Monday, October 30, 2006

An excellent review on one of the new crop of standalone phones that use Skype over WiFi connections. Nice idea, but it sounds like it's not quite ready for prime time--missing features like a Web browser (for authenticating with hotspots like the T-Mobile network), a keypad lock, text messaging, no support for 802.1x and WPA2 security and a high price (~$200 street) will doom this device to being used only by early adopters. Still....the ability to make Skype calls from virtually any open hotspot, without booting a PC is compelling. Perhaps the next generation of this phone will have the magic combination of ingredients, but for now I'm keeping my money in the bank.

Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101 > JiWire's Review