Linksys Debuts Cordless Skype Handset

An anonymous reader writes "A new cordless Skype-based VoIP handset will hit Internet and retail stores next week. According to Linksys, the CIT200 handset will allow users to make VoIP phone calls as easily as today's cordless handsets make conventional land line calls. The device uses DECT wireless protocol, claimed to eliminate interference with 2.4GHz phones or devices. It comes with a DECT dongle that plugs into a PC's USB port. It's expected sell for around $130. Initially, Linksys is requiring that the PC run Windows XP or 2000, so no Linux yet."

Comments

Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled phone

[webperf]

I've got some spare 'regular' DECT phones.. can I use them instead of the linksys one? and if so .. does anyone know if you can buy the USB dongle seperately? TIA

VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should I go to a service that 1) requires me to own a computer, 3) requires me to have a broadband conection, 3) is dependent on my electricity not going out, and 3) requires me to purchase an expensive phone when I could simply get Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS - with better sound quality and no dropouts) for a mere $8 monthly (yes, that's really what I pay)?

At the price VOIP costs, I might as well just get a cell phone, and not be tethered to only being able to use it in my home.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Cruithne]

Well lets see...

1) You have an computer (which you dont actually need btw)
3) You have a broadband connection
3) Get a cheap UPS
3) You dont need to purchase an expensive phone - this is just one option, there are cheaper options available.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Trejkaz]

It's all about cost of investment vs. ongoing costs. Phone calls are a great deal cheaper on VOIP, especially if you regularly make calls internationally, or even interstate.

But that being said, forking out for something which just runs Skype is a waste of money, because you miss out on free calls to the much larger number of accounts using the (more standard) SIP. That is, unless Skype have properly opened up their SIP interface lately and not informed Slashdot. :-)

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[DARKFORCE123]

Why should I go to a service that 1) requires me to own a computer, 3) requires me to have a broadband conection, 3) is dependent on my electricity not going out, and 3) requires me to purchase an expensive phone when I could simply get Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS - with better sound quality and no dropouts) for a mere $8 monthly (yes, that's really what I pay)?

Well lets see:

1. Skype is free with other skype users so that means unlimited worldwide calls. How much do you think your $8 phone plan with the default long distance provider is going to charge for a call from the US to India?
2. Your local plan will probably still charge you for local extended calls so enjoying calling the place across the street from you for free but you'll get charged in 6 second increments for everything else.
3. Most people own a computer that has USB support
4. A lot of people have broadband.
5. A one time cost of $130 is not excessive.
6. Skypeout is extremely cheap when you need to call regular folk with their own line. I bet I can call a lot of far off places for awhile on that $8 you spend just keeping the phone line active.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[eclectro]

Yeah, I used to pay $35 a month for POTS (and that's as low as it got) and I get a skype-in number for a YEAR for what it cost me ONE month with POTS.

So I am saving $385 dollars plus I don't get all the crap calls I was receiving before.

VOIP is VERY worth it.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Solder Fumes]

You only pay $8? Strange, in order to get a phone line with just Caller ID and Voicemail, my phone bill was cracking $40. And that was before any calls, or any long distance. I got my first bill, then immediately signed up with Vonage. Now I pay $25 for dozens of services I'd never afford on a standard line, and use every day. Plus I don't pay any long distance charges.

Of course, if you have no one to call, it doesn't seem very impressive.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Spaceman Spiff II]

You use Vonage now? I'm seriously considering it at the moment. How's it been working for you? Any recommendations or anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you actually tried VoIP? I ask because you talk about sound quality, which makes me think you have, but the rest of your post makes me think you haven't. Let's address your points:

1. You don't have to own a computer, but you do need broadband. I can't see anyone ponying up for broadband without the computer. This makes me doubt the sincerity of your post, though. Even though not all nerds, geeks, and freaks are computer-related, I have a hard time believing anyone on slashdot (over age 18 anyway) doesn't own a computer.

2. If you wouldn't use a broadband line anyway, VoIP may not be for you. On the other hand, if your phone bill would otherwise be greater than your broadband bill, VoIP might save you money. It doesn't sound like that is the case, so VoIP is probably not for you.

3. This is a valid concern. I own a cell-phone, so this is not much of a problem for me personally. As a sibling poster said, an UPS could be used.

4. I am using VoIP with my existing POTS phone with VoIP. I did not have to purchase hardware of any kind. I only ever had a problem when I was downloading loads of torrents at once (throttling fixed that problem). No, it's not as good as POTS, but it has never interfered with phone calls either. I have never had a dropped call.

On the financial side, the phone portion of my bill is literally $3.95 plus tax and fees. It's part of a package that I get with broadband that I use anyway. It has every feature I could ever want (things SBC didn't even offer and would have charged me for if they could) already included in the price. VoIP is totally worth it for me.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[blackest_k]

A Partial reply to your arguements,
VOIP is cheap for making international calls at any time of day about 2 cents a minute from uk to any phone in the usa,
and generally 2 cents a minute to a landline anywhere else.
and 20cents a minute to most cell phones. it does vary a bit but in general thats the cost.

now my mobile operator in the uk wants closer to a dollar a minute (70p) a minute to call ireland for example so the skype rate is quite good - some phone cards are comparable to skype rates.

however this handset is expensive, but there is an alternative a cellphone. namely an mdaIII (xdaIIi ect).
this is a cellphone pda with built in wireless networking running windows mobile 2003 and skype has a client.

so for me cell phone contract for my national calls and skype for my international calls.

in theory any open wireless access point could be used to make the jump on to skype.

so in conclusion yes this handset is expensive and my handset does all it does and more (but you really need to use a headset to cancel echo's).

finally why would you want to rely on voip alone? its not a replacement telephone service its a complimentary service similar to your telephone service and doesn't have 911 services or an operator.
why would you buy broadband to specifically run this service?

makes no sense to me but if you have broadband already it also makes sense to use it.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Hektor_Troy]

1) requires me to own a computer,
3) requires me to have a broadband conection,
3) is dependent on my electricity not going out, and
3) requires me to purchase an expensive phone

4) Insert "2) profit!"

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Lumpy]

first off VoIP does not require a computer. only the low grade crap hardware uses a computer with it. Yes, this cordless is low grade crap. They have 802.11b SIP cordless voip phones that work absolutely great even with the "interference" they talk about.

Second, if you already have broadband then you can ditch your land line completely at it's $35.00 a month charge and replace it with a real VoIP provider that charges decent rates like broadvoice only a moron would get broadband to get VoIP and then not use the bradband service for anything else. $9.95 a month unlimited in-state with all features is what I pay. Not like the hugely overcharged Vonnage that charges $20.00+ a month for the same service and takes ownership of your hardware by locking it to their service. Finally your regular cordless telephone at home is dependant on electrical service not going out. Haven't you ever owned a cordless phone before? they do not work in a power outage. and a simple UPS will solve that problem. I spent $28.99 on a cheapie soho UPS that will keep the modem and router up for about 4 hours at a time. the wifi sip phone works off of that just fine.

Finally, you must be outside of the old GTE/Verizon reach. They rape their customers with glee by charging $35.00 for the base line with no calls made even locally. then charge $0.08 per phone call made and no long distance. you are reporting your true cost per month on your POTS line right? all the "fees" they tack on?

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a free VoIP to POTS (real phone) service. http://voipuser.org/

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Zone-MR]

If you're in the UK, consider using www.budgetcom.co.uk - 1p/min to the US and many other countries, with no need to any hardware or subscriptions.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[blackest_k]

hmm interesting but, my mobile phone operator would consider an 0844 number outside of my price plan ( swine since I get 2 hours of calls to uk mobiles and land lines in my contract). so it would cost me significantly more
about 40 pence a minute using my mobile to access this service.

