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Communications Wireless Networking Hardware

Linksys Debuts Cordless Skype Handset 163

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the voip-spam-still-in-development dept.
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."
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Linksys Debuts Cordless Skype Handset More

Linksys Debuts Cordless Skype Handset

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  • Can I use the Dongle with *any* DECT-enabled phone (Score:4, Interesting)

    by webperf ( 560195 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:05AM (#13771403)
    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. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:06AM (#13771404)
    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.
    • 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.
      • 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.

        • 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.

        • 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, ce

    • Re:VOIP is still not worth it. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Trejkaz ( 615352 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:38AM (#13771491) Homepage

      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. :-)

      • "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.

        • 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. :-)

    • Re:VOIP is still not worth it. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by DARKFORCE123 ( 525408 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:40AM (#13771496)
      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.
      • 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. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by eclectro ( 227083 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @02:20AM (#13771600)
      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.
      • 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.
        • 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.

    • Re:VOIP is still not worth it. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Solder Fumes ( 797270 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @02:25AM (#13771613)
      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. (Score:1, Informative)

      by 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
    • 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 han
      • 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.
        • 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
          • 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).
    • 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!"
    • 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 u

  • Welcome to another let down by the FCC. (Score:5, Informative)

    by TechyImmigrant ( 175943 ) * on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:06AM (#13771408) Homepage Journal
    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.

  • One step forward...... (Score:5, Funny)

    by daemonenwind ( 178848 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:09AM (#13771416)
    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!
    • 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.

  • Haven't these been around? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by THotze ( 5028 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:09AM (#13771418) Homepage
    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 w
    • Zyxel sells a range of VoIP and wireless gear. Their P-2000 [zyxel.com] 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 [zyxel.com] 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 [zyxel.com], a sort of ADSL/WiFi/VoIP stand-alone box t
      • 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 [zyxel.com] 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...)
        • Check out the UTStarcom F1000 [utstar.com]. 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.
        • 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
    • 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
      • 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
    • 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).
    • 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

  • Use real VoIP and this has been around forever (Score:5, Interesting)

    by terminal.dk ( 102718 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:14AM (#13771433) Homepage
    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.

    • 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 o

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

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:22AM (#13771447)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • 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? (Score:1, Flamebait)

      by aussie_a ( 778472 )
      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?
      • Well yesterday he was talking about your wife and him in the bathroo... uh. NOTHING. HE TALKS ABOUT NOTHING. JUST DAISIES AND PETALS.
      • 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.

    • Re:Encryption? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ajs318 ( 655362 )
      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 o

  • The DECT wireless radio

    Is there such a thing as non-wireless radio?

  • Why is it only a VOIP Skype handset? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by 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.

  • Requires PC? Skype? Yawn... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bobcat7677 ( 561727 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @01:34AM (#13771479) Homepage
    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.
    • 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
      • 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 [voipexchangeusa.com]

        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 phon
      • 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,
    • There is a phone like this on the market already: The Zyxel P-2000W_v2 [zyxel.com] is exactly that.
  • 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.
    • 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 i

  • Pocket PC (Score:2, Insightful)

    by linsys ( 793123 )
    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
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • "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?

  • There are others available (Score:3, Informative)

    by _Laban_ ( 166315 ) <laban@@@krakpot...net> on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @02:16AM (#13771590) Homepage
    The TopCom Butler 4012 USB [topcom.net] 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 [kjell.com] (circa 102USD) in Sweden.

  • 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 [zyxel.com] seems like a far more sensible approach...?

  • Ok...and now please the same thing, but without a PC. I want it to directly talk to my wireless router ...
  • I bought one of these a few months ago: http://www.skypejournal.com/blog/archives/2005/08/ i_like_going_co.php [skypejournal.com] 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...
  • 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.
  • 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
  • In Europe, Siemens sells the Gigaset M34 USB adapter [siemens.com] 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 [linphone.org] or the upcoming SIP-enabled version of GnomeMeeting [gnomemeeting.org]).

  • Skype is history (Score:3, Informative)

    by dybdahl ( 80720 ) <info@@@dybdahl...dk> on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @04:09AM (#13771857) Homepage Journal
    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.
  • 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.

     
  • 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.
    • 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.

  • Skype phone stats - 50m range indoors (Score:3, Informative)

    by digitaldc ( 879047 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2005 @06:41AM (#13772156)
    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
  • 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 ad

  • 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.
  • 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 an
  • 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,

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