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Poll Review – Do you have a Webcam?

Alex — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:00:20 +0000

Just a quick review of our last poll ‘Do You Have A Webcam?’ 30% of the voters do have a Webcam. We were surprised that a staggering 70% don’t have a Webcam. We understand that a percentage of these voters may be business readers, but that is still a huge figure.

Webcams are great pieces of equipment to have and open up a new world of communication. For instance, you could use Skype to communicate with people all over the world, and instead of just talking you can see each other too!

Skype Poll

Alex — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:00:46 +0000

Well I am pleased that no one voted for “What’s Skype” although I am sure where are people out there who have no idea what it is! I am surprised however that we have an even split! I thought that many more people would use Skype than those who don’t….maybe it is the group that read PCT or maybe that really is it!! An unexpected result.

Skype Phone Netgear SPH101 Review

Grae — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:31:33 +0000

Today we got to play with the Skype Phone Netgear SPH101. In February we looked at the ideas of non USB Skype phones, specifically the 200D which is a phone with a special unit to connect into your router. This SPH101 is the model down from the 200D.

Hardware

The Netgear SPH101 phone itself is well made, feels sturdy and looks good. It is easy to use and the software seems to be very logical, but before you go and buy one read on…

Call quality

Unfortunatly this is where the phone is let down significantly. On trying the phone connected to three different wireless networks we found that the call quality was terrible, constantly cutting in and out, the person at the other end could not be understood. Unfortunatly it is a no goer on this one for us. We are quite keen to test the 200D though and see if that is a better solution!

So on this short review we would advise against the SPH101 but would love to hear anyone who has positive experiences with it!

Skype IP Phones – Better than USB!

Grae — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:47:56 +0000

Skype is a fantastic creation and keeping in touch all over the world is made so much easier with Skype. What really bugs me though is the USB phones, not Skypes fault obviously! The way they will interfere with your PC sound settings and despite getting all the settings perfect so you can listen to music and then easily use the phone, it still goes wrong. Because of that I don’t use Skype as much as i’d like.

For a while I have been watching the reviews and developments of phones that connect to Skype but actually bypass the computer altogether i.e. NOT USB! These phones are gadgets that connect to your internet connection wirelessly! Either by configuring them directly to connect to your encrypted/non-encrypted wireless connection, or by coming with a piece of kit that plugs into an Ethernet port on your router which the phone then connects to wirelessly.

There are a number of these types of Skype/VoIP phone already on the market, with the big guys like Belkin, Netgear, Philips and Linksys making an offering to this. The one that stands out to me after reading a lot of reviews and looking through the technical specifications of many is the Netgear VoIP Skype Dual Mode Cordless Phone.

The way this one works – it comes with a base station that you plug into an Ethernet port on your router and away you go! Oh you do have to enter your Skype details into the phone, but then away you go! You can also have up to 3 additional handsets on this setup as well. The other great feature about this particular model is that it is ‘dual mode’. This means that you can connect the base station to your normal phone line as well and therefore use the same phone for calls from your normal landline as well.

No..not yet anyway but I certainly plan to. For anyone who uses Skype a lot, or maybe don’t use Skype for a reason like mine, how about considering one of these!

To summarise then:

Pros -

Easy to setup – one use review I read said “ever fallen off a log”. I think that sums up how easy it is!
Avoids the PC! Nice
You can have up to 4 phones connected to the unit
Dual Mode so you can use your normal phone line too

Cons –

It isn’t cheap. At time of writing the cost is around the £90 mark. 10 x that of the cheap USB phones. Then again I am one who believes in the saying “you get what you pay for!”
I’m yet to own one!

Related Links: Skype.com || Netgear SkypePhone