I dont have a landline so that limits me to payphones.
however I do have one question if i am using a payphone to make these calls would i be charged twice once by bt to connect to the access number and then by budgetcom

ie would budget com charge me 1p a minute and bt then charge me 5p a minute making the call cost 6p a minute.

or in the case of my mobile 40 odd pence a minute.
(still cheaper than using my cell phone direct thou)

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[fbsderr0r]

1) you probably own a computer
2) you probably have a broadband connection
3) every other cordless phone on the market uses electricity
4) have you priced a good cordless phone lately?

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Professor_UNIX]

Where do you live that your POTS is only $8/month? Is that unmetered? Do you have caller-ID service? My bill is $35/month before taxes here in SBC Ohio land and all I have is a POTS line with caller-ID with name service.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I tried skyping a buddy who is in Manilla, and the results sucked. He was on wifi to the hotel's broad band connection, I was using a plain old cable modem. Now, it was free, I have to give it that, but in this case I definitely got what I paid for. The call was choppy and distorted. I know I would have paid through the nose for a regular phone call - but if I really needed to understand my friend, it would have been worth it.

Secondly, I'm of the opinion that these unregulated internet services plain old suck. With the phone company, if I discover that my phone isn't working - even on Sunday - I can contact them, and I know I'll be connected in short order. I've had a ticket open with the clowns at Skype for about 4 days now so that I can add Skype out, and I haven't heard a thing why I can't add time. I don't even want to get into my last problem with the cable company for the cable modem.

Here's the short - if you want to talk to someone dependably, use the regulated POTS. If you want to screw around, use VOIP.

POTS has both the "sunny day" and "shit hits the fan" scenarios worked out. (WAN) VOIP barely has "sunny day" worked out.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

In Chicagoland (or at least where I live) barebones POTS is $65/month after taxes. $30 a year for SkypeIn, $130 for the phone, and .02 cents a minute (what it's at currently for SkypeOut minutes) is certainly worth it. I already have broadband (cable). I have a cellphone (which sucks) but no landline. $160 Skype VoIP base cost vs. $780 POTS base cost.....Hmmmm, let me think about that one.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[hb253]

The UPS covers you if your house/apartment power goes out. However, it probably won't help when there is a wider blackout going on. For example, my local cable provider (Cablevision) specifically says that during a power outage, their VOIP offering will not work. Such is not the case with Verizon POTS service. You can get a dialtone even during a blackout.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[OverlordQ]

Just hope you never need to call 911 ;)

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[OverlordQ]

Dont forget adding in the cost of the computer, cost of the power running the computer, cost of the broadband. Get those numbers and then tell me what's cheaper.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[robca2]

Ok. So not being able to dial 911 is an annoyance but hardly a serious problem. If you use VOIP, program the number for your local police department into your phone or write it down and tape it to the handset. And if this applies to you, please do it now! :)

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[berj]

Well.. I've already got a computer, I've already got it on and I've already got broadband. So there's no net increase for me to move to Skype.

Even if I were to factor those costs in, I would only pro-rate them based on the amount of time I'd use the phone/skype which is maybe 20 minutes a day (if that) out of a day of 5 hours of computer use at home the factor is pretty minimal. eg. say 1/15th of my time on the computer is Skyping, my broadband bill is $40 a month. So the Skype portion of that is: $2.67. My computer is paid for so there's no extra cost there. The thing will last for years more so I'm not going to factor that in. My electricity bill is something like $30/month. Assuming again, 20 minutes of VOIP usage in a 16-hour waking day that's 1/48th of my power usage (it should actually be MUCH lower.. my laptop uses MUCH less power than my lights and fridge but be that as it may) that's a whopping $0.63.

So... my extra computing cost for using VOIP: $3.30
My phone bill: $34.00 -- barebones, no call answer, no call waiting.

It gets worse when I factor in long distance... MUCH worse.

So.. what were you asking about again?

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Alaster]

Those costs don't have to be counted because they are being ran anyway. The cost savings come with consolodating phone with services you already run. Thus the cost savings. Of course if you don't already have/want computer/powered computer/broadband then maybe skype isn't good for you.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[CreatureComfort]

But is that disclaimer by Cablevision meant to cover themselves because your side of the connection is likely to go down due to lack of power, or their side? I'm willing to bet that the reason they have it is because most of their customers don't have UPS. I've worked in several cable company head-ends and all of them were on generator backup. When power goes out at our house I can still get weather updates, news, etc., because I have the cable box and TV on their own UPS.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[xero9]

To me, VoIP is well worth it. For ~$24 I can make unlimited calls to 22 countries and have numbers in Vermont and Pennsylvania so that my family in both those states can call me for nothing (I live in Canada).

Also you can pick up toll-free numbers for about 20c/month with just over 1c/min, which if you do the math ($8 - $0.20, at a rate of 1.37c/min) you could have about 570 minutes for the exact same price as you pay now.

Just my 2 cents

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

>Second, if you already have broadband then you can ditch your land line
>completely at it's $35.00 a month charge and replace it with a real VoIP provider
>that charges decent rates like broadvoice only a moron would get broadband to get
>VoIP and then not use the bradband service for anything else.

And if you happen to need access to emergency numbers? Assuming you don't have a mobile, then I have yet to find a VoIP provider that allows access to them...

  -Janek

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Anonymous Coward]

VOIP is still not worth it.

1) requires me to own a computer

Ever heard of vonage? Nope, you don't need a computer.

2) requires me to have a broadband conection

Who doesn't have broadban now a days? Unless you live up in the boonies ..

3) is dependent on my electricity not going out

Have a cell phone? You can redirect calls there if the power ever goes out..

requires me to purchase an expensive phone when I could simply get Plain Old Telephone Service

Again with a service like Vonage, any telephone will do.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[LDoggg_]

You're singing praises of skype and VOIP, and I agree its a cool service, but I don't like this Linksys device which is the topic of this article.

3. Most people own a computer that has USB support

That's really neither here nor there, the thing should connect to my network wifi or wired and work with my computer off.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[davidphogan74]

If your house is still wired for phone service you can always dial 911, even if the service is disconnected. Just keep a phone plugged in for 911 reasons, if you don't have a cell phone you could use for 911 calls.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Kancept]

If I wanted to call India, I'd just call Dell tech support. It's free as well.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[michelcultivo]

But in others country (like Brazil) the long distance call is too expensive that you need to have a short call time. There's a lot of friends here that use Skype CallOut and ask me every time if there is Handset that you can connect on the computer and act like a home phone.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[instarx]

Such is not the case with Verizon POTS service. You can get a dialtone even during a blackout.

Don't count on it. My Verizon phone went dead immediately in the New York blackout a few years ago. The POTS phones in other parts of the city that worked for a while went dead after only an hour or so as Verizon's backup batteries went dead. You say Cablevision doesn't guarantee you phone service in blackouts while Verizon does? Just try to find that in your contract with Verizon, neither do they.

Incidently, cell phones, as well as working in blackouts when VOIP or POTS do not, provide enough light to navigate pitch black stairwells just by the light from their LCD screens. Try that with a plain old POTS phone.

Re:VOIP is still not worth it.

[Zone-MR]

You pay whatever your telecom charges you connect to budgetcom's access number. Budgetcom doesn't charge you any extra (I assume they get a portion of what you pay for the call - similar to how premium rate numbers work but cheaper).

Welcome to another let down by the FCC.

[TechyImmigrant]

DECT is and area where the FCC has let you down.

