Netgear SPH200D Skype Phone Mini-Review
Matt has given me the Netgear SPH200D phone to test and review as I am the one who uses the phone at home most of the time. The Netgear SPH200D can make both landline calls and skype calls without the need for a computer. It uses DECT technology just like most household cordless phones do these days.
The Netgear SPH200D is very easy to set up and I didn’t even need to get the instructions out of the box!
There is a base unit, handset and a charger unit for the handset. Also included in the box are all the cables you need to start using the phone, you can see the contents of the box in Matt’s unboxing video.
The base unit has sockets on the back for plugging in the ethernet network cable, telephone cable and the power lead. After plugging all the cables into the base unit I put the batteries into the handset and it started up immediately. You then need to enter your country and area code.
As this phone offers both ordinary landline and Skype abilities it gives you the option to then sign into your Skype account.
Netgear even provide the rechargeable batteries for the handset however they will need charging immediately after set up as they do not come fully charged (or at least the ones I received didn’t!).
Making calls using this phone is very easy; to make a Skype call you just select a contact from your Skype address book which is easily accessed via the colour display on the handset.
If you dial a telephone number the handset will, by default, ask you if you want to make this call via landline or by using Skype-out. This can be changed in the settings to default to one or the other if you prefer.
I’m very impressed with this unit and the quality of the calls is superb. It is in fact better than the cordless phone we currently own! When using the Netgear SPH200D for Skype calls you really cannot tell the difference between this and a regular phone call.
I can’t comment on the claimed talk time standby times as I have only used the phone for about an hour at a time and tend to put in back in its charging cradle when not being used as I have nasty habit of putting phones down and then not being able to find them again! However they claim a Standby time of 120 hours and talk time of 12 hours.
Box contents:
Overall I’m extremely pleased with the Netgear SPH200D. It’s an excellent solution for anyone wanting to use Skype without having to have a PC switched on all the time and also means that we only need one handset for Skype and Landline calls.
Review by: Tracy
[Technorati tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Skype, Netgear, Skype Phone, SPH200D, VoIP, Tracy & Matt]
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