Philips VOIP841 DECT Skype Phone
The Philips VOIP841 is one of a new breed of hybrid DECT / VoIP phones that can operate with your traditional landline and also with Skype. Ingeniously, the VOIP841 does not need to be wired into a PC to run Skype like so many other Skype phones, making this a really attractive phone for those who want to use Skype more and take advantage of their low-cost international call rates, but do not want to be stuck to their PC during a phone call.
Asides this, the VOIP841 can make landline calls (kinda handy when you need to call the emergency services). You have to plug the base station into your landline socket and Ethernet when setting up. The problem is that it does not use WiFi and instead opts for DECT, which unfortunately means you can’t take it on the road with you and make calls from one of the many WiFi hotspots popping up in many cities.
Interestingly, the VOIP841 runs an embedded version of Linux, so it’s going to be qute interesting what hacks people come up with in the future. Personally, I really like the idea of this phone but without WiFi I won’t be buying it. But it is encouraging to see major manufacturers like Philips embracing VoIP and making it more accessible.
 
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October 3rd, 2006 at 1:22 pm
[...] Use A DECT PhoneIf you have tried to improve your wireless network so you can make better calls on your WiFi phone but have not had an improvement, perhaps you should consider a DECT VoIP phone. These phones do not need a wireless network, instead they work just like your existing cordless phone. The difference is that you can plug the base station into your computer via USB as well as plugging into the telephone socket. Another obvious advantage of using a DECT phone is that you can still make an emergency call with confidence as some VoIP services are currently unable to route an emergency call. [...]
December 18th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
[...] iPhone launched What’s this? Hot on the heels of recent announcements from Netgear and Philips, Linksys are working on their very own PC-independent Skype phone called the WIP320 based around a Broadom BCM4318 single-chip 802.11 b/g WiFi chip and a BCM1161 Mobile VoIP processor. [...]
March 18th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Been waiting for this phone for ages. This was supposed to be the first, but now there is others from RTX and Netgear. Still bought the philips, even though a bit more expensive, because I expect the quality to be higher. So far very happy.