I have sent back a skype phone from max.tv for 3 reasons the phone socket conector is the wrong type and the phone doe not display online contacts and you have to conect to another skype user from the pc when calling them before using the phone where as other phones can show online contacts and call other users directly from the phone with out calling from the pc. 2 phones i have in mind the olympia skype cordless duel phone http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...NavigationKey=0 or the lynksys cordless internet phone http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...NavigationKey=0 both from dabs can anyone recomend wich is the best of the 2 to buy the olympia however is a duel phone.

I'd buy neither - they both need you to leave your computer switched on all the time you want to use your phone. On the same site you can get a Linksys telephone adapter for £45.82 which will plug into your current router, then you plug in whatever phone you like and it's totally independant of your computer. Ditch Skype as you can get a lot cheaper calls from others and a free incoming line unlike Skype who charges for that.

If you don't have a router, consider other routers with inbuilt VOIP facilities. You'll pay probably £60-£80 in total for one of these, but the money you'll save will make up for this pretty quickly.

I assume (for Olympia) this means to use the Skype service and that the DECT service would be OK?

Another thought is: Would this work as a DECT phone connected to a BT Hub and therefor allow the services of BT VOIP?

Cheers

Alan

Ignore this if I'm going too far off topic, but can anyboday advise the best handstet to use with Skype?

Thanks

Forget Skype Hype Tripe!

It is a closed system, it's expensive, it's poor compared to the real thing.

Skype charges you for an incoming number, Sipgate, OrbTalk and others charge you NOTHING for a real incoming number.

Sipgate, OrbTalk and others use the open SIP standard, this means when you buy hardware you can chop and change should you wish, you are not stuck with a white elephant.

Get Skype Hype Tripe out of your mind and think grown up VoIP.

Even a service like VoIPStunt.com which you can also use via the SIP standard offers free calls to landlines in the UK and other countries, not just like Skype to other Skype users, yes with SIP you can call others on the same service free too.

www.sipgate.co.uk, www.voipstunt.com, www.orbtalk.co.uk, there are various others too.

You are just going to pay over the odds for a closed system.

With SIP you can buy devices that allow you to make and receive calls without the need of a PC being switched on.

Ok if you really want skype, go with the dualphone.

Skype have a hardware forum at http://forum.skype.com/viewforum.php...45ce14f31a56c5 and you will find most people like the dualphone, though some people have had display problems after about a year.

The main reason to go with the dualphone imo is that the firmware can be updated so that it will always work with the latest version of Skype.

A link to reviews is http://www.amperordirect.com/pc/r-pr...ne-review.html

btw the best price I have seen is at ebuyer or the skype shop.

Hope that helps

I'm also another anti-skyper.

What is the point in a closed, proprietary system that requires you to use only one client, plus a cheap and nasty USB phone? A system that makes you pay (a lot) for incoming numbers, voicemail, outgoing calls?

I use SIP and IAX2. I have a Sipura SPA-3000 and a Linksys PAP2. I can plug whatever I like into the phone ports of these adapters like a DECT phone, standard phone, even a fax machine!

I use a variety of voip providers, depending on many factors (and not necessarily who offers the cheapest calls however IIRC the likes of voipbuster / whoever they are today are cheaper than skype) and I am not tied down to one provider.

I also do not need the PC on to accept incoming calls, I have free voicemail, free redirection, free incoming numbers, I can place as many calls at a time as my bandwidth allows, I can use high-quality call codecs (skype does not).

One good thing, however, with skype is that it works so much better through NAT. However SIP, with things like STUN is improving in that field.

hi

ive got the linksys cit200

AND Im very very happy with it voice quality is top knotch works a treat (especially if you look for the 3.70 drivers)

works much much further than my normal DECT phone does (2 streets away from the house while the dect cuts out somewhere near the end of the garden)

overall very impressed and if you want to use skype the linksys with the newest drivers is what id get

JEREMY

It's a lot of money to pay for a phone that only works with Skype, and considering Skype are one of the most expensive VoIP providers whose rates are even dearer than what you can get via a cheap call provider on a landline, just seems a crazy investment.

If you only use Skype because you get an extra number, then that seems crazy as the cheaper VoIP providers issue them for free, and offer voicemail for free.

Skype is a proprietary service therefore you are limited in phones, ATA and software you can use, with proper VoIP you can chop and change providers should you wish.

Skype is over hyped and over priced, virtually any other proper VoIP provider is better than Skype.

