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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."
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
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
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 :-)
m l
k ype-usb-adapter-not-coming-to-us-025688.php
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
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.
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.
Life is not for the lazy.
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.
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.
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!
yes, but it is extremely unpopular as you have to be within a few metres of the radio station and the quality is poor
well okay, a I made the up, a man can dream though, a man can dream...
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.
-=Linsys=-
http://www.intrusionsec.com
"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?
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!
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.
I find your ideas intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
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
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.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!