In Europe, the EEC set aside spectrum (1900Mhz) for the purpose of running DECT. The protocol is neat, it does TDD, pi/4 DQPSK and phones have enough smarts to share the spectrum amongst themselves without interfering.

In the USA, your cordless phones are thrown to the dogs in the unlicensed bands. No predetermined spectrum for the application, so phones have to fight it out at 2.4 and 5Ghz with 802.11, microwave ovens and anything else that uses the band. Better still, since there is no uniform standard for interoperability, your handset will only work with the base it came with and not with another manufacturer's.

DECT in 2.4Ghz (achieved with frequency hopping, so it's not true DECT) does interfere with 802.11. I've done the tests. I've designed both DECT silicon and 802.11 silicon and I can assure you they interfere when they share the same unlicensed band.

Re:Welcome to another let down by the FCC.

[TechyImmigrant]

Someone else will probably point this out, but this year the FCC did in fact approve a band for DECT in the US. Not the same one as in Europe, so the same gear doesn't work and it's ooh.. about 10 years too late.

Re:Welcome to another let down by the FCC.

[dascandy]

Somebody at FCC figured 1800 would not fit for mobile phones, so let's put them at 1900. Oh wait, now where to put DECT... let's think... Ah forget DECT, nobody's going to use it.

The US (FCC) standards are just different, and in this case worse. Please do start to conform to the rest of the world.

Except for the Microsoft MSN stuff, I don't understand why it's popular here.

Re:Welcome to another let down by the FCC.

[Mr2001]

The same gear can't work because 1900 MHz is already used in the US for cell phones (PCS band).

A year too late?

[Gentlewhisper]

Siemens has already come out with a similar product... a year ago!

Re:A year too late?

[Gentlewhisper]

Ooops, here's a link Gigaset M34

I know because for the last year I have been using this very same phone, and wondering why there are no other alternatives. Could this extra recognition from manufacturers come due to eBay's recent purchase of Skype?

Re:A year too late?

[O0o0Oblubb!O0o0O]

Almost one year :-)

Here's the joint press release from Siemens and Skype:

http://www.skype.com/company/news/2004/siemens.htm l

There may still be a market because Gizmodo states that Siemens does not deliver their adapter to the U.S.:

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/software/siemens-sk ype-usb-adapter-not-coming-to-us-025688.php

Re:A year too late?

[freitasm]

This is so out of sync! Have a look at the DualPhone ( review ). The DualPhone actually connects to Skype and landline, and you can select to make or receive calls through one or another.

This Linksys one is just half way there...

Digital Sickness

[webword]

"Skype" still sounds like some foul disease to me. That's all, move along. Hopefully you didn't catch anything reading this post.

Re:Digital Sickness

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh noes! You caught the funny virus bug!

Quick! Head to the most boring blog available for decontamination!




(Mass panic ensues as nobody can figure out which is the most boring one)

One step forward......

[daemonenwind]

Back in the day, my girlfriend had a Motorola cell phone. The phone + battery was the size of a purse and needed to stay plugged into the cigarette lighter of her car to work. The signal was pretty spotty, too.

A few weeks ago, I bought a Sanyo cell phone from Sprint. It can stay on for several days with light talking, and is easily pocket-sized. I have 700 prime-time minutes a month, and unlimited calls after 7 and on weekends for about 50USD/month. Coverage is excellent anywhere I take it.

Today, the latest advancement in phone technology is a phone with a minimum 6 pound battery/transceiver combo, and unlimited calling provided I have a non-existant wimax connection, or spotty service from the nearest Starbucks?

What a country!

Re:One step forward......

[x.Draino.x]

This isn't a wifi phone. It's a cordless phone, and it's base plugs into your computer through a USB cable. So I would say it's even more archaic. *BUT*, it is likely a wonderful alternative for a house phone for those who make lots of international calls or people who have lots of tech savvy Skype using friends.

Re:One step forward......

[Anonymous Coward]

...and, because your cell phone has been in your pocket all these years, you're now sterile. What a bonus!

Re:One step forward......

[sandmaninator]

At the moment, when I talk to my girlfriend (who lives in Mexico) via Skype and I want to wash some dishes at the same time, I have to take my wireless laptop into the kitchen to do so. It would be nice to just carry a regular-sized phone instead.
This would be even better for my girlfriend who does not have a wireless router (and is constantly destroying PC headsets).

Haven't these been around?

[THotze]

I can seem to remember Skype selling phones (one corded, one cordless) that would work with a PC via Windows and USB - but I think the cordless one wasn't available in North America.

Still, although WAY to expensive for me to pay for a handset, I might actually consider buying one - especially as Skype adds more countries for SkypeIn. Two things, though:

1) how hard would it be to make drivers for Linux and Mac OS X?
2) Isn't this a problem just WAITING for Bluetooth? I mean, couldn't you make a Bluetooth handset? It wouldn't be very different from a bluetooth hands-free device, all you'd really need to add would be some kind of communication for the caller display and the dial pad. And then you wouldn't need the USB dongle - saves a USB port, makes it more practical for laptop users, etc.
      The obvious limit of this is the highly limited range of Bluetooth - much less than a 2.4GHz cordless phone.

Tim

Re:Haven't these been around?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you had bluetooth, you wouldn't need broadband:

Bluetooth headset -> computer -> connect to internet with cell phone

Re:Haven't these been around?

[gl4ss]

well..

with bluetooth you wouldn't NEED TO WAIT!

you could just use it.. right now.

Re:Haven't these been around?

[jdonnis]

I have friends who are using their bluetooth headsets to connect to their computers and use skype.

It is a bit irregular what works and what doesn't.
My Sony Ericsson headset does neither work on my debian nor friends powerbooks, whereas his Sony Ericsson headset works on both machines. ?!?

I hate computers

[ReformedExCon]

I hate them for trying to do all the things that other things already do better.

I hate Windows Media Center.

I hate things that require my computer be on to work.

I want a cordless VoIP handset that doesn't need a computer. Ideally, I'd like to have a wireless VoIP handset that doesn't need a localized base station (something along the lines of cellular, but with free long distance).

I don't want to sit in front of my computer when I use the phone. I don't want to sit in front of my computer when I want to watch TV. I don't want my computer to be on.

The computer is a great tool for what it does, but the dominant paradigm seems to be to build more functionality into this heavy hunk of metal rather than build up the functionality of smaller, better-suited devices.

Re:I hate computers

[csirac]

Zyxel sells a range of VoIP and wireless gear. Their P-2000 wireless VoIP handset looked nifty, but supposedly turning on even 40-bit WEP encryption taxed its little CPU too much and so acceptable sound quality required you to run without encryption.

The new P-2000 v2 looks great, resembles a normal mobile phone and I would _imagine_ they would have fixed the quality issues associated with encrypted WiFi (best to read some reviews first).

They've also got this thing, a sort of ADSL/WiFi/VoIP stand-alone box thingy. Not sure what the "VoIP" part does, apart from perhaps doing QoS... and stuff like STUN (NAT traversal for SIP), etc.

Re:I hate computers

[aussie_a]

I hate things that require my computer be on to work.

Oh I agree completely. There's this thing called Firefox, I've heard it's all the rage among the online community. But I've heard you have to actually turn on your computer for it to work. Well fuck that I say. I'll continue to use IE, and yeah. It requires me to turn on my computer, but only because it's tied in with Windows XP so much.

I was going to buy a tablet so I could draw. But again, the fucking thing requires me to turn on my computer. Well fuck that.

I don't know whose designing these computer-tools, but they really need to re-think this whole "computer is on" business.

