Friday, 1 September 2006

Philips and NETGEAR Launch New Skype Phones that Don't Need a PC

Skype has announced cordless phones that do not require a running computer to be used with the Voice over IP (VoIP) service. This new class of phone enables Skype users to make and receive both Skype calls over the Internet and traditional landline calls, without a computer, offering the added convenience of a cordless phone.

The first series of products to be launched in this class are the Philips VOIP841 cordless phone (pictured) and NETGEAR’s cordless phone for Skype. The product will be available before the end of the year, said Philips chief of consumer electronics activities, Rudy Provoost. Skype, which popularised free phone calls between computers over broadband Internet connections, is a unit of eBay.

The Philips and NETGEAR cordless phones will be Skype Certified. The Skype certification is designed to reassure users that products will be easy to use, and will work well with Skype software. Skype Certified hardware products undergo rigorous testing for more than a month to ensure they meet Skype’s high usability and technical quality standards.

A remote DECT base station that plugs into both the broadband connection and the traditional phone line accompanies the cordless phones for Skype. The system handles both Skype and ordinary calls in one phone, presented through an easy-to-use, user interface.