Netgear SPH200D Dual-mode Cordless Phone with Skype Review

When I subscribed to the unlimited North American Skype Plan, I purchased this phone. At the time, I already had the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone but because the Belkin device relies on Wi-Fi and I wasn't overly satisfied with the sound quality with the device, I thought that a cordless phone as opposed to one using Wi-Fi would be better.

I believe that at the time that I'm writing this review, Belkin has discontinued this product but I've seen this product for sale occasionally on Ebay.

As you can see from the picture, there are essentially 3 components to this product. The first component is the transmitter unit. It is here that you would have to plug in your regular phone line as well as your RJ-45 network cable from your router. The second component is the handset which is used to make/receive calls. The third component is the handset charging cradle.

One of the things that I like about this product is that the handset is powered by two AAA NiMH batteries so they are easy to replace if necessary.

When someone calls you via Skype, the phone will automatically ring. If someone calls you on your phone number, the phone will also automatically ring. It does all of this transparently/automatically. When you want to place a call, you can have it either automatically use your phone line or Skype or you can have it ask you before each call.

With this device, you can make Skype to Skype calls (these over-the-Internet calls are free), SkypeIn/SkypeOut calls (used to make or receive regular phone calls over the internet at Skype's low per minute rates), and traditional phone calls (it functions as a regular phone through the use of a "landline".)

Now, the most important question is... how is the reception? I find that the reception to be like any other cordless phone for regular phone calls. For Skype calls, I find the call quality to be better than the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone but it is nowhere as good as a regular phone call and can't be mistaken as a regular phone call.

Similar to the Belkin Wi-Fi Skype phone, the Skype contact list appears on the display and you can add/delete someone from your Skype contact list directly using the handset. Once added/deleted, these changes are made to your account's contact list so when you use Skype on a PC or another Skype device, the addition/deletion will also be reflected there.

This device supports up to 4 handsets where the additional handsets are sold separately. If you ever lose/misplace one of the handsets (and the handset still has power), there is a paging function on the top of the transmitting unit that you can press. Once pressed, it will page all the handsets that are "married" to the transmitting unit and that are within range and they will all ring.

The cordless phone technology for the Netgear Dual-mode Cordless Phone uses DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) and broadcasts in the 1.8/1.9 GHz band which according to the documentation should avoid interfering with Wi-Fi networks as well as offering long range and clear voice quality. Based on my usage, I found that cordless call quality (using the regular phone line) to be on par with other cordless phones that I've used in the past.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.

Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype Review

A few years ago, when their was a sale, I purchased a Belkin Wi-Fi phone for Skype (F1PP000GN-SK) when I was subscribed to Skype's unlimited North American plan. I was looking for a way of making calls without needing my computer to be on. Even when my computer was on, I did not want to always be running Skype in the background. This phone seemed like a good idea.

In terms of the physical construction of the phone, I find that it is okay (not great... just okay). The keys don't seem to be that great and sometimes the phone will not detect that a key has been pressed.

This phone supports WPA (as well as the weaker WEP) and is also capable of connecting to wireless routers that aren't broadcasting their SSIDs. The phone supports the B & G wireless standards. Connecting to the Skype service is fairly straight forward. Once connected, the phone automatically displays the time (you have to configure the settings and manually adjust/change the time/date based on your time zone), your Skype balance, as well as your online status. Using the joystick pad on the phone, you can navigate through the menu system. Your Skype contacts' availability status will be displayed when you access the "Contacts" menu.

The phone is rechargeable and it recharges via a standard USB cable. According to the documentation, the battery is the same rechargeable lithium ion battery for digital cameras/camcorders made by Fujifilm, Pentax, and Panasonic. I haven't had to replace the battery so I'm not sure how easy it is to find the battery (NP-60).

In terms of sound quality, I find that the Belkin Wi-Fi phone for Skype does a sub par job. I find the sound to be very low when speaking to someone and my Skype contacts have informed me that there are sometimes gaps in the sound. They have also informed me that sometimes the sound level is very low.

Another negative thing about the Belkin Wi-Fi phone is that if someone decides to text chat with you because they see your status on Skype is "Available/Online", you won't get the text message. You will also not be able to reply to their text message on the phone.

I have used the Belkin Wi-Fi phone both to contact Skype users and I've also used it to make regular phone calls. The sound quality is similar in both cases. The sound quality would get better when I approached my wireless router but it would never be what I would consider great.

If you have any questions/comments regarding my review on the Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.

Skype

I thought that I would write about Skype. For those of you unfamiliar with Skype, where have you been?  ;-)

Skype combines VoIP and instant messaging in their proprietary product. As I'm writing this, Skype was recently sold or a large stack of it was sold by Ebay.

I've been using Skype for awhile and I have 2 Skype phones. One Skype phone works via WiFi and the other Skype phone works via a cordless handset where the charging dock is plugged into a network cable. I've also used Skype on my PC/laptop/netbook.

I find the audio and video quality of Skype when using my PC/netbook to be very good. I've also used Skype via my carrier's 3G network and I find that the voice quality is acceptable for short calls but for longer calls because of the latency which can be ten times larger than what I get with my land based internet service, conversations can sometimes get annoying.

I used to subscribe to the unlimited US/Canada plan but because I have many long distance options available to me, I cancelled my Skype voice plan after the first year but continue to use my account for Skype to Skype text chatting or Skype to Skype voice chatting as well as the occasional Skype to phone (pay per use).

If you have any questions/comments regarding my review on Skype, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.