Re:I hate computers

[Slashdiddly]

I don't want to sit in front of my computer when I want to watch TV

Perhaps you should look into subnotebooks small enough you can "cuddle up with" they way you can with a book? A few months ago, I stopped using tv/tivo combo in favor of notebook/torrent/divx combination and haven't looked back. Tivo gave us time-shifting, bittorrent gave us space-shifting. Now you can catch up on your shows while having breakfast at Corner Bakery (bring headphones).

Re:I hate computers

[ReformedExCon]

I have a tablet that I can pick up any time and just start writing or drawing or doodling. It costs less than a dollar. And it doesn't require my computer to be on. But that's besides the point.

If you really think that you need a computer to surf the web, or need a PC to use a tablet, or ought to be locked down to a single site in order to use a phone, you are either part of the problem or are significantly behind the times.

The goal should not be to require this 300W heating unit to be the focal point of your computing needs. As I said earlier, I don't want to be tied to this box. I don't want to have to wait 5 minutes for XP to boot up just so I can make calls; I want to pick up the phone and dial.

The PC as a computing device is a lot like the horseshoe crab. It's been around forever, it'll be around forever, but it's way past its evolutionary prime. The problem is that people think "Computing == PC", so they don't see the possibilities of breaking away from that dead-end paradigm.

It's a dead end because it relies on being stationary. Even laptops require that you be stationary for limited amounts of time. Palmtop devices go a long way to removing that restriction, and cellular phones do the same. These small devices pack a lot of computing power into very small, low-power units that you can take with you anywhere. This is the new paradigm.

Re:I hate computers

[DingerX]

Actually, no. I thought I saw a review over at Tom's Hardware (but I can't seem to find it now), and by their datasheet you can see it's wireless B and WEP-only encryption.

So I guess we're still a ways off from someone making a VoIP wireless handset (I'll take skype, if you can get it) that doesn't require a computer to plug into. (think: if you thought the guys who used the local coffeeshop as their office were already pretty bad...)

Re:I hate computers

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a cordless VoIP handset that doesn't need a computer.

So buy one. ZyXEL offers one, and so does Net2Phone. Simple.

Re:I hate computers

[Paul Jakma]

Check out the UTStarcom F1000. Also, Nokia phones are starting to gain WiFi support, eg the N91, and they plan on making VoIP a common thing in their phones apparently. Motorola might also have a GSM+VoWiFi phone somewhere.

Re:I hate computers

[heelios]

I want a cordless VoIP handset that doesn't need a computer. Ideally, I'd like to have a wireless VoIP handset that doesn't need a localized base station.

Would you also like to have the moon? ;)

Re:I hate computers

[Brunellus]

If I'm having breakfast anywhere with other people, they are usually far more interesting to watch than any canned broadcast I can bring with me. Often, they're as interesting to listen to, as well.

Re:I hate computers

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, if you have broadband, get VOIP from Vonage, or Verizon, or ATT.

Plug the adapter into your broadband router. Now plug your house wiring into the phone port on the VOIP adapter. Plug the broadband modem, router, and VOIP adapter into a UPS. (that last step is very important...)

You now have VOIP all through the house, including you cordless phones. It works just fine. I have done this with three phones on the line, two cordless and a single wired phone. It even works when the power goes out. The parts on the UPS draw so little power that it will run for many hours.

The only thing you do NOT have at this point is real 911 coverage.
If you have young children in the house, that may be a concern.

Or if you ever choke on something when you are home alone, and can't talk to the person who answers the 911 call. That would be bad, also. With real 911 coverage, if you dial 911, and start throwing things around and making other noise (when you can't talk), the cops will be there in a hurry. Try to unlock the front door before you pass out....

Re:I hate computers

[jdeluise]

...but the dominant paradigm seems to be to build more functionality into this heavy hunk of metal rather than build up the functionality of smaller, better-suited devices.

Wait, were you talking about Windows?

Re:I hate computers

[csirac]

True, lack of WPA support is a big deal, but there's nothing wrong with the 11b technology. It peacefully co-exists on an 11g network, and if you really need more than 11b bandwidth for voice data then you've completely b0rk3d your settings.

Last I was researching this, I came across a Cisco phone that supposedly supported WPA after a firmware update. I'm not too fond of Cisco though, their "hardware" has too many software-like licensing issues: I don't like not being able to legally sell my 2nd hand gear I rightfully paid for, not to mention the subscription based costs for some of the plugins (yeah I'd just _LOVE_ to pay money so that one day the client's phones will no longer support a certain codec, or have the call manager software suddenly stop working).

Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[terminal.dk]

If you use real VoIP, for which there is a provider on every corner, and ones like Sipphone.com, Vonage etc operates in the USA, there IP wireless phones has been around forever. And with voipbuster.com european phone calls to real telephone is free.

And if you like most people using VoIP is having an adapter box, you can talk even when the computer is turned off, and you can use a standard $20 DECT telephone with the box. And I had the "skype in" equivalent from before skype announced it.

I do not understand this wow about skype. It is bloatware (requires the PC to be on), quality supposedly sucks etc. I looked at it, and dismissed it as a closed network of old technology. But again, I want things that works, is cheap, and I do not care if 15 year olds can use if for filesharing.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[Sanity]

It is bloatware (requires the PC to be on)

Not really, they now have an answering machine service for when your PC isn't on. Either way, how does that make it "bloatware"?

quality supposedly sucks etc

The sound quality is excellent, far better than a normal phone line.

I looked at it, and dismissed it as a closed network of old technology

Well, millions of people didn't. The reason, IMHO, is that it just works. In my experience, setting up VoIP with other protocols is a nightmare if you have NATs or firewalls to deal with. Skype deals with these effortlessly - just install the software and you are up and running.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[Anonymous Coward]

Well Gizmo Project "just works", and you have the bonus that it actually complies to standards, and can call "proper" VoIP services, and they can call you (since Gizmo assigns you a SIP number).

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[Khyber]

voipbuster has one disadvantage... The calls you make that are free are limited to one minute.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[b0bby]

quality supposedly sucks
The one time I played around with Skype, I was blown away with the quality - I talked to a buddy in Soeul and with my decent headset he sounded like he could be next door. We were both extremely impressed. If I was making a lot of international calls I'd certainly use it. This was pc to pc, I'm not sure what the Skype-out thing is like.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[XSforMe]

I do not understand this wow about skype. It is bloatware (requires the PC to be on), quality supposedly sucks etc

I have used several VoIP providers (Vonage, Net2phone, Dailpad) and all have hiddeous latency times (it feels like you are speaking on a radio rather than a phone) and buggy sound quality. If there is one thing where Skype outshines the competition is sound quality. Even when placing intercontinental calls (PC to phone and PC to PC), the sound quality will consistently blow you away; there is simply no point of comparison even against POTS.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[Spirilis]

This has been my experience as well. Skype works really well for me (under Linux) and the quality is unprecedented.

Re:Use real VoIP and this has been around forever

[don.g]

The way Skype tries to get around NAT seems to be by routing your calls through ultrapeers. This works well if one of your call endpoints are near some, but when I tried (several times) to make a call between Victoria University of Wellington and a friend's place here in Wellington, New Zealand, Skype in its infinite wisdom decided to bounce my calls through Canada or Hong Kong. Which tends to increase latency somewhat.

The reason that Skype has such good audio quality is that it uses a wideband 16KHz audio codec; the telephone network is standardised on an 8KHz sampling rate, so you can't expect to hear anything above 4KHz.

My family will convert

[DigiShaman]

Everyone in my family has a PC with broadband. Now I just need to get everyone one of these phones and setup a free skype to spype account. Then, everyone can just pick up the phone and make direct calls as though they were using the local teleco system.

I've been waiting for something like this to come out. Now I have. If Linksys makes this easy to use, I expect this to really sting the vonage and lingo customer base in the next few years.

