VoIP/DECT landline phones: talk to me.

[editor]

After my crappy home Panasonic DECT cordless phone conked out, I'm looking for a new phone. It has to be cordless. With an answerphone and a good range because of my titanium-plated, signal-bouncing granite walls.

I tried the Philips SE655 with its 'XHD sound' and it looked great but sounded like someone was eating a bag of crisps when I was talking to them. Shit.

I'm now wondering if it's worth shelling out a few quid more and getting a DECT/Skype/VoIP combo. Anyone using one? Or is the technology not quite there yet?

Or would I - as I expect - be better off just getting a regular handset and using my PC for Skype calls (and/or getting a cheapo handset for that).

 

[editor]

One other thing: how come almost all landline cordless phones look so fucking shit? At best, you'll get something that looks like a chunky mobile from 2001 and at worst you'll get a hideous slab of eighties design that is simply mahoooosive with an interface that makes the Commodore C64 look like the iPhone. Why haven't they inherited much from mobile development?

 

[Sunray]

Does your Wifi router not have any VoIP inputs? Mine has 2. You can plug in a normal phone and if you set the VoIP up, it can behave like a normal phone incoming and outgoing.

As for call quality that is entirely down to the provider, some of the bigger ones have had somewhat poor reputations for call quality. As its payg you can just use up your credit and move to another by editing the settings. There are a lot of companies out there these days. I could swear I found one that offered 300 min month any landline in the world for free.

skype annoys me as it doesn't use standard VoIP protocols.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I looked into this a while ago and naturally it was too confusing for my little brain.

Ended up just sticking a pair of headphones in computer and using VOIP which I found much, much easier than Skype. The interference etc. when using Skype was appalling. Would rather stick with £10 for six months with VOIP.

I looked at phones on Which? before deciding not to bother, but that was a few years ago.

Will have a look again if you want

 

[editor]

Does your Wifi router not have any VoIP inputs?

Nope!

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Nope!

As I said, all a bit technical for me, but have you looked here

http://www.cordless-phones.uk.com/voip-phones/voip-dect-phones/

 

[editor]

Yeah, I've been on that site...

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Yeah, I've been on that site...

I thought you would have

 

[Boczkowski]

www.which.co.uk/phones

has umpteen reviews of home phones and VOIP stuff

 

[editor]

www.which.co.uk/phones

has umpteen reviews of home phones and VOIP stuff

Sign up to read the full Best Buy review

1 month trial for just £1.00

No thanks!

 

[Boczkowski]

oh

bugger

 

[teqniq]

LOL @ Boczkowski

or...

Sorry Ed, I don't know what came over me.....

but seriously I'm just using a crappy one of these (Binatone ma760):-

resistance is futile

It's ok but i don't think much of the battery life.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Nice and cheap, don't know if that means pure crap though

http://www.cdiscount.co.uk/Computin...-_-n/a&tduid=2751f78e3e2cf47d3e6594ef377a676c

 

[Pie 1]

One other thing: how come almost all landline cordless phones look so fucking shit? At best, you'll get something that looks like a chunky mobile from 2001 and at worst you'll get a hideous slab of eighties design that is simply mahoooosive with an interface that makes the Commodore C64 look like the iPhone. Why haven't they inherited much from mobile development?

Weird innit?
I bought a new one 18 months or so ago & couldn't believe how shit & plasticy they all still were.
Ended up with a Phillips one. The most generous thing I can say about it is that it works, and the sound quality isn't quite as bad as some of the others.

 

[ch750536]

Looked in to this for myself. I wanted to go a step further and have a phone that acted like a landline where there was a wifi signal but was also a mobile.

Only 2 phones on the market when I checked and both reviewed quite poorly.

Apparently Siemens are developing a range of phones to do this to be released Q3 09, so I decided to wait until then.

They also do a range that does exactly what you want though, which rated highly.

http://gigaset.com/shc/0,1935,hq_en_0_123868_rArNrNrNrN_pageType%3ADescription,00.html

There are other phones in the range too.

 

[Sunray]

Clearly if you get a Pre, that will have many of the same VoIP apps that are on the iPhone like TruPhone.

That works very well indeed.

 

[editor]

Clearly if you get a Pre, that will have many of the same VoIP apps that are on the iPhone like TruPhone.

That works very well indeed.

I need a landline phone though. In the end, I got this one well cheap off Amazon - £13 refurb!

 

[twistedAM]

I need a landline phone though. In the end, I got this one well cheap off Amazon - £13 refurb!

iswym...That looks like a James Bond gadget from ...Dr No