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on November 10, 2005 08:38 PM 
I think the device market is under-rated by the traditional IM clients. This example from Ascalade (VON brochure) is a residential dual phone that can connect with both VoIP clients and PSTN simultaneously. Note this one doesn't work with Skype yet, it's designed to work with SIP solutions. Still embed Skype in the box and who needs a computer?
When could we see a Skype version? Perhaps sometime early in the new year. What's the achillies heel for all these devices? I see two currently. They haven't yet solved the text chat messaging opportunities, while many are stuck with memory problems when you have more than 80 - 100 buddies.
on August 31, 2005 11:10 AM 
Do you want to make internet telephony easier to use and more accessible? Do you want the option of taking Skype calls on your home cordless phone (or any phone)? In my case I want the family to make cheap calls to New Zealand without messing with my PC and yet having simple access to SkypeOut.
Perhaps you are not yet ready to splurge on a DUALphone, although those SkypeOut minutes to global destinations are saving you a bundle.
Introducing UConnect, another great product from VoIPVoice. Now one device brings all the features of Skype and Internet telephony into the cordless phone you have on your desktop. UConnect brings all the neat features VoIPVoice has programmed to work with the CyberPhoneK and lets you use them on your cordless phone.
If you have a recent cordless phone with an LCD, UConnect will enable:
UConnect is one of those devices that you look at and say... that's different. There's some sense to the design with its integrated USB connector (also comes with an extension cable) which makes it easy to travel with (use those non digital phones where still available in hotels) or simply press it into the back of a desktop PC. UConnect will work in both USB mode connected to Skype and or just connected to your landline.
Your computer has to be running for Skype to function. Don't expect the sound quality to be Skype headset like. This is not the fault of the device rather dependent on your cordless phone. However, PSTN quality (what your handset was designed for) will be perfectly adequate for the times you want to move and sit out on the deck talking.
UConnect is on the first Skype certified products. That means it meets Skype's quality charter and has met the requirements of Skype's certification program.
UConnect will be released shortly, at a price of US$59.99 which is competitive with competing devices which currently don't offer the same slick Skype feature integration. Watch the VoIPVoice store for more details.
on August 31, 2005 11:00 AM 
Free yourself from Skyping on the PC. I like going cordless with Skype. I've used a bluetooth headset with limited range, and more recently the DUALphone now finally available in the US. This is one of the most sophisticated cordless / combination internet and standard landline phones on the market today. The DUALphone lets you take and make those important Skype calls from a regular handset. For many that's really cool. It's been customized to provide ready integration of Skype features into the handset.
In my case it is good to get up from the PC from time to time. Plus not everyone or every call requires you to be tied to a desktop session of chat and screen sharing. Sometimes it's easier to walk around.
So what do I like best about the DUALphone? It's not the sound - that is very good. Not the changes in presence status or buddylist on the handset; it is more basic than that. I can still answer my PC with my headset without resetting anything. The DUALphone is smart enough to know when it should change the sound settings and point the internet call to the handset. Thus pick it up and it becomes active. Decide on the next call - to take it on your PC, no problem.
In my experience that is pretty unique. Communication is becoming multi-modal and devices must know when they are desired and when they aren't. Plus everytime I get a Skype call now, the phone rings. That gets over the missed calls I have when I leave a headset plugged in and can't hear it ringing.
Plug in the USB cable, load the software, let it sit for a few minutes and all your Skype buddies will appear on the handset.
After that you can scroll though them, watch the frequent updates as online status changes are reported (I turned the beep for that off quickly and would quite happily turn that feature off altogether).
I quickly found that scolling though the whole list to make a call was not effective. I have 268 buddies currently. However pushing a number provided alpha proximity very quickly and it was then just click to call.
You can also do simple things from the handset like setting your Skype Status.
The rest of the functionality? It sits well in your hand. It's got good range and it looks and acts like the phone you are used to. You can set Internet dialing to remember country codes, etc. As with all new devices it takes a little time to work out all the features. It's worth the time.
In the 'it could be handy department', you can add additional handsets to the initial basestation. Up to 4. Then your whole house could be DUALphone activated. It would cost! For the initial base station and phone the price of the DUALphone-US site is $139.99. Expect it to soon be in a store nearby.
I found one area where the software needs an update. The DUALphone doesn't integrate with Skype VoiceMail. There may be a missed call notification, however there is no way to listen to new voicemails over the phone. Similarly there is as yet no way to initiate a voice message from the handset (sending a VM to another Skyper without ringing). However, that is not the fault of the device, it just requires further developments in the SkypeAPI. Get the phone now and I'd expect a software update will provide this additional functionality in a future release.
Lastly, where do I think the DUALphone fits in making a handset choice for Skype? That may be a little dependent on the quality of your current cordless phone and how sensitive your ears are to trying to retain that Skype audio clarity. (See technical details.) If most of your calls are Skype to Skype and you have to have a traditional handset then this may be the one for you. If the majority of your Skype calls are using SkypeOut then you may be better served at a lot lower price by a device like UConnect, which will turn your old cordess phone into something similar. However, your old cordless phone is unliley to provide the same level of sound quality. If you want Skype on a phone today, go and get it.
Check out other reviews:
on August 23, 2005 03:08 PM RTX America Inc, located in San Jose, CA announces the availability of the DualPhone in the US.
Move up to 300m away from your PC and make Skype™ and SkypeOut calls. See who’s online with one push of a button on the handset. It’s a cordless Skype™ phone and ordinary landline phone in one.
Price point is $139.
Thanks to our SJ man, Torben Nyhuus, in Denmark for this story.