Although I am loathe to admit it, I had my first encounter with Skype only recently, but thanks to the latest USB hands-free deskphone from Nanoelf, the experience was an extremely positive one.
If you are not familiar with Skype, it`s a free utility that allows anyone with a computer and Internet connection to call anyone else with the same, at no cost other than the cost of the Internet connection.
Although the potential cost savings of Internet telephony were appealing at only 40c a minute instead of R1.70 minute, the idea of trying to communicate with my nearest and dearest on the other side of the world with a headset and microphone plugged into my PC was not that appealing.
Quick connection
Jumping at the opportunity of giving Skype a whirl using a conventional phone, I plugged the phone into a spare USB port, downloaded the free software from the Internet and installed that as well as the SkypeMate utility software supplied with the phone, literally in five minutes. My reservations quickly dispelled.
It took me a little longer to create a Skype account, but this was easy and relatively quick to do. In really no time at all I was ready to Skype by following the step-by-step instructions in the user manual supplied with the phone.
Not having used Skype before, I found the user interface easy to figure out and was able to search for a friend in London I knew was already a registered Skype user, add her to my contact list, and assign a speed-dial.
The silver and dark grey USB phone was an attractive addition to my workstation, but with a footprint of roughly 266cm2, a wall mounting option would be nice to save space on the work surface.
It was with a fair amount of excitement that I lifted the receiver and dialled in the assigned speed-dial number. The excitement mounted as the phone began to ring, and then contact!
As clear as the proverbial bell, my friend`s voice was instantly audible without echo, hiss or pop. Admittedly I was using an ordinary dial-up Internet access account, so the delays gradually became longer and longer, but at the cost of only a local phone call, I wasn`t complaining.
Cheaper rates
Eager to connect to a conventional phone, I soon found out I needed to purchase some SkypeOut credit to pay for the final leg of the connection. There are also other Skype extensions such as voicemail and conventional phone numbers available for a fee.
Although it became immediately clear how Skype makes money, the cost was still attractively low. Adding the dial-up cost to the SkypeOut cost, a call to the UK was still going to cost me only 54c a minute, about a third of the Telkom rate for international calls and 35c a minute cheaper than the Telkom rate for long distance national calls.
Purchasing SkypeOut credit was amazingly quick and easy to do and again, within no time at all, I was set to call a family member in the UK using an ordinary telephone number.
This time, however, I decided to try out the hands-free speakerphone facility and dialled the telephone number as one would on any telephone. Soon a familiar voice was heard clearly over the speakerphone and the entire family was gathered around to listen and talk.
Perhaps this desktop SkypePhone would be a bit chunky for some users, but for family or business conference calls, it is pretty handy. If space is more important than conferencing, Nanoelf has other smaller Skype phones on offer.
I was again surprised by the quality of the connection, particularly in the speakerphone mode. There was also still a delay, but not as much as when connecting to my friend`s Skype phone and really not bad considering I was using only an ordinary dial-up account.
Phone functionality
In addition to performing well even with a slow Internet connection, the USB phone from Nanoelf integrated well with Skype, automatically launching the user interface when the handset is lifted or the speakerphone button is pressed.
The phone also has a "help" button that automatically connects new users to the Skype Web site, and up and down buttons to scroll through contact lists and a dial button to connect to the highlighted contact.
Although designed for use with Skype, Nanoelf says its desk phone will work with any session initiated protocol network with full functionality or Internet telephony services from Yahoo, Google and AOL with reduced functionality. However, the supplier is considering an application programming interface for Googlevoice.
The USB deskphone features a fairly large liquid crystal display that lights up when the phone is active. The LCD is used to display date, time, caller ID and call duration, but unfortunately is not clearly visible at all angles.
The phone rings for incoming calls and allows users to select from several ringtones and volume levels.
In all likelihood, Internet telephony will become a lot more popular in SA as higher-speed Internet connections come down in price and an increasingly wide variety of conventionally styled USB phones like the desk Skype phone from Nanoelf become available.
If you think about it, a Skype phone could change your life with a positive effect on your family or business.
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