@madmulla

First of all cool name

secondly yes agreed but i use it for my grandparents and mum and dad and its easy for them to use. also it works no matter what behind restrictive firewalls which other SIP stuff does not and skype to skype is FREE which cheaper than SIP

JEREMY

Thanks regarding the name.

However SIP to SIP is free.

Take Sipgate for example, Sipgate customers can call other Sipgate customers for free, also they have peering agreements so you can call many other different SIP provider customers for free also.

Grated if all you are going to do is call other users on the same network, then I suppose it doesn't matter who you use as they are both free, however if you also want an incoming 01 or 02 number, then Skype charges for this, Sipgate and others issue them for free, as do they give you voicemail (if wanted) for free, and they are all cheaper than Skype if you want to call non-free customers, such as to real landlines.

I'm looking as well for my son going to Uni and my sister is Spain. Sipgate phones seem very expensive and when you ad the cost of an adaptor iy would tale a long time to recover that cost comapred to stumping up for a Skype phone and Skype In number. I suppose it depends if you are a heavy user or not ?

When you say Skype phone I take it you meant those crappy USB soundcards moulded like a phone for around £10 - £20? If so there is no reason why you can't use them on Sipgate either, so not only is the phone the same cost, but the cost of calling via Sipgate is cheaper then Skype Hype Tripe and you don't have to pay unlike Skype Hype Tripe for an incoming number.

OK, that makes a difference then for sure

Their website doesn't say hopw much it costs for a call from a landline to a Sipgate phone. Skype charges a local rate for all calls.

Are you sure about that statement on Skype charging a local rate on all calls? If they're saying the number is 0845 this is by no means local and won't be part of any free minutes you get on your landline.

On Sipgate you can choose the area code you go for, so nothing stopping your young ones having a local area code so it is a genuinely local number which you can use as part of your landline free minutes if you get any. And there is zero cost to this.

I still cannot see any reason why anyone wants the Skype hype, it's expensive, proprietry so you can't use Skype hardware on any other network (tying you in), and the only reason I think people really use this is because there are no SIP based services which work off the shelf. But if you can get around that minor inconvenience of entering a couple of settings, you'll save a small fortune.
Last edited by CitySlicker : 06-09-2006 at 22:13

Sipgate doesn't tell you the cost to call their number as they don't know who your telephone provider is.

Sipgate issue you with a proper 01 or 02 number, so this means it costs the same to call as it would any other 01 or 02 number.

Remember other than on BT's light user scheme, you are charged the same cost to call a (01/02) local number as you are a (01/02) national number. Other than rip-off 0845 / 0870 numbers 99% of the telecoms tariffs don't differentiate between local and national.

BT for example charge 3p/min daytime to local and national numbers, and 5.5p for an hour off-peak.

1899 charges 3p for the entire call no matter how long to all 01 or 02 numbers local or national.

If you get inclusive calls such as for no monthly fee Primus 2 all 01 and 02 calls at the evening and weekend are free.

You need to forget about local and national rate when calling 01 or 02 numbers, as unless you are on BT LUS it makes no difference.

Indeed you're right. The headline rate looks cheaper but when you add the £22 or or so for the number as well it doesn't look so good. Just registered with Sipgate on the back of that but I only want to use a USB phone. Is it the case that I can buy any USB phone with their X-Lite software and this will work ?
Last edited by topgazza : 06-09-2006 at 22:25

Yes, buy the Tesco one even if you want, that will work, just put in Sipgate's settings instead of Tesco.

Sipgate settings ? Sipgate do a cheap phone for £19 thats not bad.

Oh, I've also just signed up for the 1899.com for my "normal" phone ....good night for saving money, Thanks guys.

One more question , which is not covered too clearly on their website. My son has his Sipgate phone in Plymouth and I have mine in Basingstoke. Do I pick up my phone and dial his Sipgate 01 number and its free ? Or do I get an on screen message/list of him being online and "dial" from the PC screen?

Following on, and apologies for being pedantic. Most of the USB phones I see are Skype phones. Does this mean they will not work with Sipgate ? Also can I assume that if I buy a cheapo phone all I need to do is configure X-Lite to know there is a USB phone attached and not a headset etc?

You normally find drivers for it to use x-lite and other software including Skype.

Tesco sell a usb phone for their service, you can download the driver off the net to use it with x-lite, VoIPStunt, VoIPBuster etc.

Sipgate to Sipgate calls are free, you can either dial the full 01 or 02 number or the short Sipgate SIP ID.

hi

ive downloaded sipgate x-lite and want to use with my usb phone, but also want an 01 number, but it wont let me credit my account!

Cheers Mr Mullah