Skype phone and adapter for home calling
With two new
products, Skype has made it easier to make Internet calls from home phones, for
savings on international calls and potentially also domestic ones.But compared
to other Internet calling options for the home, Skype's solution is a piecemeal
and complicated way to save money. All the same, some Skype fans may appreciate
the new cordless phone with a built-in Skype function.
We tested the phone
along with the new Freetalk Connect-Me phone adapter, which Skype sells for
$40. That price includes an hour calling. For an additional $20, you can get
free calls to the U.S. and Canada for a year. Calls to people on are free, no
matter where they are.
The adapter is a
small box that plugs into a power outlet. You connect cables to your Internet
router, your phone jack and your home phone.When you make a Skype call, the
adapter diverts the call from the external phone line to your Internet
connection. But first you have to pre-program the adapter to recognize certain
speed-dial numbers as corresponding to Skype contacts or phone numbers. Since
it's truly a "black box" - with no buttons or screen - you reach it
through your computer's Web browser.
Phone isn't designed to work with Skype, you
can't access your Skype address book directly on the handset, or see who's
online to take your calls. Since home phones don't have cameras, you won't be
able to do video calls.On the plus side, the phone lets you receive Skype calls
at any time, without having your computer on.
But what really sinks
the Skype adapter in my esteem is the sound quality. On calls to international
and domestic phones, there were odd hissing noises in the background and voices
were muffled. One person I called heard her own echo, a common phenomenon on
poorly configured Internet phone systems.
It looks like any
cordless phone, except it has a prominent "Skype" button. It can make
and receive regular phone calls, and the buttons and screen make it a lot
easier to make Skype calls than it is with the adapter. The phone shows you
which of your Skype contacts are online, and when you dial a number, you can
choose whether to route it through Skype or the phone company.
But if you call the same
few people overseas over and over again, and they're not big Skype users,
there's another way of making cheap Skype calls from your home phone, without
the use of an adapter or special phone. You can sign up for the To Go service
on Skype's website. If you give it an international number that you like to
call, it will give you a local number back. Call that number from your home
phone, and Skype connects your international call at its rates, rather than the
phone company's. It's like a calling card, but without the hassle of entering a
bunch of numbers on the phone.
The drawback to Skype
To Go is that you can only call phone numbers - it won't connect you to Skype
users for free.Now, it looks like you could reap some really big savings by
eliminating your home phone service altogether in favor of the Skype phone or
adapter. After all, Skype charges about as much for a year's worth of service
as a phone or cable company does for a month.
But Skype isn't set
up as a replacement for a landline, and points this out at every opportunity.
For one thing, you can't call 911 on it. Also, Skype doesn't give you a phone
number, unless you pay another $18 per three-month period. Without a phone
number, you can make outgoing calls, but you can't receive them. The exception
would be any Skype call routed to your username. Try giving that to the
doctor's office! And even if you pay for a phone number, it will be a new one -
you can't move your existing home number over to Skype.
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