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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."
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.
Evil people are out to get you.
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?
Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
Almost one year :-)
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Here's the joint press release from Siemens and Skype:
http://www.skype.com/company/news/2004/siemens.ht
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-s
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.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
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.
Such devices are allready on the market or coming in the near future, here what I found using google for 20 seconds:
a Sheet.pdf
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/F1000Dat
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.
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
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...
It's the year of Linux! To celebrate I have x free hotmail accounts to give away
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.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
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.
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.
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
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
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?