Encryption?

[Doppler00]

Does this device have end to end strong encryption to prevent anyone from easdropping on your conversation? If not, than who cares? Why can't we get something so simple to implement on products like this?

Utilizes voice encryption for high security
This is only good if it's encrypted from one phone directly to another and only if you trust the fingerprint of the call coming in.

Re:Encryption?

[aussie_a]

Does this device have end to end strong encryption to prevent anyone from easdropping on your conversation?

What the fuck are you talking about on the phone that you're afraid someone might overhear? Seriously. People go on about encrypting e-mails and whatnot all the time. What are you talking about over the phone that you don't want other people to hear?

Re:Encryption?

[FinestLittleSpace]

Well yesterday he was talking about your wife and him in the bathroo... uh. NOTHING. HE TALKS ABOUT NOTHING. JUST DAISIES AND PETALS.

Re:Encryption?

[usheletz]

Yes, DECT has build it encryption. This is one of the reasons why DECT Skype phoneset is is beter than any wifi/bluetooth phonesets. Others include better audio bandwidth, dynamic channel allocation etc. Google for DECT primers.

Re:Encryption?

[ajs318]

Skype relies on security through obscurity. It doesn't matter what kind of encryption they are using; it could be as weak as ASI for all anyone knows. They won't let anybody read the source code in order to prove how secure the system is. So we must assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that Skype -- and anyone they choose, even h4x0rz who get lucky -- have the ability to listen to any calls you make through their network.

If you would not shout it out loud in a bus station, don't say it over Skype.

Re:Encryption?

[Doppler00]

Politics. In China for example, saying the wrong thing about the government can get you killed. I have no doubt that the same thing could happen in the U.S. or any country for that matter given the whims of politicians. With the constitution of the U.S. being mangled as it is, the only guarantees of rights you have are those you can provide yourself. Thus, encryption: a simple tool to protect your first ammendment right.

interesting device

[Anonymous Coward]

i think this has a chance to help voip take off. people are right in that there have been devices in the past that work in a similar fashion, but products like the chat-cord and others were still very much a device that required people to program hot-keys into skype that correspoded with their phone dialing and other un-user-friendly quirks that normal people and old people would be on tech support forever trying to figure out. i think this new linksys device has the appeal of "it just works®", and helps offset the $130 price tag. i know i want one.

Wireless Radio

[davidbofinger]

The DECT wireless radio

Is there such a thing as non-wireless radio?

Re:Wireless Radio

[Anonymous Coward]

Cable TV commonly uses RF (radio frequency) over coaxial. Wired radio right there.

Re:Wireless Radio

[m00j]

Is there such a thing as non-wireless radio?

yes, but it is extremely unpopular as you have to be within a few metres of the radio station and the quality is poor :D

well okay, a I made the up, a man can dream though, a man can dream...

Re:Wireless Radio

[MrFlannel]

It's called a power cord, you insensitive clod!

Re:Wireless Radio

[houghi]

In Belgum I have Radio over cable and thuse wired or non-wireless as you like to call it.

Why is it only a VOIP Skype handset?

[Anonymous Coward]

At first glance, and being a product from linksys I assumed this had the Skype technology built in and you just plug it into your network. That would just make sense. It looks like you need to run Skype on the PC though.

Why not make this just a wireless microphone/speaker for your PC with the ability to launch apllications and press keys. Then you could use it as a phone for ANY other voice application...teamspeak, MSN, Goodle talk, Skype, etc.

Re:Why is it only a VOIP Skype handset?

[sandmaninator]

Scenario: You are on the crapper; something goes horribly awry. Try calling the plumber/911 with a wireless microphone/headset.

Requires PC? Skype? Yawn...

[bobcat7677]

When I first read the headline I got excited...but then it turned out to be a huge letdown. We VOIP users have been waiting for a good mainstream SIP based Wifi handset for a long time now and having one from Linksys would have been great. But this is nothing of the sort. Just yet another "dongle" for your PC for making PC to PC calls. You are still tethered to your PC (just through a wireless tether) meaning it has the cool factor but is not practical for most real-world users to replace their traditional cordless phone. Come up with a SIP standard device that uses my existing Wi-fi access point and can support multiple access point profiles and then you will have something.

Too expensive

[aussie_a]

I think I'll stick with my landline phone for now. To buy a phone that will only work with one particular proprietry network, which I have to pay for voice mail with, along with every call I make except those few I make to other Skype users, I'm not going to be saving money anytime soon (depending on phone making habits).

If I do decide to go for a VOIP system, I'll do so with one that fits my needs (and is preferably open source), not the most popular one.

Actually, Bluetooth isn't so bad

[Trejkaz]

The range of their phone is 300m outdoors and 50m indoors. With Class 1 Bluetooth, it should be about 100m outdoors and 15m indoors. 15m is enough for the majority of houses, I'm sure.

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[eviljolly]

Why was this modded as offtopic? Hopefully someone will catch this during meta-moderation.

Pocket PC

[linsys]

For those who don't know, you can download a PocketPC version of Skype and put it on a Wifi enabled PDA with PocketPC so you can use skype wirelessly with no computer having to be turned on just your PocketPC..

Also since there is a linux client, you can also run this on a PDA that runs linux...

I would rather invest my money in having a WiFi Enabled PocketPC PDA/Cellphone which runs skype so I can make free calls from home to other skype users, as well as use my cell phone functions for local calls from Non Skype Users..

This is the BEST way to use skype In My Opinion.

Re:Pocket PC

[updatelee]

not only wifi, people are reporting good sucess with skype and a evdo (wireless internet through cellco). I tried skype using my 1xrtt (slower wireless internet through cellco) and it wasnt working good enough to use. If I had evdo in my area I would be using skype for all my longdistance calls, save a ton.

Re:Pocket PC

[Anonymous Coward]

Been there, done that.
Only one prob, really.
Battery... your pda will usually shut down to save battery if it has not been used for a while. Guess what, PDA shut down means Skype shut down, and since skype needs to be running in order to recive calls you cant really rely on this solution to recive calls.
Alternatively you can set your PDA not to shut down when Skype is running, but then again, how much operational time do you get from a pda, espessially one running wifi (and bluetooth, and gsm....)

Otherwise it's a good solution. I for my part use a bluetooth earpiece with the pc when I use skype. Gives me the freedom to move mostly as I please while I talk, the pda is more like a backup for when I want to use skype somewhere away from home. (Somewhere with wifi that is.)

What about support for Mac OS X?

[Kunt]

"Initially, Linksys is requiring that the PC run Windows XP or 2000, so no Linux yet." What about support for the second biggest platform, Mac OS X?

Re:What about support for Mac OS X?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or why dont you read the bloody article instead of asking stupid questions?

There are others available

[_Laban_]

The TopCom Butler 4012 USB has been around for a while and it features Skype and regular PSTN communication in the same unit. It's also a wireless DECT phone and is sold for around 800SEK (circa 102USD) in Sweden.

What the hell is the use if it needs a PC?

[Tanami]

Especially when there are loads of products out there which can do the job standalone, either as handsets, or boxes which will take an ordinary analogue phone (including DECT).

Just one picked at random, but this seems like a far more sensible approach...?

Re:Requires PC? Skype? Yawn...

[mcrbids]

Come up with a SIP standard device that uses my existing Wi-fi access point and can support multiple access point profiles and then you will have something.

Really? So why haven't you done it yourself?

Really! I'm not kidding!

If it's a "killer idea" and you are serious about that, you can becomee quite wealthy by making it a reality! But, since you aren't doing it, either

1) You are already independently wealthy and are too lazy to bother, or

2) (more likely) you are too chicken-sh!t to actually do it.

