Netgear SPH101 Skype WiFi Phone
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It appears that the Netgear Skype WiFi phone previously mentioned here in January is starting to emerge. The folks at Engadget got their mitts on one and posted a few pictures and Gizmodo has a video of its UI in action. It will be interesting to see how popular this device will be once it becomes available to the masses and how well it works. For the average home user, I suspect it will be fine. In public places, things could get a bit more dicey. For one, Skype has the potential to be a bandwidth hog. Wireless being the shared medium that it is, throw a couple of these and some other bandwidth intensive apps on a public wireless access point, and things could get messy. Because of this, many campuses block the use of Skype at least over wireless. Also the SPH101 does not have a web browser thus rendering it useless if browser-based authentication is required to join/use the wireless hotspot. The Netgear SPH101 is presently available for pre-order at Amazon for $250. |
Engadget - Netgear SPH101 Skype WiFi Phone unboxing and hands-on!
Gizmodo - Netgear SPH101 Skype WiFi Phone - Exclusive UI Video!
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Gizmodo also had a hands-on with the SPH101.
Comment by roclar — October 11, 2006 @ 10:47 pm
[...] Compared to the 802.11x Skype phones such as the Netgear SPH101, the Keyspan VP-24A is alot cheaper and provides similar functionality (if you have an internet connected computer anyway). All you need is an available USB port, Windows XP/2000 or Mac OS 10.3+, an internet connection and a Skype account to utilize the phone which communicates wirelessly via 2.4 Ghz RF. The phone comes with 3 AAA Ni-Mh AAA rechargeable batteries which are good for 1200 hours of standby time or 15 hours of talk time. The Keyspan VP-24A is available for $80. [...]
Pingback by roclar.net — October 14, 2006 @ 9:57 am