VOIP Phones - any good?
Discussion
Since my home phone decided it had had enough of the wife's idle chit-chat with her friends and died I've been on the lookout for another.
Been seeing a lot of VOIP phones advertised recently (Tesco doing a big push along with Skype) and wondered how practical these are and are they any cheaper. I have BT Business broad band installed at home so can use that, and need a cordless phone - preferably 4 with answerphone. I also have a dedicated business voice line so 999 calls etc are not an issue.
What do you guys think?
Been seeing a lot of VOIP phones advertised recently (Tesco doing a big push along with Skype) and wondered how practical these are and are they any cheaper. I have BT Business broad band installed at home so can use that, and need a cordless phone - preferably 4 with answerphone. I also have a dedicated business voice line so 999 calls etc are not an issue.
What do you guys think?
.Mark said:
Since my home phone decided it had had enough of the wife's idle chit-chat with her friends and died I've been on the lookout for another.
Been seeing a lot of VOIP phones advertised recently (Tesco doing a big push along with Skype) and wondered how practical these are and are they any cheaper. I have BT Business broad band installed at home so can use that, and need a cordless phone - preferably 4 with answerphone. I also have a dedicated business voice line so 999 calls etc are not an issue.
What do you guys think?
Been seeing a lot of VOIP phones advertised recently (Tesco doing a big push along with Skype) and wondered how practical these are and are they any cheaper. I have BT Business broad band installed at home so can use that, and need a cordless phone - preferably 4 with answerphone. I also have a dedicated business voice line so 999 calls etc are not an issue.
What do you guys think?
From what I remember of seeing the tesco "VOIP Phones" they are simply USB phones which need software to be installed on your PC and the PC switched on. This pretty much rules out a cordless handset.
SkyPE is very similar with very limited numbers of handsets and the majority requiring a PC.
I think the sort of thing you are looking for is a SIP device (which is an open standard unlike SkyPE), & a SIP providor - I use www.sipgate.co.uk who give you a localised number & reasonable rates. If you have a router you can get SIP ATAs which you connect to your router via a CAT5 cable and plug a standard cordless phone into.
(You may need to set "port forwarding" on your router to forward port UDP 5060 to the ATA)
I bought a www.voipvoice.com/UConnect-2.html box from comet for £20 You plugs your plain old telephone base station into it and then connect it to your PC running Skype and if you want to retain the land line hook that up too. Works really well and transparent enough that the rest of the family are able to use it. It's saved enough money to pay for itself, and the usb handset bought for when I'm travelling, in a mere few months.
Advantages are it uses cheap conventional cordless or corded phones
Disadvantages; software running on PC all the time; rumors of bandwidth hogging though I've not experienced this myself.
I just bought a new memory stick which comes with a U3 version of the Skype software on it and I can now simply plug that into any Internet capable PC and use that. All I need to do now is find U3 software for the usb phone and I'm sorted.
Advantages are it uses cheap conventional cordless or corded phones
Disadvantages; software running on PC all the time; rumors of bandwidth hogging though I've not experienced this myself.
I just bought a new memory stick which comes with a U3 version of the Skype software on it and I can now simply plug that into any Internet capable PC and use that. All I need to do now is find U3 software for the usb phone and I'm sorted.
Most Skype phones you see cheap (like the Tesco's one) have "Requires Windows and one free USB port" even some of the wireless ones also have this requirement for their base station. Most of the ones sold as "converts your telephone to VoIP" also have this requirement buried in their small print.
However floating around from Belkin and Netgear are two WiFi Skype phones that work independently of a PC. Although their functionality is a bit limited when it comes to managing contacts. They cost about £100 and will bolt on to your existing 802.11g network. Novatech are selling both, I suspect Scan and other places will be as well. I'm looking at getting one next year as a landline for myself and Sadako.
Once you have this device and a Skype account, make sure you get Skype-IN and Skype-OUT services, this allows you to phone landlines / mobiles from your account and for others with regular phones to call you on a phone number. I believe they also have a voice mail system to act as an answer phone for you.
Obviously all of these settings and features are tied to your account and not a specific device, so if you install the software on a laptop and go walkies, so long as your on a speedy net connection when you sign in your still ready to rock.
You can dial 999 on the devices (assuming Skype-OUT) and in case of a power failure its always handy to have a backup plan (mobile phone, either contract, work or Pay-G).
However floating around from Belkin and Netgear are two WiFi Skype phones that work independently of a PC. Although their functionality is a bit limited when it comes to managing contacts. They cost about £100 and will bolt on to your existing 802.11g network. Novatech are selling both, I suspect Scan and other places will be as well. I'm looking at getting one next year as a landline for myself and Sadako.
Once you have this device and a Skype account, make sure you get Skype-IN and Skype-OUT services, this allows you to phone landlines / mobiles from your account and for others with regular phones to call you on a phone number. I believe they also have a voice mail system to act as an answer phone for you.
Obviously all of these settings and features are tied to your account and not a specific device, so if you install the software on a laptop and go walkies, so long as your on a speedy net connection when you sign in your still ready to rock.
You can dial 999 on the devices (assuming Skype-OUT) and in case of a power failure its always handy to have a backup plan (mobile phone, either contract, work or Pay-G).
2011 posts? When the hell did I break the 1000 mark... good grief!
Edited by ThePassenger on Wednesday 6th December 17:28
ThePassenger said:
...You can dial 999 on the devices (assuming Skype-OUT)...
Didn't know you could SkypeOut 999 calls? They seem to disclaim that everywhere possible in writing. I never thought to test it.ThePassenger said:
...in case of a power failure its always handy to have a backup plan...
UPS works well. I've got the PC, burglar alarm, and DECT phone base covered by one.leorest said:
ThePassenger said:
...You can dial 999 on the devices (assuming Skype-OUT)...
Didn't know you could SkypeOut 999 calls? They seem to disclaim that everywhere possible in writing. I never thought to test it.ThePassenger said:
...in case of a power failure its always handy to have a backup plan...
UPS works well. I've got the PC, burglar alarm, and DECT phone base covered by one.I think 999 *should* work, maybe, if your lucky. I've seen people say it works and people say it doesn't... so again, best have a Plan B.
Something that is often forgotten in this situations is that if there is a power cut, or your internet connection goes down, all these services cease.
I'm pretty certain this is an infrequent event for most but it caught me out the other day when I had to go rooting in the loft to find a 'normal' phone. We had a power cut (common enough in these parts) and my mobile went flat due to lack of use.
I'm pretty certain this is an infrequent event for most but it caught me out the other day when I had to go rooting in the loft to find a 'normal' phone. We had a power cut (common enough in these parts) and my mobile went flat due to lack of use.
I've had Skype for over a year now. Used it exclusively as my home phone since moving in January, having opted for just just cable broadband and NO phone line.
The phone I have is a dual dect phone (about £40) but they now do a WiFi one which has the software included in the phone and therefore with a wireless router and a ups for the phone base, router/modem It would not only still work during power cuts but you could also use mobile near hot spots if you choose.
Having had FREE conference calls lasting upto 4hrs (without running flat), involving Australia, New Zealand and the US with sound quality that a standard phone line can only dream of, calls to mobile and landlines in places like the US and Canda at 1p/min. I've NO intention of ever going back. The sound quality is far better when using a phone rather than a headset or mic/speakers btw.
Hope it helps.
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