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Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Good innovation, yet I'm left asking "Is that it?""
Pros: Innovative, decent voice quality, nice battery.
Cons: Low-res screen, sluggish perfm., unexpectedly drops calls.
Summary: I was lucky enough to win this phone in an internet giveaway contest. Good thing, cause there's no way would I pay $200 for this phone. I don't say that because the phone's not of quality, but because it seems like a prototype. It uses a cheap design (though relatively sturdy,) low-end chip parts, and in the end leaves you with a feeling of that they left this product in a hurry. If you haven't caught on yet; SMC, Belkin, and Netgear have all released this same phone under a different name. This review is most likely relevant for all three. If you have a quality wireless router, and speedy DSL (at least 386Kbps,) you should have no problem with the voice quality. There are only two minor problems: there's a small, noticeable static heard during calls, and the voices are heard loud, but relatively shallow compared to standard touch-tone phones. Voice quality is otherwise fine, people on the other end may not notice any difference. There are a few walls between the wireless router and my phone, yet reception is still pretty good, but I notice there's better reception when the phone is kept on the router's side of your body, so you may need to adjust while calling. Performance on the phone is acceptable, though noticeably sluggish, but make sure you have the newest firmware, others complain that the older firmwares are much more sluggish. The screen is bright and clear with the settings adjusted, but a bump up in the resolution department would do wonders. You need not worry about battery life, the 3.7 volt lasts it's fair share. Though I don't know its rated standby time, the phone's battery lasted two days with light use without a recharge. Overall, the phone feels resilient enough to survive in the real world, and can definitely save you a bunch of money on long-distance calls with the combination of Skype's SkypeOut(tm) service. I don't recommend this product for those not yet familiar with Skype, but if you use Skype currently, this phone could be your escape out of having to fuss with your computer to make calls, though you'll be sacrificing advanced features like video conferencing, etc.
Where to buy
SMC Skype Wi-Fi Wireless VoIP Phone:
$99.95
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$99.95 | Yes |
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