Netgear Skype Wi-Fi Phone SPH101

Skype has caught the popular imagination for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), bringing free and cheap calls to computers across the world. However, being computer-based software, using Skype has meant sitting at your PC to make and receive calls. This Wi-Fi Phone from Netgear has special Skype software installed directly on it, so those with a Wi-Fi network to hand don’t even need to have their computer switched on to make the most of Skype’s useful service.

Features
In essence this phone is a hardware Skype device. Imagine transferring your Skype software onto a phone handset and you’re basically there. When you turn the phone on it will connect to a Wi-Fi network (WEP and WPA codes can be typed in if required) and connect you to your Skype account, importing things such as your contacts and looking very much like the Skype software on your computer.

Performance
Call quality is good – as with most VoIP, the better your connection to the internet (and that of the person you’re calling, if you’re speaking PC to PC), the better the call quality will be. The strength of your Wi-Fi signal could also affect the quality. In our tests, the quality was similar to that of speaking to someone on a mobile phone, which is comparable to most VoIP services available at the moment.

Ease of use
Netgear’s networking savvy has ensured that wirelessly connecting the phone is smooth and painless – we managed it in just a few seconds, simply selecting the secured network we wanted to use and tapping in the secure key as you would a text message. Although you’ll need a Skype account, this phone works independently of any computer, so there’s no software to install.

Value for money
One word you couldn’t use to describe this phone is ‘cheap’. However, this not only applies to the price, but also to everything else about it – Netgear has built a really solid device that’s weighty in the hand, feels like a real phone rather than a plastic accessory and is clearly designed to last. It comes at a price though, and if your main reason for using Skype is to save money, you’re going to have to make a lot of calls to recoup the cost of this handset.