3) (most likely) you are talking out your arse.

Sad, because, if you are right, not only would you become wealthy, people would get better service for less $$, and that would improve the quality of life for all.

No matter which way you look at it, it's YOU that's the letdown. Why don't you get off your arse and make your idea a reality? You don't have the "connections"? Well, how do you think anybody else gets them?

Cordless VOIP

[rodgster]

I have vonage with a motorolla router/VOIP unit. It stits behind my router with ports mapped (not needed actually). After I cut the landline I just plugged the POTS output from the Vonage modem into a standard phone jack at the wall. I have regular POTS phones plugged in just like I don't have VOIP and a cordless phone (standard POTS). Works great. No PC need be on (only the router/VOIP unit depending on your configuration). $25/mo unlimited local and long distance US & Canada.

I used to pay $11/mo for metered local and $25/mo for Qwest business long distance (something like 300 minute the 5.* cents per minute after that).

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[hughk]

DECT is DECT (One of the good things about it), so it is relatively easy to support basic functionality across a range of handset manfacturers.

This means that the fun bit is in the dongle and the PC software.

Re:Requires PC? Skype? Yawn...

[armondf]

There is a phone like this on the market already: The Zyxel P-2000W_v2 is exactly that.

Re:Requires PC? Skype? Yawn...

[Pretor]

Such devices are allready on the market or coming in the near future, here what I found using google for 20 seconds:

Hint: Search for "VOIP WLAN phone"

UTStarCom F1000 WiFi Voip phone, using 802.11b and SIP, DHCP and etc.
http://www.voipexchangeusa.com/docs/snom/F1000Data Sheet.pdf

Siemens Gigaset SL75. That is a VOIP handset using WLAN. It is unclear if it's using SIP for the VOIP part, but lets hope. It's coming in November with the steep price of 299. Siemens is a well known maker of quality(!) wireless phones for the homes, and also a major supplier of phone internals to other brands, so this is becoming main stream. A nice thing about this phone is that it can store a list of wireless hot spots and use this when you are traveling.

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got some spare 'regular' DECT phones.. can I use them instead of the linksys one?

At least here in europe, there is DECT and there is GAP. Phones only supporting DECT are supposed to work together, although this is apparently often not the case...
GAP specifies interoperability, I never had a problem with different GAP phones on a GAP-compliant base station.

But many phones not declared as GAP compliant seem to work together anyway. For the cheapest handheld/base combinations, there are often hidden buttons etc. which can enable 'search mode' etc.

BTW, I think this is a good location to blatantly advertise a hardware modification to DECT phones for asterisk-soundcard/VoIP (that was featured on hackaday.com on saturday).

Onno

Without PC?

[DaneelGiskard]

Ok...and now please the same thing, but without a PC. I want it to directly talk to my wireless router ...

Been around for awhile

[SirSnapperHead]

I bought one of these a few months ago: http://www.skypejournal.com/blog/archives/2005/08/ i_like_going_co.php and am very satisfied. Two buttons so you can choose to dial via landline or Skype, and with the Skype In number I can receive calls like a normal landline...

Re:Been around for awhile

[usheletz]

Exactly. Dualphone is good stuff and delivers pretty much everything what is promised. The major drawback is (as usual) no linux support, no plans for that. I got it working with some pains in linux+vmware5.0+win2k guest (damn me if i'm going to have this pile of stuff running just for dualphone). I'm hacking the thing to make it work in linux, that mostly includes reverse engineering of the control protocol used over USB between the base station and the dialer daemon ( the architecture is pretty straightforward:
PHONE BASESTATION DIALER SKYPE). Once the device works as USB audio and control protocol is known, the rest is next to trivial - matter of writing a dialer using Skype API.

I hope Linksys will do better with support and features. There are always some to wish for, as seen in the linked article. By the way, how about compiling a feature list of a perfect wireless Spkype phoneset?

Anyway, the future Linksys product seems to be in the same price range. I guess that thing being expensive is mostly due to the DECT technology (ASICS, speech coders, patented silicon IP, etc.).

cheerz,
t

P.S. Another thing that ppl miss when comparing DECT skypeware with WLAN/Bluetooth/blah is that DECT has built in encryption, which is not problem free tho. For other DECT features see the primer at
http://www.dectweb.com/dectforum/aboutdect/whatis. htm

Speaking about siemens M34 - it comes with customised version of Skype. Just look at it: a customised version of proprietary software, how much worse it can get? As of v.107 of sw/drivers dualphone works with standard skype, making use of its API.

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[Pieroxy]

Here in France, the problem is different. Every DSL ISP is providing you with a "box" (freebox, neufbox, aolbox, etc...) that includes:
1. A DSL modem. Unlimited bandwidth (the closest to the DSLAM the better) Up to 20MB/s if you are lucky enough. I get 6MB dn / 600KB up.
2. A phone plug. You can plug any regular phone to it. landline national calls are free, others incredibly cheap: US is EUR0.03/minute !!!
3. A TV-out (scart + optical out) with ~25 channels (actually 100 but only ~25 are worth something).

Plus, when you subscribe to kick out the old national operator, you can transfer your landline number to the box.

All that costs me EUR30/month. I don't see VOIP anywhere close to me with such a service.

I call *baloney* - better phones available already

[B747SP]

Methinks this doesn't exactly count as news. Wireless telephones and wireless PC audio devices (what this product really is) have been around in assorted shapes and forms for quite a while.

A company here in Sydney, Australia is selling (to Australia and NZ only, sorry) a combination cordless telephone (ie: it works on the telephone network) and USB PC audio device with drivers that speak Skype. Apparently you choose whether you want POTS (plain old telephone system) or USB audio (and thus, I suspect, not just skype but any voip thing you want to run on your computer) from the keypad on the handset. For the same price as the Linksys one in the Slashdot story (those dollars on the Australian web site are Australian dollars), my money goes with the one that is actually a telephone! :-)

They also have the ZyXel Voice-Over-IP Wifi Phone, a device that speaks 802.11b and SIP out of the box - no proprietary Skype restrictions, it's the real deal. The Zyxel device has been around for quite a while IIRC.

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[Pieroxy]

Correction: It is not "all ISPs" but "a heck of a lot of ISPs".

So What?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've had a Net2Phone XJ100 wireless VOIP phone for over a year ... and it uses 802.11, meaning I can use it anyplace there's a hotspot and it fits right in with my wireless network at home.

This thing is tied to a USB base station. I wouldn't buy it.

Boy I love my BT headset

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, I got this nifty thing called a bluetooth dongle, and this other nifty thing called a BT headset, and enabled voice activated control of my pc. Imagine that, not only can I use the BT dongle with my cellphone, but also with my VOIP solution of choice! Oh yea, I really feel like dumping 130 into a cordless phone, 90s style.

ISDN+DSL cheaper than ISDN+DSL+VoIP ?

[Anonymous Coward]

As long as ISDN in Germany is tied with DSL flatrates the usage of VoIP isn't interesting. On the other hand Im looking for a JSR180 based VoIP client for MIDP 2.0 for a Nokia series 80 mobile to use VoIP via WLAN.

I've got a better one

[macemoneta]

My cordless phone has a range of about 3000 miles, and I don't need my PC on! The handset is free, and I can make all the night, weekend and phone-to-phone (on net) calls I want at no extra charge. For other calls, I just pay for a block of minutes allocated monthly. It's so cool! I'm not tethered to my PC anymore for calls! Seriously, get a cell phone. It's 2005 for goodness sake.

Re:I've got a better one

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah but can you get 10 numbers assigned to it, in 10 different locations, for only 30 dollars a year (per number) like with SkypeIn? I highly doubt it.

