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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!
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
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.
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.
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.
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
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.
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!