Comments on: Skype Without a Personal Computer

By: Jim Courtney

Jim Courtney — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:13:56 +0000

When new management took over in March 2008 Skype went through a re-evaluation of their entire partnering program; at the same time many of the hardware vendors were not seeing sufficient volumes to justify continuing product lines. And vendors such as US Robotics have gone out of business or been sold. Philips, for whatever reason, lost the OEM manufacturer of their VoIP series phones (I think they went out of business also) – I use it for my home phone and it works great. But, having lost the manufacturer, at that point Philips decided they needed to re-evaluate their Skype supported hardware and we have seen nothing new at this point.

As for DualPhone price changes I have no information other than RTX found it difficult to set up retail distribution when their primary business is OEM/ODM for other brands. As a result In Store Solutions provides worldwide distribution but only over the Internet (recall that ISS includes local taxes and delivery in their pricing so that probably accounts for a lot of the price changes).

By: Gen

Gen — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:24:42 +0000

What you say about dual mode phones “undergoing a transition as Skype restructures” is kind of cryptic. What’s the real story here? Why did the Philips VOIP841 get discontinued even though it was clearly wildly popular? Why has the Dualphone 3088 been rising in price at the Skype store over the past months? It seems really weird.

By: Carl

Carl — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:02:57 +0000

Hi I had the same problem as you, but now Im skype good and proper. I got the Aztech V500DS no computer required just plug into the phone line and it uses Ethernet conection to your router. I also have the 3 S2 for mobile and online number its also worth taking a call plan as it saved me £340 in the year but i do call long distance alot. try ebay or aztech direct you can get additional hand sets to link to the base upto 4 i think. Hope this is of some help to you and good luck.

By: Jim Courtney

Jim Courtney — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:24:03 +0000

Philips did have a VoIP 841 that was dual mode (Skype/PSTN) and did not require a PC. However, for production reasons (as opposed to market reasons) it is no longer available. I use the VoIP 841 for my home phone line and my wife's Skype account.

The 3211 is a dual mode phone but it does require attachment (via USB) to a PC for access to the Skype account.

By: Guest

Guest — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:47:48 +0000

Philips VOIP3211? That requires PC on, according to Skype Store

By: Icabod

Icabod — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:15:44 +0000

I desperately want to switch from Vonage to Skype, but I want to use my existing ‘normal’ phones throughout the house WITHOUT having a dedicated PC running all the time. I want a Skype VTA that connects the LAN to the phone wiring in my house the same as my Vonage VTA.

Is there a device such as this? I have been unsuccessful finding one. Plz e-mail me at aol_is_satan(at)hotmail.com if you know of such a device.

By: Grg

Grg — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:20:53 +0000

An ideal skype phone for me could be
1) a simple WLAN skype phone which is available for less than £50
2) a Ethernet phone that connects to the extra port in home broadband router available for less than £20.
It is reasonable when I can get a Nokia E51, which has WLAN/BlueTooth/GSM/GPRS/SIP/3G/Quadband/All office suite running in it – of course plus skype included – for under £150. But the problem is, my parents may not know how to use this gadget. I need a simpler one. All skype phones available in the market are rip off at the moment and not worth the money.