Hmmm...

[Goth Biker Babe]

I use ADSL so I already have a phone line. The phone line comes in to the house and in to it are plugged an ADSL router modem and a DECT base station. There are no phone lines beyond that point. A single network cable goes to the servers and WiFi router. Three people live in this house at at their desks they each have a DECT handset and charger next to their computers. There's also a common one downstairs. It cost us about $100 for the full four handset DECT package. After line rental (which we have to pay because of the ADSL) our call charges on the landline are just a few dollars a month since we all have cells too.

I can't see the point of VOIP yet for the home user who inevitably either gets their phone with their cable, or gets their internet down their phone.

Re:Hmmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

>I can't see the point of VOIP yet for the home user who inevitably either gets their phone with their cable, or gets their internet down their phone.

Obviously you don't call overseas very often. Your (mobile) phone provider would love you to do so, but for regular calls skype is often hard to beat for them.

Re:Hmmm...

[Goth Biker Babe]

I do (Florida and India) but most calls are using company phones. I use voice enabled instant messaging for talking to my American friends.

Siemens already sells something like this

[knarf]

In Europe, Siemens sells the Gigaset M34 USB adapter which lets you use a number of DECT handsets for VoIP. The adapter comes with a (customised) version of Skype. I have not tried this thing yet but I might give it a go, given that I've been using a DECT phone for several years now. Not with Skype though, as I'd rather use something standards-based (ie. a SIP phone like Linphone or the upcoming SIP-enabled version of GnomeMeeting).

Siemens

[eoinmadden]

Siemens already offer a USB Skype dongle in Europe to communicate with their Gigaset DECT phones.

Skype is history

[dybdahl]

Skype is to internet telephony as Netscape was to web browsing.

Once the old telephony companies introduce SIP based telephony, people will remember skype as the old age. I already use SIP telephony, and:
- It's cheaper than skype, because I don't need to pay to call 100 million phone numbers, and other tariffs are the same.
- It's much easier than skype, because I just use my normal phone and dial a number, no matter what.
- Sound quality is better, because SIP uses A-law (or mu-law) codecs.
- It's more compatible with tools like asterisk.org and other telephony related technologies.

And the most important:
- The marketing budgets of the world's telephone companies are much bigger than skypes and will eventually make skype history.

The only people that benefit from Skype are the terrorists, because skype calls are virtually untraceable.

Re:Skype is history

[Anonymous Coward]

"The only people that benefit from Skype are the terrorists, because skype calls are virtually untraceable."

Oh brother. What a moron. What VOIP company are *you* astroturfing for?

Do a party line and feel the buzz...

[Impavide]

Great, I always wanted a 2.4GHz emitter that I stick close to my brain for hours.

Buy a VOIP "adapter"

[Colin Smith]

Plug it into your LAN, plug any phone, cordless or not into it and boom, VOIP telephony and you don't even need your PC switched on.

Skype is going nowhere

[ajs318]

The problem is that Skype will never really be accepted as a serious telephony protocol as long as it remains proprietary and closed.

The telephonical world relies on openness and interchangeability -- it's the only way I can be sure that any mobile phone I buy will accept my SIM card, connect to my service provider {or one of their preferred affiliates anywhere in the world, if a-roamin' I should go} and make and receive calls and SMS messages to any other telephone anywhere else in the world; and that any tethered phone I buy will similarly work with any service provider's connection -- they all use the same line voltages, signalling tones &c.

In fact, the other public utilities also rely on interoperability. How many electric companies do you know who sell 87.5 volts, 22 cycles a second, will only allow you to connect appliances bought from their showrooms, and will cut off your supply if you so much as dare to look with an AVO or oscilloscope at what comes out of their sockets?

Re:Skype is going nowhere

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet you said the same thing about AIM when Jabber came out.

What?

Oh, I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the 200 million people who don't give a crap whether a communications protocol is "open" as long as there are nice free programs to use it.

Re:Skype is going nowhere

[ajs318]

But AIM is "five to open" anyway. There are GPL clients such as Gaim and Kopete.

When there's a true open source client for Skype, I might change my prediction. But until such a time, remember, you are beholden to Skype; they can listen to your calls, interrupt your conversation with advertisements, blackmail you over things you have said, increase the price, or just plain cut off your service, anytime they like.

And if they weren't planning to do so, then why have they retained that option?

Cheapest

[saqmaster]

I just ordered mine from www.amazon.co.uk. If you're in the UK, by far the cheapest I found in the first few results pages on Google. £71 including delivery.

Re:Cheapest

[Zaiff Urgulbunger]

You could probably, just about, have purchased a Lnksys PAP2 ATA (~£40 unlocked) and regular DECT handset(s) for the same price. And that would've been completely non-proprietry. You could switch SIP based VoIP supplier at will. You could add DECT handsets at will.

Re:Cheapest

[Zaiff Urgulbunger]

Oh, and you could've switched your PC off! (I forgot about that) ;-)

Skype phone stats - 50m range indoors

[digitaldc]

Some facts about the phone, sounds pretty nice:
300m range outdoors, 50m range indoors
USB 1.1
10hr talk time
5 Channels in US, 10 channels in EU and SA
32kbps speech coding
Plug & Dial
Can connect to regular phone lines
'Free' calls

a PDA that runs linux

[wiredog]

If, and only if, that PDA runs on an x86 chip. Skype is closed source, so you can't just recompile for, say, the Zaurus.

will it be good

[in-tech]

will it be good like the connection and the quality while using cordless. It seems that i have to buy the set again for the voip. let me try it once than i will know how it looks. but limiting it to Windows doesnt make me feel good though i guess they will built it sometimes later. -------- build your own project http://mini-itx.com/ or your own custom enclosures http://protocase.com/.

This would have been great.

[kamapuaa]

I guess there's some expenses involved, but there's easier and cheaper and cooler ways to do the same thing. Version 1.5 of Skype supports call forwarding with Skype-In accounts. So for $30/year for the phone number, plus about $.02/minute for the call, people can call my Skype number and I can talk on my normal house phone or cell phone. The sound quality is the same as any other phone call even if it's coming from another country, and my phone doesn't have to be on.

Sorry if this post sounds like an advertisement but it genuinely is pretty cool in certain applications, such as forwarding international calls. There's no call out service, though - for that I use phone cards or just skype on my computer. I'm sure that'll change soon.

stupid

[idlake]

In addition to the computer being up and running, now, some weird driver and USB dongle needs to be installed and working, too.

I'd buy a WiFi-Skype handset, preferably one that I can use at public access points as well, but this thing makes no sense to me.

Nothing new

[peti]

This has already been done by Siemens:

http://digital-lifestyles.info/display_page.asp?se ction=platforms&id=1910

Re:Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled ph

[Anonymous Coward]

I use a regular DECT phone with skype via the phoneconnector dongle (www.phoneconnector.com)

works pretty well.

Open your eyes and you will see VoIP.

[Anonymous Coward]

2. A phone plug. You can plug any regular phone to it. landline national calls are free, others incredibly cheap: US is EUR0.03/minute !!!

How do you think this is achieved? The "box", as well as being a DSL modem/router, has an Analog Telephone Adapter(ATA) that acts as a gateway between your analogue telephone and their VoIP network. That's how you get your .03 euros per minute.

This is no different than what Vonage or many broadband providers are offering.

Funny story: Yesterday, I was bringing a new SDSL circuit up and I ran into a problem that required me to call technical support. Immediately, there were problems with the quality of the call, when the person on the other end said their name the call broke up and I couldn't hear them. I said, you must be using an IP phone because you're breaking up. Sheepishly, he acknowledged that it was an IP phone and we both suffered through the rest of a call with very poor quality.

