more useful.

    5. Re:Stupid by mikejz84 · · Score: 3, Informative

      So for portable communications I need the following 1) A Wifi Laptop 2) This USB adapter thingy 3) A bluetooth phone Total cost: Over $1,000 Making a call 1) Find a hot spot 2) Sit down, boot up laptop 3) connect to Skype 4) go though laptop case, find bluetooth adapter 5) attach to laptop, load up whatever software you need 6) Take out your cell phone, go to a few menus to connect to your computer 7) Make your call Point: Sometimes i pays not to be so cheap and just get a better cell phone plain or learn how to talk and get to the point.

    6. Re:Stupid by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So for only twice the monthly cost of a standard phone you too can make calls at slightly lower than normal landline rates!

      You'd have to use the phone a hell of a lot before 'profit' would be in the equation.

  2. And the name of this website bringing us this... by Limecron · · Score: 4, Funny

    PhoneyWorld. ::sigh::

  3. why use a cell phone? by almost-empty · · Score: 4, Interesting

    but why use your cellphone as a voip phone? does it work for dialing also, or just speaker/headphone? in my opinion I'd rather use a usb headset than my cellphone for VoIP or Skype, but thats just me.

  4. Looks like a Bluetooth adapter... by frostman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Assuming this actually works (and actually exists), it looks suspiciously like... a Bluetooth Adapter! And it looks a lot like you're just using the phone as a headphone/mic combo, and the central contact list just means you have to use your PC, not your phone, to dial.

    If your computer has built-in Bluetooth, is there any software out there to get Skype talking to your handset? Isn't that something Skype is likely to offer?

    --

    This Like That - fun with words!

  5. Correct me if I'm wrong.. by dr.matrix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ..but isn't this just a Bluetooth dongle with some additional software? This piece of Linux software
    http://www.soft.uni-linz.ac.at/_wiki/tiki-index.ph p?page=ProjectBluezHandsfree
    seems to do basically the same..

    1. Re:Correct me if I'm wrong.. by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Interesting
      The way most people are interpreting this, it's the opposite - the link you point to has the computer as the "bluetooth headset" and the handset as the device to connect to the network. However, what the write-up appears to be suggesting is that this is the handset as the headset and the computer as the connection to the network.

      Now, quite honestly, I don't see how it can work. To the best of my knowledge, cellphone handsets cannot act as external headsets for other devices, even with bluetooth. At least, they don't genericly (there are cellphones out there that support something called UMA, GSM over IP over Bluetooth or 802.11, but that's still nothing like what's being described here.)

      Does anyone out there who knows bluetooth and knows what cellphones "have to" implement explain how this works, if indeed, it really does? The entire thing looks like a warped misunderstanding. Actually, it looks like it's made up.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  6. Re:This is pointless... by }InFuZeD{ · · Score: 3, Informative

    You aren't using your cell phone minutes. You're connecting via BlueTooth to your computer/laptop and using it's WiFi connection to place calls.

  7. samsung i730 and skype for pocket pc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have a samsung i730 smartphone with Verizon's EVDO broadband internet access on it. Recently installed the pocket pc version of skype on it and now I can call the whole world for almost free of charge. Works fabulous and it has already cut down my phone bills by a good measure.

  8. Or... by hkb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Uhm. Or just use Skype on a Windows Mobile-based cellphone with built-in/sdio wi-fi. It works greats and I find it more stable than Symbian phones.

    --
    /* Moderating all non-anonymous trolls up since 2004 */
  9. What about the reverse? by ASaidi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think it would be much more useful to be able to use your cellphone to make outbound phone calls. Coupled with a POTS VOIP gateway you could have normal phones in your house that used your cellphone to dial out when you were there, and when you wern't you could take your cellphone with you.