Product Description

Net Gear Skype WiFi Phone 54Mb

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39545 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: NetGear
• Model: SPH101
• Released on: 2006-07-04
• Dimensions: 1.06 pounds

Features

• Net Gear Skype WiFi Phone 54Mb

Manufacturer's Description
NETGEAR’s Skype WiFi Phone is the world’s first wireless Internet phone that can make free calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world, anytime you have WiFi (wireless network) access, without a PC, absolutely free.

All of your contacts are shown right on the phone’s colour display so you will know exactly who is on-line. You will also be more available for your friends to call, because you no longer have to be on your PC to be connected. You can even make calls to ordinary phones using Skype-Out for just pennies a minute and NO MONTHLY FEES.

With the new Skype WiFi Phone from NETGEAR you can also forward your calls to your mobile, landline or to another Skype Name.

Q: What is Skype WiFi Phone?

A: A wireless mobile phone that allows you to make free Internet calls to anyone who also has Skype, anytime you have a WiFi wireless Internet connection.

Q: Isn't Skype designed to just work on PCs and laptops?

A: Not anymore. Now you can walk around within a WiFi network to which you have access and talk to other Skype users anywhere in the world.

Q: On a PC, Skype shows when my contacts are online. How does that work on Skype WiFi Phone?

A: An intuitive on-screen menu lets you see who is online and available to talk, similar to what you see on a PC.

Q: Can I use it to talk with non-Skype users?

A: For a pennies a minute and no monthly fee, you can use SkypeOut minutes to call any phone. The SkypeIn option receives calls from non-Skype users. Skype Voicemail takes your calls when you’re busy or offline.

Q: How do I download Skype to the WiFi Phone?

A: NETGEAR’s Skype WiFi Phone is pre-loaded and ready to use with a wireless network, out of the box.

Q: Can I use the NETGEAR Skype WiFi Phone at any WiFi hotspot?

A: The Skype WiFi phone does not contain a web browser therefore can not access hotspots, which require web-based login or authentication.

Box Contents

• NETGEAR SPH101 Skype WiFi Phone
• Resoure CD
• Power Adapter
• Warranty Registration Card

Customer Reviews

It's Not A Mobile!
I took umbrage with a magazine which reviewed this model and marked it down because of short battery life and the fact that it can't hook up to networks which need browser authentication. They were treating it as a possible mobile replacement and that's a job that it simply can't do. Apart from anything else, the open wireless infrastructure is too patchy to allow seamless accessibility. Think of where mobile phones were 20 years ago and that's where this is as far as on-the-go access is concerned.

You could certainly carry it around with you so long as the networks you intend to access are either open or you know the keys, which rules out hotspots which usually require a browser which this doesn't have.

The reason I bought it was to allow my wife to call me using Skype without having to switch on the PC. She's not a great fan of "silly computers" though she has come to terms with them over the years at work but loved using this. What it does is simple enough - it hooks up to your wireless network and allows you to make and receive Skype calls without having to turn on the PC.

Think of it as being a cordless phone that uses Skype. The battery life is not great but that doesn't matter so long as you remember to connect it to charge when you're not using it. You also need to bear in mind that, like any VOIP connection, the quality of the call depends on a lot of factors because the call is routed via the internet.

Working out of the country and spending a fortune on phone calls (you only realise how far the telecoms industry still has to go in terms of opening up competition when you see how exorbitant international rates remain) it was exactly what we needed. I've since bought a combined landline and Skype phone from Skype for use by my wife and taken this with me so now we can both make and receive Skype calls without the inconvenience of being at the computer.

If you recognise it's limitations and spend enough on calls to make the purchase cost worthwhile then you won't be disappointed. It works straight out of the box, has the familiar Skype interface and does exactly what is claimed. Try and pretend it's something else - e.g. a mobile - then you will definitely be disappointed...

Poor battery life, several bugs
Battery life on standby seems to be 10 hours or less. Even in the home it needs to be on charge regularly. Out of the home you can connect to some hotspots (mycloud are doing a free trial) but it takes some time to connect and not always reliable.

Settings seem to get forgotten and have to be re-entered. On a couple of occasions the phone has got very hot for no apparent reason. It works with Skypeout and it originally displayed my credit balance on the main screen but now it always shows a zero credit balance. Sometimes this stops me making a Skypeout call even when I know I have credit.

On the positive side I have made calls where the recipient has commented on the good audio quality without knowing it was a Skype call.

Try waiting until Netgear have sorted out the poor battery life and all the bugs.

Needs a bit more work
Quite a few things wrong with this phone, but overall, when it works, it works great. Audio quality is excellent. Just wish it wasn't so quirky.

Battery life is poor - less than a day. It should have a cradle to plug back into to keep it topped up, but there isn't one. Just a firewire socket for power. I have to keep logging in, because the 'automatically log in' feature doesn't work. Ringing tones are awful and anything above zero (you can hear it at zero), distorts. Changing volume produces the loudest beep in your ear that you and the other person at the end of the line can hear.

But on the good side, the audio quality is superb.