The funny thing is that this was the phone company's technical support line. The phone company was using IP phones, nothing odd there. But, the call quality was crap!

Re:Open your eyes and you will see VoIP.

[Pieroxy]

What I meant to say is that I will never see VoIP as a technology I have to handle. For me, nothing has changed. Same old phone/answering machine. Same number. Same service.

My DSL provider is handling it all for me.

Looks like you can get it today at Amazon

[djc998]

Looks like they are already selling and shipping on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_co de=ur2&camp=1789&tag=techgadgets-20&creative=9325& path=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BD88RS?v =glance%26n=172282%26n=507846%26s=electronics%26v= glance

Dualphone still much better

[marsperson]

I bought one of these a few months ago and must say it's much better. For starters, it can use both regular land line AND skype, which save me the trouble of having two cordless phones to loose around the house. Add to that the fact that a lot of the people I call don't use skype, so it's easier to call them on a regular phone line, but both my parents and girlfriend live abroad, so what I have saved on long distance has already allowed this little baby to pay for itself.


So, why is this linksys somehow worthy of all this publicity?

When will they learn?

[Anonymous Coward]

I do not want to plug my phone into my desktop computer via a USB connection. What I and I guess most people expect from a broadband phone is either a wlan connection from the phone directly to the home network/lan or via an Ethernet adapter. As long as the phone itself is not running the client software or can not connect to the net without a computer it is completely useless to me. Keep your money. I sure will.

I ditched VoIP for Skype

[rabun_bike]

I recently fired my standard VoIP provider because Skype was a better deal for me. I was paying $25/month for an unlimited VoIP plan. In some months I used 2000 minutes, other months I used 100 minutes. With Skype, I pay as I go. As I run out of minutes I pre-pay and just get credits. With the VoIP provider I am stuck with a flat rate per month. I could go down to a cheaper plan but then risk getting hit with a high per minute rate. My base charge for Skype is less than $3/month USD for the phone number and voice mail.

The two arguments I have read about people no liking skype are:

(1) I have to have a computer running all the time.
(2) I am tied to my computer.
(3) I can't use a regular phone.

First, I would bet a lot of early adopters have a machine connected to a broadband connection 24/7. Second, you are not tied to your computer if you purchase a USB adapter that allows Skype to work with your regular phone line. I use the ActionTec adapter and plug it right into my phone network so it powers ALL the jacks in the house. Finally, with the adapter you can use a regular phone.

http://www.actiontec.com/support/voip/faqs.html

As a side note, the adapter is powered from your USB connection and therefore doesn't require yet another power supply. It's tiny compared to a VoIP router and you can throw it in a laptop bag if you are traveling (along with a small cordless phone if you like).

I am a big proponent of the "pay-as-you-go" plan. I pay for minutes (about $0.02) used when I "Skype-Out" and if I don't use the phone I don't pay. It's as simple as that. The only monthly recurring fee I pay is $3/month for the phone number.

rumored months ago

[shivan]

this was rumored months ago and even reviewed in such.

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article134. php

Kinda cool, but

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd really like something that works similar to my laptop.. if I'm in range of a Wi-Fi network, then I can connect and call my buddeys!

Not that expensive

[BobPaul]

If you don't make any calls, keeping skype in and skype out running for a year is $5/mo

Incomming calls are free, and non-skype outgoing calls are about 1.9cents/minute (depending on the Euro/USD exchange when you purchased the minutes)

$130+60 = 190 for the first year, and 60/yr after that

$28.50/mo (what I pay in ND after state and federal taxes) x 12 = $342/yr

As someone who doesn't make any outgoing calls, the two downsides I see are that
1) It requires skype, so if you switch to real VOIP like vonage, the investment is lost
2) Skype has noticable lag. I've tried Vonage and Packet 8 elsewhere, and I don't notice any lag. With Skype Out, it was noticable for me.

Any should be many

[BobPaul]

Any should be many... I do make outgoing calls, just not daily ;)

Skype saved my ass

[CiXeL]

When my girlfriend and I were moving to south florida i had to live in hotel rooms while i was working and had to try coordinating the move with my girlfriend.

Skype saved us thousands of dollars we wouldn't have been able to afford in long distance calls from hotel rooms.

In addition I was able to take pictures of condos and upload the pictures to her to look over and we could collaborate over skype.

I was able to do this from many hotel rooms and even a hostel with my old Thinkpad T21 laptop and a headset and the best part was the sound quality was so good it was like she was in the room there with me.

We could ramble on and on every night after my job hunting and apartment/condo looking and say goodnight to each other.

Thank you Skype.

hackaday????

[Anonymous Coward]

what is this place comming to...

You could do it yourself

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000430062396/

But can you trust Skype any more?

[crimethinker]

That sounds like a nifty toy to use with Skype, but Ebay owns Skype now. Ebay will turn anything and everything over to law enforcement in response to a simple fax, not even a warrant, and they even publicly brag about this policy. Will they extend this policy to record all voip calls to/from a certain number if they get a fax from your local police department? Sure, Skype uses crypto, but are the keys stored somewhere? Will Ebay put in a back door or two (or a thousand) for law enforcement?

Remember, kiddies, the cops don't just watch and wiretap people who are suspected of breaking the law. There is a long and shameful trail of the occasional bad cop who uses the department's resources to find his ex-girlfriend or ex-wife, or takes a bribe to find someone for someone else. Just because the cops are "interested" in you doesn't mean you've committed a crime.

-paul

Re:Requires PC? Skype? Yawn...

[bobcat7677]

Thank you for your trollishness there sir... but you failed in the following things:

[X] You failed to note that the product already exists from some small companies. (see other posts in this thread)
AND
([X] You failed to actually pay attention to what I wrote
OR
[X] You failed to realize that I am not an an executive at Linksys (or other mainstream networking device company) with the power to make products happen.)
AND
[X] You COMPLETELY failed to grasp the concept of what I was saying.

As you noted, ANYBODY can come up with a half-baked implimentation of something. What we are looking for is a major company to come up with one so these things happen:

A. Availability in Volume
B. Availability in "normal" retail stores
C. Lower prices due to A and B D. Widespread user acceptance
E. Corporate executive acceptance
F. Widespread support due to A through E.

Skype Wired Phone

[Anonymous Coward]

US Robotics has a wired Skype phone for around $30!, $130 seems a lot for the same set of features + wireless. http://www.usr.com/download/datasheets/voip/9600/9 600-ds.pdf

hello, slashdot? astroturf here...

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the free publicity. It's been great.

What are the Linux and/or Mac options?

[olddotter]

If you want to do VOIP using Linux or Mac (OS X) based PC's what are your options? As a follow up question, what works with Asterisk?

911 - Skype does NOT replace POTS

[tuomas_kaikkonen]

When comparing POTS and Skype, please remember, that Skype is not a telephony replacement service and cannot be used for emergency dialing.

Not for me.

[QMO]

"Phone calls are a great deal cheaper on VOIP"

I can't see how I could get VOIP for less than I pay for phone+DSL now.

My total telecommunications costs (local, long-distance, cell, internet) are less than $50/month now.
If you can show me how to get it cheaper, I'd appreciate it.

Re:Not for me.

[Trejkaz]

It really depends how many calls you're making and what they cost now. Where I am (Australia) the cost of an ordinary local phone call is 20c, but the cost of VOIP to anywhere in the country is 10c untimed. That sort of price will probably never be matched by the phone companies.

But obviously if you only make $50 of calls as-is, there isn't as much to gain. Our household, though, regularly makes over $100 per month, and will stand to save a lot when we switch this week. :-)